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Woman child crouching behind mushroom sculpture

The school summer holidays may be coming to an end, but there are still lots of events and activities available for people of all ages here at Durham University attractions in the weeks ahead.

On Thursday 22 August, join some of our curators to explore how they conserve and care for our precious collections. The ‘Dusty Objects and Tough Decisions’ talk takes place at the World Heritage Site Visitor Centre, Owengate, Durham, from 5.30-6.30pm. Entry is free.

Also on Thursday 22 August, at the Botanic Garden, storyteller Elizabeth Baker will tell stories and legends from around the world. Elizabeth will be on site from 10am to 4pm. Normal Garden admission charges apply.

Science, music, art and Everest

Next week (August 27-29), we're running Junior Scientist – three days of fun science for children aged four to 11. Participants will get to play in virtual reality and develop creative skills. The half-day sessions are free, but must be booked in advance: psytech.awh.durham.ac.uk/juniorscientist.

Back at the Botanic Garden, visitors can download an app, Alice Dali AR, which combines paintings by Salvador Dali with passages from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for a magical augmented reality experience.

The Oriental Museum is currently hosting an exhibition titled Eternal Ascent, marking the centenary of the first Western attempt to climb Mount Everest, and told through photographs from Bentley Beetham, who joined the expedition.

Untold stories and never-before-seen artefacts

Meanwhile, the Museum of Archaeology has an online exhibition titled ‘Under Durham: The Untold Stories’, telling stories of ordinary people who have lived in Durham over the centuries.

Durham Castle offers guided tours, including an exhibition of never-before-seen artefacts from the Castle’s Norman Chapel. The Chapel is currently being sympathetically renovated and the Repair and Care exhibition details some of this painstaking work.

Outside the Bill Bryson Library visitors can enjoy an open-air art exhibition from Strike!, a women-led public art collective, and nearby the Palatine Centre is hosting an exhibition from our most recent Student Art Prize.

Find out more

- For more information and full listings, please visit our Things To Do web pages. 

This article was first published in the Durham Advertiser.