Friday Fledglings – 31st March

Join us for a fun and friendly session for under-5s in the fantastic garden at The MERL

Discover the benefits of outdoor learning and child-led play at Friday Fledglings! Come and join in with activities inspired by the themes and collections of the museum, and enjoy exploring nature, our mud kitchen, water play, sand-pit, and more. Led by Charlotte, a local teacher and Level 3 Forest Leader, each session includes story-telling, craft activities, singing, and a snack.

Find out more about the sessions: Discover Friday Fledglings at The MERL

Tickets and age suitability

Sessions are run on a weekly pay-as-you-go basis but you will need to book in advance. Bookings open at 12 pm on a Friday, one week ahead of the session you’d like to attend. Sessions run only during RBC school term time. All are welcome to come along: parents, grandparents and childminders!

The session is suitable for children aged approximately 18 months+ but if your child is able to enjoy interacting with the activities you are welcome to join us sooner. We expect that families will purchase at least one participating child ticket if they plan to come along to the session. The free adult and non-participating baby tickets are to accompany a participating child ticket and should not be booked without this.

Bookings open from 12 pm on 17th March 2023.

Monthly Guest Speaker Programme

As part of Museum Partnership Reading’s Our Green Stories campaign, The MERL has launched a programme of monthly guest speakers to attend Friday Fledglings and talk to families about the steps we can take to improve our environment and Reading as a place to live.

Food Waste Action Week is in March each year and at our session on Friday 31st March, we are pleased to welcome representatives from Reading Borough Council’s Recycling team to talk to you about introducing food waste recycling in Reading and what you can do to get involved and reduce Food Waste at home.

What to bring

• Payment for the session (£4 per participating child)
• Suitable clothing for you all (wellies and wet-weather gear are recommended). The session will remain outdoors, no matter what the weather does
• Your own drinking water for story time
• We will serve bananas and biscuits as a snack or bring your own if you prefer

COVID-19

Please do not attend if anyone in your group is displaying any symptoms of COVID-19 or flu or has recently tested positive for COVID-19.

Parking arrangements for Friday Fledglings attendees

If The MERL car park is full, you can use a special parking permit to park in the University car parks on Acacia Road adjacent to the museum, or White Gates car park off Crown Place. This permit is valid for all sessions in a half term.

Parking is limited at the museum and although we do our best to help those who need to come by car find a space, we would always encourage you to use alternative means of transport where possible. See our Getting Here page for details.

Friday Fledglings forthcoming dates

24th, 31st March