picture of family activity at Imperial War Museum

SUMMER HOLIDAYS AT Imperial War Museums

Max Bentley
Authored by Max Bentley
Posted: Sunday, August 7, 2022 - 19:00

IWM London and IWM North | Story Seekers: Camouflage & Disguise | Daily until 29 August

Free

Brand new for summer 2022, uncover the secrets of camouflage with a fascinating trail focusing on illusion and disguise. Dig deeper into the museum’s collections and uncover the inspiring stories they tell, from the First World War to today.

IWM London and IWM North | The Dazzle Design Studio | Daily until 29 August

Free

Uncover the ingenuity and design behind camouflaging large ships with brand new family activities at IWM London and IWM North. Discover the optical illusion behind Dazzle camouflage with IWM’s Dazzle Design Studio, a discovery hub full of fun activities where families are invited to play with optical illusions and put their own Dazzle designs to the test in a game of nautical hide and seek.

IWM London | The Camouflage Unit Camp | 12, 19 and 26 August
IWM North | The Camouflage Unit Camp | 10, 17 and 24 August

10.30am, 11.45am, 2pm & 3.15pm
Free
In this brand-new immersive live show, families are invited to join a team of creative designers, magicians and deception specialists deployed to North Africa during the Second World War. Created in partnership with immersive theatre and events company Tea Dance for Little People, families will help this Camouflage Unit to create models and take part in a series of deception operations used in the Battle of El-Alamein in Egypt in 1942.

IWM North and IWM London | We Were There | 9, 16, 23, 30 August (Tuesdays)

IWM Duxford | We Were There | 10, 17, 24 August (Wednesdays)

HMS Belfast | We Were There | 12, 19, 26 August (Fridays)

Free (included in price of admission at IWM Duxford and HMS Belfast)

Meet eyewitnesses to conflict and gain first-hand insight into the impact of war on people’s lives. Visitors to IWM this summer will find special guests across our sites and have the unique opportunity to hear their personal stories - ranging from driving a tank, to being evacuated from the place they called home.

IWM Duxford | Family Activities | Daily until 4 September

Free (included in price of admission)

There's plenty of fun at IWM Duxford to enjoy this summer. Families can put their paper plane making skills to the test as they try to beat the world record with Flight Academy or travel back in time to D-Day 1944 with the storytelling experience Family Mission. They can also engineer their very own bespoke cockpit in Cockpit Control or get approved for take-off by exploring four activity stations dedicated to the Spitfire with Spitfire Engineers. Activities vary, we recommend checking details at the Visit Planning Point upon arrival.  

HMS Belfast | Family Activities | Daily until 4 September

Free (included in price of admission)

There's lots of family fun to be had at HMS Belfast this summer. Visitors can travel back in time to D-Day 1944 with the storytelling experience Family Mission or learn how to keep the iconic warship in tip-top condition and take charge of HMS Belfast in our interactive family activity Sea Legs. Activities vary, we recommend checking details at the admissions desk on arrival.

UPCOMING EVENTS

HMS Belfast | Book Signing: Tom Palmer | 10 August 2022  

Free (included in price of admission)

Join children's author Tom Palmer as he signs copies of his new book Resist: One Girl’s Fight Back Against the Nazis at HMS Belfast. Inspired by the childhood of Audrey Hepburn, Tom’s new book shines a light on the Dutch resistance of the Second World War.

IWM London | Book Signing: Tom Palmer | 11 August 2022

Free

Join children's author Tom Palmer as he signs copies of his new book Resist: One Girl’s Fight Back Against the Nazis at IWM London. Inspired by the childhood of Audrey Hepburn, Tom’s new book shines a light on the Dutch resistance of the Second World War. 

TOURS AND TALKS AT IWM

IWM Duxford | In the Cockpit: Avro Vulcan | 12 and 21 August 2022

Tickets £45

Join one of IWM’s expert guides in a unique opportunity to sit behind the controls of IWM’s iconic Avro Vulcan, XJ824. The most famous of the "V bombers", the Vulcan was the cornerstone of Britain's airborne nuclear deterrent during the Cold War.

IWM Duxford | In the Cockpit: Spitfire N3200 | 23, 24 and 25 August 2022

Tickets £45

Join one of our expert IWM guides in a unique opportunity to sit inside the cockpit of our airworthy combat veteran Spitfire Mark 1, N3200. Get a sense of how it felt climbing into the pilot's seat before this very aircraft was flown over Dunkirk with 19 Squadron in 1940. Based at Duxford, the same airfield this aircraft took off from before it was shot down and crash landed on a beach, N3200 has been recovered and restored to become a treasured item in IWM's collection.

IWM North | Ten Minute Talks powered by Volunteers | Every Wednesday and Sunday

Free

Join our expert volunteers for an introductory talk at IWM North. Talks cover a range of subjects exploring the personal stories behind IWM North’s displays, such as the story of Tom Boardman and his ukulele. Tom served in the army during the Second World War before being taken prisoner by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1942. Throughout the 3½ years of his captivity, Tom kept his ukulele safe and by his side. Discover the personal history of Tom’s ukulele, and other items of IWM North’s collections with these fascinating talks.

IWM London | From Empire to Armistice: A Tour of the First World War Gallery | Saturday and Sundays

Tickets £10 / £7.50 concessions / £5 children

Join our IWM Guides to discover the stories behind some of the incredible objects in IWM London’s First World War Galleries. Learn about the conflict in its entirety from its origins through to its bitter end. Discover how it was fought and why it lasted so long and understand why, because of the war, nothing would ever be the same again.

IWM London | From Bedlam to Baghdad: An Introduction to IWM London Tour | Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays

Tickets £10 / £7.50 concessions / £5 children

Join our expert guides for a highlights tour of IWM London. Covering over a century’s worth of conflict, this tour journeys through IWM London’s Atrium, which was once the exercise courtyard of ‘Bedlam’ hospital, exploring the stories behind our world-famous collection. From a painting depicting civilians sheltering from an air raid in Elephant and Castle Tube station in 1918, to the original metal mould of the first Atomic Bomb, explore the full range of IWM London’s extraordinary collection.

IWM London | The Holocaust Galleries: A Guided Tour | Fridays

Tickets £15 / £11.25 concessions

The Holocaust Galleries at IWM London offer an account of the events that came to be known as the Holocaust, telling the personal stories of some of the six million Jewish people who were murdered. Drawing on a rich collection of objects, from a teddy bear taken on the Kindertransport, through to the typewriter used to type the lists that sent thousands to their deaths, this guided headset tour looks at the origins and implementation of the ‘Final Solution’ and some of the stories of the men, women and children caught up in these terrible events. 

IWM Duxford | The Inside View: The Lancaster | Every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Tickets £10

Join one of our expert IWM guides in a behind-the-ropes exploration of the iconic Avro Lancaster. Starting with the design of the aircraft by Roy Chadwick, be guided through the bomber’s illustrious history, from the Dams Raid to the controversy of ‘area bombing’ under Bomber Harris. Then enter the rear of the fuselage and learn about the heroism of the young men in Bomber Command and the harsh conditions they faced in combat.

THE QUEEN’S PLATINUM JUBILEE AT IWM

IWM London | Crown & Conflict: Portraits of a Queen in Wartime | Until 8 January 2023

Free

Crown & Conflict: Portraits of a Queen in Wartime is a new exhibition of poignant photographs exploring the breadth and scope of The Queen’s role in times of war. Drawing from IWM’s extensive image archive, this closely focused exhibition of 18 photographs charts The Queen’s experience of war, from growing up in the Second World War and serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), to carrying out important public duties involving the armed forces. 

IWM London | Royals in Wartime | Until 8 January 2023

Free

A dedicated trail of historic objects on display across five gallery spaces at IWM London explores The Royal Family’s long-standing and intimate association with the British armed forces and its key role in times of war and conflict. Starting with a Princess Mary Gift Fund box which was sent to those serving at Christmas in 1914, this trail guides visitors through time and space, featuring stops in IWM’s brand-new Second World War Galleries and finishing with contemporary objects from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

IWM Duxford | The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee: Ready for Take-off | Until 8 January 2023

Free (included in price of admission)

A trail of objects tells the story of British and Commonwealth aviation during The Queen’s 70-year reign, a time marked by unprecedented social, political and technological change. From a de Havilland Comet 4, which made the very first eastbound trans-Atlantic flight in 1958, to the BAe 146 aircraft that was used by the Royal Family to travel the world. Accompanying the trail at IWM Duxford, a large-scale projection of recently digitised film from IWM’s archive offers glimpses into the official public duties of The Queen alongside more private moments in her relationship with the armed forces.  

EXHIBITIONS  

IWM Duxford | First In, Last Out: The Last Men of The 6th Airborne Division | Until November 2022

Free (included in price of admission)

The 6th Airborne Division was formed on 23 April 1943. It took part in the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944 (D‐Day), remaining in the line until the breakout to the Seine in late August. Portrait photographer Robin Savage has captured photographs of the last surviving 17 veterans of the 6th Airborne Division in their homes, displayed alongside reflections on their wartime service but also their post‐war lives and how the experiences shaped them in a poignant exhibition marking the 78th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

IWM North | Poppies

Free

The iconic poppy sculptures from Poppies: Wave and Weeping Window, which toured to IWM North and IWM London in 2018, have been combined and permanently returned to IWM North. The dramatic artwork, titled Poppies, comprises thousands of handcrafted ceramic flowers which cascade 30 metres down and pool within the unique architecture of IWM North’s Air Shard. Poppies: Wave and Weeping Window were originally part of the 2014 Tower of London installation, Blood Swept Lands and Seas of RedPoppies reconnects visitors with the poppies both as a contemporary artwork and as a way to reflect on the very human cost of war.

IWM Duxford | The Ops Block: Battle of Britain

Free (included in price of admission)

Opened in September 2020, this exhibition grants the public access to newly transformed and previously unseen historic Second World War rooms at IWM Duxford. Visitors can step foot into the former nerve centre of RAF Duxford to discover accounts of those who lived and worked here and immerse themselves in a multi-sensory recreation of the Ops Room, experiencing the tension felt on the ground on 15 September 1940. Visitors can explore three dedicated ‘people stories’ rooms and learn about the Women’s Auxiliary Airforce, controllers and pilots who served at RAF Duxford. 

SECOND WORLD WAR AND THE HOLOCAUST GALLERIES

IWM London | Second World War and The Holocaust Galleries

Free

Three times the size of IWM London's award-winning First World War Galleries, this £30.7 million project has been six years in the making. With the Second World War and The Holocaust soon to pass out of living memory, these Galleries preserve the first-hand experiences and amazing stories of those who witnessed this seminal period in global history. Over 3,500 objects, personal stories and in-depth interactive displays help visitors to understand the most devastating conflict in human history and the genocide that became known as The Holocaust.

 

ONLINE


On YouTube, audiences can go behind-the-scenes and learn more about IWM’s exhibitions, anniversaries and collections with hundreds of videos that tell stories of those who have lived, fought and died in conflict, from 1914 to the present day. Visitors to IWM’s website will also be able to browse our world-class collections online where more than 800,000 items including artworks, documents, objects, photography, film and oral histories are available alongside stories written by IWM’s subject-leading experts.


Audiences can also listen to the IWM Institute’s podcast, Conflict of Interest, which pairs IWM curators and witnesses to war with celebrity guests. Series two is now available to listen to in full, as celebrity guests ranging from actor Russell Tovey, to comedian Phil Wang and actress Katherine Parkinson, explore some of the world’s most complicated Cold War era conflicts in under an hour.  

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