Weekly what's on: Sept 15th to 21st

You can find details of all our forthcoming events at on our What’s On pages, but here’s what’s happening at MERL this week…

Guided tours
Wednesdays, Saturdays & Sundays, 3-3.45pm
Free, booking advisable but not essential
Let our fully trained tour guides tell you the stories behind the objects on display and visit the object store to see MERL’s hidden treasures.

Toddler Time
Friday 19th, 10am, £2 per child, drop-in
Join us for songs and rhymes followed by a craft activity inspired by the Museum’s collections and garden.

MERL at the Berkshire Show
20th & 21st September. Click here for ticket details.
Come and find MERL staff and volunteers on the University of Reading’s chocolate-themed stand at the Royal Berkshire Show this weekend. As part of the Our Country Lives project, we’ll be exploring perceptions of the countryside using chocolate box images as a starting point. Families will be able to make and decorate a chocolate with us and then join University colleagues to make something to put it in!

Conservation project
There is currently a unique opportunity to see one of our 1951 Festival of Britain wall hangings. Conservation work is currently underway in the Museum gallery to prepare them for display as part of MERL’s redevelopment project. Don’t miss this rare opportunity during your visit to see detailed conservation work taking place and to catch a glimpse of these incredible pieces which have not been seen in over 60 years. Read more about the project in our conservation blogs

Collecting the countryside: 20th century rural cultures
Until Autumn 2014
Temporary exhibition space
Free, drop in, normal museum opening times
Since 2008 the Museum of English Rural Life has been adding even more objects to its collection, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Collecting Cultures programme, in order to represent each decade of the last century. (Find out more in Curator, Isabel Hughes’ recent post) This exhibition gives a taste of what has been acquired and challenges visitors to suggest the modern-day objects that the Museum needs to collect for the future. The exhibition will help the Museum to explore how to incorporate more recent histories and representations of the English countryside into its displays as part of the new Our Country Lives project.