Horrible Half Term at IWM North

Between Saturday 24 October and Sunday 1 November there are daily family friendly activities, exploring what life was like on the home front during the Second World War Blitz

Families visiting IWM North can test themselves against a host of horrible half term challenges this October - stumble through a blackout, hide under the kitchen table, then race against a pigeon to deliver a message on a bike. 

Britain, seventy-five years ago, faced one of the greatest dangers in its history – the Blitz. Now, to mark the anniversary, IWM North, part of Imperial War Museums, in Manchester has teamed up with Horrible Histories® to reveal some of the terrible truths behind this catastrophic conflict.

Explore the new Horrible Histories: Blitzed Brits exhibitionby joining the half term family friendly tour, running every day at 1.30pm from Saturday 24 October – Sunday 1 November.  Hear how 14 year old Charity Bick volunteered to become an ARP dispatch rider. Bick was awarded a medal for her bravery during the Second World War, after she repeatedly braved the bombs to deliver important messages on her bicycle during air raids.

Pick up a survival guide and begin your journey through the Blitz. Cover your ears and hold your nose as you peak into a 1940s toilet and sniff your way through stinky smells, from pig bins to ration stew. Chase the rat out of the pig bin, then create your own rotten recipes from wartime ingredients – hedgehog casserole anyone?

Don’t miss the ration weary 1940s housewife - a family friendly character on the loose in the exhibition – to find out just what rations she has in her shopping basket.

Discover the Blitz through the eyes of Dotty, a 10 year-old girl whose mum is an Air Raid Warden, in IWM North’s interactive storytelling sessions, every day of the half term week at 10.30am. Follow Dotty as she goes on a daring rescue mission and get hands on with genuine pieces of shrapnel collected by children during the Blitz.

Drop into the Open Studio between 11am – 12.30pm and 2pm – 3.30pm every dayto get up close with items not on display. Sketch your own still life masterpiece of Second World War objects from the museums’ collection, inspired by the diaries of Air Raid Warden Jo Oakman.

Created in partnership with Scholastic children’s books, the free Horrible Histories®: Blitzed Brits exhibition is based on the words of author Terry Deary and contains new illustrations by Horrible Histories’ chief drawer Martin Brown. 

Connect with @IWMNorth #BlitzedBrits on Twitter or Facebook.com/iwm.north