The Railway Rascals is a weekly story, songs and arts and craft session for pre-school children and their carers. The group for under 5s takes place in the Children’s Gallery on Thursdays from 1.30pm – 2.45pm with stories, crafts, refreshments and creative play.
The summer sessions led by local artist Sophie Beresford, start on Thursday 23 June and run weekly with the last session on Thursday 14 July.
Sunderland City Council’s portfolio Holder for Public Health, Wellness and Culture, Councillor John Kelly, said: “Railway Rascals has been running for over 20 years. Starting as an art project its aim was, and continues to be, to develop young children’s social skills and fine motor skills through art and play. This excellent programme is still a fantastic way of introducing youngsters to the world of educational play and I would encourage anyone with pre-school children to go along and join in the fun.”
This time the final session of the term is a teddy bear’s picnic with a party and games. The cost is £4 per child per session and £2 for additional children.
There is a refreshment room at the museum where packed lunches and snacks can be eaten before or after the session and to encourage healthy eating, fruit is available to the children at snack time.
Monkwearmouth Station Museum is an ideal venue for young children. It has a dedicated Children’s Gallery with a play-train, construction toys and dress ups. It also has a climb-on bus cab model, enabling enquiring young minds to play at being a driver or a passenger. The size of the museum is thoroughly suited to younger children it’s big enough to explore and have adventures but not too large and overwhelming. There is always the opportunity to wave at passing trains from the Platform Gallery with many a acknowledging ‘toot’ from passing metro and train drivers.