Santa at the Station
Come and visit Santa and receive a special Christmas gift!
Activities include arts and crafts, face painting and mini-train ride.
View the promotional leaflet for this event [pdf document, 200kb]
Be a wild child!
Be a Wild Child at the Head of Steam on Sunday 16th October between 11am and 3pm.
Join in with fun wildlife and craft activities in the Museum’s garden and Northern Rail Activity Room, including making habitat boxes, bird feeding and watching.
Representatives from Natural England, the Durham Wildlife Trust, the RSPB (Darlington Branch) and Darlington and Teesdale Naturalists’ Field Club will be providing activities, information and expertise.
Activities are free but normal entrance fee applies.
Halloween Fun Day
Come along to our specially decorated Museum in your favourite Halloween costume and meet Scooby-Doo!
The Arthur Wharton Story re-enacted at Head of Steam
A film exploring the life and times of Arthur Wharton, Britain’s first black professional footballer was re-enacted on Monday 15th August at the Head of Steam, Darlington Railway Museum.
Born in Ghana, Wharton came to Darlington in 1882 to train as a Methodist missionary but eventually became an athlete, helping the Quakers lift the Cleveland Challenge Cup and set a 10 second world record for 100 yards in athletics. After Darlington he went on to play for Preston North End and then Sheffield United but unfortunately died destitute and penniless and was buried in an unmarked grave.
There are plans to erect a statue to Arthur Wharton somewhere in Darlington. But who was the star of the show I hear you ask? Darlington Borough Council’s very own Phil Haymer, Events Officer! The ten-minute film on Wharton’s time in Darlington is being made by Mike Tweddle, a friend of shop owner Shaun Campbell who has successfully raised both funds and profile for the Wharton statue in the town.
Dave Tetlow, Museum Manager said, “I’m so pleased that the museum was used as a backdrop for telling this almost unknown part of Darlington’s history. Arthur Wharton’s name needs to be remembered and I think this film will go a long way in completing the story”.
Romans at the Railway Museum
Sunday 10th July 2011 10am to 4pm
Museum, Garden and Piercebridge Roman Fort
Witness Roman Britain brought back to life with re-enactors at the Head of Steam Museum. An exhibition about Piercebridge Roman Fort explains our Roman connections. A vintage bus will also take visitors to the site where they will receive a guided tour (places limited). Normal museum entrance fee applies.
Maximus Scratchus (aka Eric Christoffersen from Svenson's Flea Circus) prepares the Roman "Circus Minimus" for the Romans at the Railway Museum event day on the 10th July 2011. The event starts at 10am and runs until 4pm.