 Joanne Robinson shares the delights of one of the South’s most family
friendly museums; right on our doorstep just over the county border in
Surrey.With three children under six I am a fan of aspiring to an easy life,
and a bit too strapped for cash to enjoy frequent trips to the capital
with the hassle and extra expense it entails. So rather than visiting
the big museums in London I’d take a toddler-friendly local museum in
preference any day.
They are SO much easier for a buggy wielding parent looking for activities, especially on rainy days. For a toddler who likes to ‘do stuff’ and a parent who can’t face another session at the soft play centre, I guarantee that Haslemere Educational Museum will ‘be a winner’! This fine museum is also absolutely free!! Contributions are gratefully accepted but no charge is made either for entrance, or the backpacks and quizzes, making this a great place to visit time and again.
As you enter the museum you will be met with a warm welcome from one of the volunteers who staff the desk. They will be happy to advise you on how to get the most out of the museum for both you and your little one. They will also provide you with an age-appropriate backpack which is related to an aspect of the museum’s collection. Every visit to the museum can be different as your child can have a different back pack each time. There are plenty of themes to choose from: Eye Pack, Skeleton Pack, Frog Pack, Butterfly Pack, Insect Pack and Natural History Pack 1 (2 years+) and Pack 2 (3 years+).
 Once you’re toddler is armed with their backpack, and perhaps one of the family quizzes, head past the delightful dolls house and into the first gallery, Geology, with its time line from dinosaurs to early man. Any dinosaur mad little one will adore the dinosaur interactives. Here your tinies can pick up one of the step stools liberally scattered around the galleries, which ensure that every display case is accessible even to the most vertically challenged youngster. Every child I have taken to this museum loves the step up stools and bagsies their own at the start of the visit, running from case to case and hopping up to see what’s inside.
The next gallery is set up to reflect the Victorian age of the museum’s founder and houses the museum’s natural history collection. Our family favourite is the magnificent spider crab but we have all been known to get carried away playing ‘I spy’ with the more recognisable animals. Arthur the stuffed Siberian Bear is always popular but sometimes it can be unexpected things that catch a toddler’s attention. There are lots of little draws to open, bits to be explored and in the History of Man gallery you can go from peeping at the toes of a 2000 year old Egyptian Mummy, to dressing up as a Victorian school child!
The Haslemere Museum also has beautiful grounds and gardens with wonderful views. So bring a picnic and enjoy the sunshine. If it starts to drizzle, Haslemere’s staff will find you somewhere dry to eat your sandwiches. Every part of the museum is accessible with a pushchair, or you can park your buggy in the entrance area. The staff assured me they’d also find a quiet corner if you need to breastfeed and although there are no baby changing facilities there is a spacious disabled toilet which could be utilised. The museum is so committed to welcoming families with children under 5 that they have received lottery funding to even further improve what they have to offer. This spring they will be holding several events which are geared especially towards families with little ones.
I have never felt self-conscious about noisy children in this museum. I think it must honestly be one of the most child-friendly museums in the country. There’s lots for you to do together and the atmosphere is so relaxed that even the most hyperactive of toddlers can be tamed to be interested. My happiest memory of Haslemere is sitting on the floor by the beautiful ‘Volunteer’s Window’. My eldest daughter and her friend had emptied the contents of their backpacks all over the carpet and we happily did the puzzles and activities for a lovely uninterrupted hour. It was one of those rare, but always longed for, moments of parental contentment, when you are both happily occupied and enjoying each other’s company. Just cross the border into Surrey and you’ll be assured a welcome at Haslemere Museum.
Contact details:
Haslemere Educational Museum, 78 High Street, Haslemere, Surrey, GU27 2LA
Tel: 01428 642112
E-mail: enquiries@haslemeremuseum.co.uk
www.haslemeremuseum.co.uk
Open 10 – 5, Tuesday to Saturday, admission by donation.
Haslemere is just over the Hampshire / Surrey border and really easy to get to by road or rail. Haslemere is on the main Portsmouth to London line and the museum is a ten to fifteen minute walk from the train station. If you are travelling by car, park in the main car park behind Somerfield and walk up the High Street. The first time I tried to find the museum I got quite lost as Haslemere is a town of two parts; you want the High Street rather than the Wey Hill part of Haslemere.
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