Your Easter bucket list at the museums
Discover the origins of the Easter egg, print Easter cards 1900s style, become a volunteer, explore planes, trains and space trails, get into magic on an emigrant sailing ship!
Last updated 4th Apr 2023
It’s the Easter bucket list of memory-making experiences you never knew you needed, because Northern Ireland’s national museums are more than just a good day out. They’re the places that celebrate who we are, telling the stories of our past, challenging our present and shaping our future; and these Easter activities across Ulster Folk Museum, Ulster American Folk Park, Ulster Museum and Ulster Transport Museum are a wonderful way to make special memories.
Ulster Folk Museum, Cultra: 8th – 14th April
Spring will hopefully be in the air for the full week of Easter celebrations at Ulster Folk Museum. Experience what Easter celebrations would have looked like in rural Ulster in the 1900s and what traditions are kept alive to this day!
Learn about the origins of the Easter egg, take part in traditional games, watch talented makers demonstrating their skills, keeping heritage skills alive and take part in themed craft demonstrations yourself.
On Easter Monday, there’ll be a special workshop the whole family can get involved in, making Spring faeries from natural materials. Forage for materials on the grounds of the museum to make your faeries, then choose somewhere in the museum as their new home or bring them home for Easter.
Open 10am – 5pm, general admission prices, book your tickets at ulsterfolkmuseum.org
Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh: 9th – 11th April
Discover what a traditional Easter would have been like centuries ago in the place that tells the story of Ulster people’s emigration to North America in the 18th and 19th centuries. There'll be horse and wagon rides, a special Easter trail for kids to follow and tasty, traditional food to try. Watch a magic show on the Brig Union ship - a replica of the emigrant sailing ship that carried members of the Mellon family to Baltimore in 1816 - and take part in craft demonstrations, meet street characters and swing by storytelling and traditional music sessions.
Open 10am – 5pm, general admission prices, book your tickets at ulsteramericanfolkpark.org
Become a volunteer!
If volunteering is on your 2023 bucket list, here’s a great opportunity to tick it off your list at your local museum. There are lots of volunteer roles to fill at Ulster Folk Museum and Ulster American Folk Park over Easter, from assisting the Front of House teams with meeting and greeting, general wayfinding, helping facilitate craft demonstrations or even assisting with the annual Easter egg roll (unique to the Folk Museum) on Easter Monday!
Find out more about volunteering with the museums here.
Ulster Museum, Belfast: 8th and 9th April
Check out the hour-long Easter tours at the Ulster Museum, taking in all five floors of awe and wonder entertaining adults and children alike. With exhibitions of art, history and natural sciences, you'll be able to view some of the highlights from the museum’s collection, including items from the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society. You'll also get to learn and explore more about the history of the museum itself.
This is a free tour and is open to everyone. The tour will be running on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th only and pre-booking via ulstermuseum.org is required.
Ulster Transport Museum, Cultra
The epic ‘Our Place in Space’ trail may have departed North Down, but did you know, Ulster Transport Museum has become the permanent home to the section of the trail that started on its site, from the Sun to Mars? So you and any mini explorers in your life can still see the trains, planes and space trails of the Ulster Transport Museum this Easter. And with new, direct access to the coastal path from the museum site during opening hours, you can still do the remaining voyage into space virtually by downloading the ‘Our Place in Space’ app from the museum’s website.