Why museums should be on your half term ‘to do’ list

Find space to explore this half term

Author: Cool FM Team Sponsored ArticlePublished 15th Feb 2023
Last updated 15th Feb 2023

There’s the Ulster Museum in the heart of Belfast, the Ulster Folk Museum and Ulster Transport Museum both in Cultra and Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh. And if you’re looking for great things to do to keep little minds busy this half term – or in need of some downtime yourself! – then check out what all the museums have to offer.

Ulster Transport Museum

With two gallery buildings packed with big machines and big ideas, discover exhibitions and take part in activities that explore the stories of transport and social change in Northern Ireland.

From the Titanic to one of the world’s very first electric vehicles, to the history of surfing and the DeLorean, it's a place to inspire innovation and explore how our lives and communities have always been in motion. There’s also a day of pop-up events as part of NI Science Festival happening on Saturday, February 18th.

Ulster Transport Museum

Ulster Transport Museum - a treasure trove of transport in Cultra, County Down.

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Why museums should be on your half term ‘to do’ list
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Ulster Folk Museum

School may be out for a week, but we’re always learning, and the Ulster Folk Museum is a remarkable outdoor museum and environmental resource where you can discover how reconnecting with our shared past can help us grow and thrive in the world today.

Situated in Cultra, three miles outside of Belfast, you can wander the countryside where there’s also a working farm, explore persevered historic buildings and meet the makers and demonstrators, such as blacksmithing, printing and weaving, sharing stories and skills passed down through many generations of people in Ulster.

Ulster Folk Museum

Ulster Folk Museum - a world of living history in Cultra, County Down

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Ulster American Folk Park

Here is a place where you get to journey back in time as you walk in the footsteps of the many Ulster people who set sail for America in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as those who stayed behind.

During your visit you'll meet first-person interpreters who bring the history and stories of our past to life and in the Bad Bridget exhibition experience, which only opened last year, you’ll relive the fate of Irish women who migrated through an eclectic mix of sights, sounds, smells and objects.

Ulster American Folk Park

Ulster American Folk Park - the story of emigration in the heart of Tyrone

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Ulster Museum

Nestled in the beautiful surroundings of Belfast’s Botanic Gardens, explore the Ulster Museum and make sense of the past, the present and the future through collections of art, natural science and history.

This half term you’ll get to see exhibitions of Irish art,1920s fashion and the ever-popular True Colours schools exhibition is only on display until the end of February.

The museum is also hosting some NI Science Festival events this week, some of which are in collaboration with the museum’s curatorial and education teams. When they say museums have something for everyone, they really do! So get out there this half term and discover them together.

Ulster Museum

Ulster Museum - five floors of amazement in the heart of Belfast.

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