Upcoming Events

An exciting dog trail with the delightful dogs from Alice Tait’s storybook No, Nancy, No! a Dog Chase in New York. Explore the American garden and find all the dogs in their Santa hats, using Alice’s beautifully illustrated map as your guide. With fun story-themed activities to collect at the end of the trail.

Create a beautiful Christmas star ornament to take home. Explore the geometry of starpatterns and make your own celestial string decoration. Free with museum entry.

Enjoy a magical experience, receive a gift and meet Father Christmas in an interactive experience with professional actors. Help the elves wake Father Christmas and hear a story of how they plan to make this year the best Christmas ever. Then have your photo taken with Father Christmas and his magical musical elf Sprinkles. Children and adults both receive a gift. Suitable for ages 3-12 years.

The Museum has been inundated with some very mischievous Christmas elves and your help is needed to keep an eye on them! From having snowball fights and tinkering under the bonnet to driving a car and a pint-size pit crew, can you spot all of the elves on your visit? Included with Museum entry.

Meet Santa as he reads a Christmas story. Children will also be given hot chocolate (or alternative) and freshly made cookies whilst they listen to the story, and a festive gift to take home. There is also the opportunity to take your photo with Santa after the story reading. Spaces are limited so early booking recommended. Adults go free (maximum of 2 adults/child).

Meet Charlie the Christmas Clownfish (Santa’s underwater representative) this Christmas and write a ‘fishmas’ letter to Santa too.

Festive fun for the whole family to enjoy with free Christmas card colouring, Frank on a Tank Elf Trail, special talks from the Guide Team, Christmas-themed 1940s House and Shop, free kids trails and dressing up.

Family art trail to find twelve ewe-nique sculptures at locations across the zoo. It’s the perfect festive activity, free for visitors and packed full of baa-rilliant adventures! In collaboration with Aardman, and in partnership with global art producer, Wild in Art, each sculpture, standing at 160cm tall, has been individually designed by artists from across the region and beyond. The Christmas sculptures include: Fleece Navidad by Jessica Perrin, Snowfall Symphony by Amrit Singh and Shaun the Tree-t by Megan Heather…

The Unforgettable Behaviour exhibition showcases 39 photographs from previous Wildlife Photographer of the Year collections, displaying some of the most incredible animal behaviour moments ever captured on camera. The photos show an extraordinary range of surprising, and often deeply moving, acts by animals. They have been chosen to allow visitors to connect with animals they might never otherwise see and to inspire everyone to care about the world around us. The collection includes the works of several American photographers, with…

See the resident falcons, hawks and owls and enjoy a flying display (11am and 2:30pm), see three different species in the sky with commentary from one of the team. Tickets are valid for the whole day, to allow you to come and go as many times as you like.

Willow reindeers will be prancing around the garden, the Bakehouse will be ready for Christmas post with a letter writing station and north pole postbox, and there will be Christmas trees twinkling in every corner. The Cloister will be hosting a Community Christmas Tree festival with trees decorated by local groups using handmade and upcycled decorations. 

Create cosy Christmas crafts, gallop with hobby-reindeer and snuggle up for a festive story with Father Christmas in his magical grotto. The experience lasts 50 minutes and includes a photo opportunity with Father Christmas and a gift; aimed at children aged 3-12 years.    Booking essential via the website or call 0344 249 1895.

Featuring four Thomas Gainsborough portraits and 18 contemporary artists, the first in a new programme of contemporary art exhibitions. The paintings will be presented as key components of a group exhibition of portraiture featuring 18 contemporary British artists selected by guest curator Ingrid Swenson MBE. The exhibition is intended for reflection on the experience of artists and their sitters or subject in the act of making the artwork, and to consider what similarities and differences there may be for the…

Frenchay Forestry will be selling their Christmas trees in the Aerospace Bristol car park and as a special offer, anyone who purchases a tree can claim 15% off anything in the gift shop when they show their receipt. Similarly, those who shop in the gift store can enjoy 10% off their Christmas tree by presenting their gift shop receipt.

Creative activities, storytelling performances with Michael Loader on 8, 15 and 22 December at 11am, 12pm, 2pm and 3pm including ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. In addition, there will be face painting 30 November, 7 and 21 December.

Packed full of wonderful, familiar Christmas tunes, all played live with Christmas greats such as Wham, Mariah, The Pogues and much more. Comedy, bubbles, fun characters and puppets; grab your tinsel and rock around the Christmas Tree with Steph, Craig and Ollie the Octopus. Suitable for children aged 0-6, and their adults.

The perfect place to practice your skating and show off your moves! With wintery music, a cosy bar and seasonal drinks, be transported in to a winter wonderland.

Get comfy, listen carefully and be ready for a Christmas story with one of the most important characters of the season. It's a busy time of year for Christmas VIPs, can you hear the sleigh bells ringing? Ticket price includes a gift and entry to the abbey grounds, cloister and decorated Great Hall. Normal admission applies for non-member adults.

The reindeer have escaped from the stables and are running riot across the estate! Father Christmas needs your help to track them down so he can round them up to pull his sleigh. Using a map of the locations they were last seen, explore the estate and see if you can find all nine reindeer. Last entry for the trail at 3pm.

Opportunity for an adult and child to work together to assemble a wooden reindeer kit with assistance from experienced tutors. Sessions at 10:30am, 12:30pm and 2pm; please booking early advised.

Aa family-focused exhibition, showcasing over 60 dragon-themed objects from the Museum’s collection. Explore the stories and symbolism of dragons across China, Japan, and Korea through our family-friendly activities. Design your own dragon to hang in the ‘Dragon Gallery’; write your own dragon myth; and learn more about their history through the Fun Facts Trail and Family Activity Guide.

Aa family-focused exhibition, showcasing over 60 dragon-themed objects from the Museum’s collection. Explore the stories and symbolism of dragons across China, Japan, and Korea through our family-friendly activities. Design your own dragon to hang in the ‘Dragon Gallery’; write your own dragon myth; and learn more about their history through the Fun Facts Trail and Family Activity Guide.

Fairytales meet a Victorian Christmas in this immersive storytelling experience, perfect for both the young and the young at heart. Discover the three bears' Christmas feast, follow Hansel's trail to the tea-room and listen to some fairy tales in the Library. Throughout Christmas there will be a free activity sheet to keep little minds occupied and storytelling sessions at the weekends. 

Three gnomes, Hobby, Ivor and Toe, are terrified of winter because it’s cold and nothing happens in December.  When they fish a cracker out of their pond, a riddle tells them there used to be a thing called Christmas…. and they are charged with bringing it back to life! They take a tour through the tales and traditions behind everything we love about Christmas, only to find someone is trying to stop them.  Who is it? And can they bring…

Lead by Sarah Davies, Mental Health Programme Lead, to celebrate the Winter Solstice. Meet in the Farm’s Roundhouse and explore what the solstice is, the story of the solstice and how it has been celebrated. This will be followed by a meditation and then a chance to connect to the earth by planting bulbs that will flower in Spring. Then head down to the orchard to walk the solstice spiral and reflect on the year that’s gone and the year…

Yoga sessions suitable for ages 14-16 years, equipment provided. Free but donations welcomed to support the Teen Yoga Foundation, Boys in Mind, Baby Check Bath and the YMCA.  

Enjoy the sunset with a warm drink, Christmas atmosphere and owls flying silently overhead. The opportunity to come face to face with some of natures most stunning species, flying two of our owls yourself. All proceeds go to support the Project in raptor monitoring, research, conservation and modern welfare.