Erasmus Darwin House is starting the New Year with a new idea – Honesty Box Days. On these days, held once a month, the museum will not charge its usual admission but will ask the visitor to give whatever they feel they can afford. Alison Wallis, Curator of Erasmus Darwin House explains ”as a museum we understand that visitors usually expect free entry however for an independent foundation and a charity, like ourselves, it is not always possible to do that. Our Honesty Box Days gives us the chance to welcome visitors and yet still retain some income on which we greatly rely”.

The next admission-free day comes on 29th January and provides a great opportunity to remind yourself of one of Lichfield’s local gems – you may not have even known the museum existed! Or you may have been one of the thousands of people who visited the House way back in 1999 but the New Year is a good time to reacquaint yourself with an important part of Lichfield’s heritage.

Future dates are as listed below:

February              Sunday 20th

March*                National Science & Engineering Week

April                     Friday 1st

May*                    Spring Fair& Food Festival

June                      Thursday 2nd

July                       Tuesday 5th

August                  Friday 12th

September*        Heritage Open Weekend

October                Wednesday 19th

November            Sunday 20th

December             Saturday 10th

*These dates have free entry events

We have been very busy here at Erasmus Darwin House putting together some new events – 2010 was certainly an exciting year!

Tots @ Erasmus Darwin House(TEDs) was an activity group for toddlers and was a great success from the start. We have a group of about 12 families who regularly attend the weekly Wednesday morning sessions for reading, toys and crafts. It’s so wonderful to welcome little people into the museum!

Science on Saturdays was another initiative that took off in 2010. For children aged 7-12, the sessions are focused on a different topic each month. we have already looked at astronomy, taste and sound. These monthly sessions are attended by a group of loyal budding scientists who look forward to testing their brain cells!