We’re inviting toys and their families to our Toys Tea Party & Family Saturday at the National Trust Museum of Childhood, Sudbury Hall, Sudbury, Derbyshire, DE6 5HT on 21 July from 11am-4pm. All toys and families welcome, including dolls, teddy bears and action figures!
The Toys Tea Party & Family Saturday will include storytelling by Madge Spencer and Dorothy McLoughlin (Aunty Mac) and the chance to join in with craft-making and communal poem writing, around themes like ‘being me’ and ‘belonging’. Toys and their families will also be invited to explore our Black Dolls: The Power of Representation exhibition and museum trail.
Simply bring a picnic to enjoy in the beautiful grounds of Sudbury Hall or tuck into homemade cakes and scones from the restaurant there.
Black Dolls: The Power of Representation is a family-friendly exhibition created by us in partnership with the National Trust Museum of Childhood, Sudbury Hall. Funded by the National Lottery, it’s designed to help you explore Black dolls and Black characters in children’s books through the 20th and 21st centuries and their impact on childhood – from the controversial Golliwogs of the past to today’s Black Barbies.
Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the exhibition is part of the ‘Exploring Childhoods’ project, which is funded by the National Lottery through a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant.
The exhibition launched on 16 June and it’s already proving really popular with visitors of all backgrounds, races and ages, including children. It’s also inspiring exhibition-goers to share their thoughts and feedback.
Catherine Ross, our Founder and Director, explains:
“One of the aims of the exhibition is to help people discover what life was like for Black children growing up in Britain through the ages. The Toys Tea Party & Family Saturday on 21 July will be a great chance to see how things have changed – for children of all races. It will be a great chance for families from all communities to get together and have fun with their toys – with plenty of treats and special guests in store!”
Ticket prices
Standard admission charges apply, please see the National Trust website for details: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sudbury-hall-and-the-national-trust-museum-of-childhood