Family Trail | International Rescue
Saturday 4 July to Sunday 6 September (closed Mondays) | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
Come in, junior cadet! Follow the trail around the Art Gallery and Museum to complete the mission inspired by summer exhibition 54321! FAB, and don’t forget to collect your reward at the end…
Enjoy different activities in a countdown from 10 to take off!
You’ll fill in your ID badge, prepare the rocket, reveal a hidden message, and more.
For children under 5 years old, ask for an adapted trail so they can take part too!
£1, purchase your trail from the Art Gallery and Museum shop.
Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 4pm, and Sunday 10am – 3pm.
Free entry to the Art Gallery and Museum (closed Mondays and bank holidays). Plan your visit.
For Families | Bags of Fun – FAB Creations
Saturday 4 July to Sunday 6 September (closed Mondays) | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
54321… Bags of Fun are here for the summer holidays! They’re filled with brilliant activities inspired by the summer show 54321! FAB… what will you create?
- Make a moving robot craft with split pins to create its moving arms and legs!
- Create a FAB solar system spinner paper plate
- Build a rescue vehicle with moving wheels
The Art Gallery and Museum is fully equipped for young creatives to get going on their making. Each activity bag has multiple themed activities inside along with colouring and puzzle sheets.
£2.50, purchase your activity bags from the Art Gallery and Museum shop.
Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 4pm, and Sunday 10am – 3pm.
Free entry to the Art Gallery and Museum (closed Mondays). Plan your visit.
Museum After Hours: FAB! ‘Anything can happen in the next half hour’
Friday 21 August 2026, 6.30 – 9pm | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
Thunderbirds Are Go with amazing music and cocktails at the second Museum After Hours of the summer!
Step into the 60s with DJ DSP who’ll be playing tracks from the decade and beyond. ‘Anything can happen in the next half hour…’ or a bit longer!
The bar will be open, so raise your glass with a sophisticated Lady Penelope or try an explosive Tracy Island and immerse yourself in our summer show 54321 FAB!
Free entry. Fancy dress encouraged!
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Museum After Hours is also on Friday 24 July 2026!
Museum After Hours is aimed at adults, 18+.
Get Arty: 3…2…1…Make!
Thursday 23 July – Thursday 27 August 2026, 10.30 – 11.30am | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
Get creative this summer at Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum with Get Arty: 3…2…1…Make!
In these fun hands-on sessions, children can design and build their own puppet characters before turning their imagination to junk modelling, creating incredible secret bases just like Tracy Island. From hidden launch pads to daring rescue HQs, every creation is unique! Perfect for young makers and storytellers.
Get Arty is on every Thursday through the summer holidays (from 23 July to 27 August), 10.30 – 11.30am.
£5.50 per child; please book via the link below. A parent or carer must stay during the session. Free entry to the Art Gallery and Museum, including summer exhibition 53421! FAB.
Medieval Mayhem | Bank Holiday Monday
Bank Holiday Monday 31 August 2026, 10am – 4pm | The Commandery
Enjoy a fantastic Bank Holiday Monday at The Commandery!
In this fun-filled family day, see if you have what it takes in Knight School, decorate your very own shield, and explore The Commandery with the Knight’s Quest trail.
With a magnificent medieval Great Hall and original medieval wall paintings, The Commandery is the perfect setting for Worcester’s young knights to gather!
General admission applies to all visitors + £3.50 for family activities (general admission can be pre-booked; pay for activities in the shop). Last entry 3pm. Free general admission to Season and Worcester Residents’ Pass holders – ask in the shop or plan your visit to The Commandery here.
Family Fun | Get Arty: Secrets of the Sea
Thursday 28 May 2026, 10.30 – 11.30am | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
Come and get arty in the May half-term holiday at Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum.
Dive into the ocean in this fun morning with a big splash of creativity! 🐳 Build and decorate your own 3D coral reef, create beautiful watercolour creatures, and make paper weaving fish or a mermaid tail.
£5.50 per child; please book via the link below. A parent or carer must stay during the session. Free entry to the Art Gallery and Museum.
You might also enjoy…
Bags of Fun – Secrets of the Sea. Saturday 23 May – Sunday 31 May (closed Mondays and bank holidays), £2.50 from the shop.
Family Trail – Secrets of the Sea. Saturday 23 May – Sunday 31 May (closed Mondays and bank holidays), £1 from the shop.
The Last Battle: 375th Anniversary
Saturday 5 September 2026, 10am – 4pm | The Commandery
Commemorate the final battle of the English Civil War – the Battle of Worcester – with an exciting day of talks, displays and crafts, in the former Royalist headquarters.
Discover Civil War weaponry, with musket and pike drills from Worcester Reenactors, delve into the brutal world of 17th-century battlefield surgery with medical historian Kevin Goodman, and hear from the Battle of Worcester Society.
Younger visitors can decorate their very own wooden standard (flag) to take home!
Plan your visit
General admission applies (children’s crafts included); free admission to those with a season or residents’ pass. Find out more.
Book day tickets to The Commandery. Advance booking is not essential, you can just turn up, pay in the shop, and get stuck in!
Oak Apple Day 2026
Bank Holiday Monday 25 May, 10am – 4pm | The Commandery
Oak Apple Day returns to The Commandery! 🌳
Step back in time to 1660 and celebrate the restoration of the crown on Bank Holiday Monday in a fantastic day bringing history to life in Worcester.
Oak Apple Day marks the historic moment when King Charles II returned to the throne following the English Civil War.
Where better to commemorate this historic moment than at The Commandery, the Royalist Headquarters in the final battle of the Civil War?
Delve into an exciting day of living history for all the family – there’ll be:
- Fantastic reenactors to encounter as you make your way around The Commandery
- Musket firing in the gardens
- Pike and cannon drills for children (and grown-ups!) to get hands-on with
- History talks about Oak Apple Day and the English Civil War from Worcester Reenactors and The Battle of Worcester Society
- Wonderful refreshments available at Little Al’s Kitchen at The Commandery
Enjoy fun family activities: can you find all of the beautifully decorated royal carriages around the building? Then, create your own Oak Apple mobile in the craft room (general admission + £3.50 for trail and activities).
Oak Apple Day family craft
Oak Apple Day 2026 is part of a commemorative programme of events for the 375th anniversary of the Battle of Worcester, 1651.
Plan your visit
General admission applies (+ £3.50 for the carriage trail and craft activities); free admission to those with a season or residents’ pass. Find out more.
Book day tickets to The Commandery. Advance booking is not essential, you can just turn up, pay in the shop, and get stuck in!
What is Oak Apple Day?
The Commandery is one of the only places in the UK to still celebrate Oak Apple Day, also known as Restoration Day.
This spring tradition marks the anniversary of the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 following the English Civil War – and has a special connection to the city of Worcester, the scene of the deciding battle in 1651.
Nine years after Charles II hid from Parliamentarian troops in an oak tree following the loss of his Royalist cause at the Battle of Worcester, he returned to the throne on his thirtieth birthday, 29 May 1660 – which became the annual celebration of Oak Apple Day.
Plan your visit to The Commandery and see what you can tick off the Top 10 Highlights list!
17th-century Paper Cutting (ages 18+)
Saturday 16 May and Saturday 19 September 2026, 10.30am – 12.30pm | The Commandery
This year marks 375 years since the Battle of Worcester during the English Civil War, and these craft mornings look back to the art of paper cutting from the 17th century.
In a relaxed morning, discover 17th-century techniques to decorate your own trinket box to take home.
Use crafting knives to cut small and intricate pictures and patterns, and with the help of our staff and volunteers, you will create your own unique design for your box to take home.
Sip a tea, and enjoy a coffee and some biscuits as you craft.
£22.50. All resources supplied. Ages 18+ years.
Book your spot. If you’d like to look around The Commandery, you can get half-price general admission from the shop on the day of the workshop.
Family Fun | Brilliant Birds!
Family Fun | Brilliant Birds!
Early May Bank Holiday Monday 4 May, 10am – 4pm | The Commandery
Be inspired by the beautiful birds that live around The Commandery – from the water-loving heron by the canal to the robins that visit the gardens, there are lots of birds to spot (and to listen out for!)
On the Early May Bank Holiday Monday, follow this one-day-only trail as you explore the building and gardens, and find all of the brilliant birds that can be seen regularly at The Commandery.
Then, fly over to the craft room to decorate your very own wooden bird glider! There are puzzles and colouring sheets to enjoy too.
General admission applies to all visitors + £3.50 for the family trail and activity bag. Free general admission to Season and Worcester Residents’ Pass holders – ask in the shop or plan your visit to The Commandery here.