Leeds Museums and Galleries

15/10/2026

🎃 Spooky season is calling... 🦇

🌿 Make a Halloween Garland at Abbey House Museum, an adult craft session in which you will create a special garland for spooky season! No experience necessary, materials provided.
🗓️ Thurs 22 October, 2:30 – 4:30 pm. 🎟️Booking required, £15 pp including General Admission.

🏭 Visit Leeds Industrial Museum for a Halloween Mill Tour and celebrate the spooky season by taking a deep dive into the dark history of Armley Mills! Escorted by one of our expert guides, you’ll have the chance to explore rooms off the main visitor route to hear spine-tingling tales of haunted mills that inspired popular Victorian writers.
🗓️ Fri 30, Sat 31 October, from 3pm. 🎟️Booking required, Adult £12.50, Child £7.50.

🍸 Attend a BYOB Poisonous Plant and Rant at Leeds Discovery Centre for a tour of the museum store and to learn how to make your very own herbarium sheet, at a scientific collection standard, with our curators!
🗓️ Wed 28 October, 6 – 8 pm. 🎟️Booking required, £18 pp.

👉 Book now: https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/whats-on?start=2026-10-01&end=2026-1031

10/10/2026

Today is world Mental Health Day 🌍 And we are about to kick off Leeds Mindfulness Festival at Kirkstall Abbey and Abbey House Museum. It's the perfect time to pause, rest, and set aside time to take care of your wellbeing - whether you're new to mindfulness or an experienced practitioner.

Events coming up:
🌳 Reflective Walks with Brahma Kumaris at Kirkstall Abbey, 14 & 21 October, 10.30am
🧘‍♀️A Quiet Mind in a Loud World - The Art of Raja Yoga Meditation at Abbey House Museum, 15 October, 10.30am
🪡 Mindful Stitching at Abbey House Museum, 20 October, 2pm
🌷 Enrich Your Inner Self: Poetry, Nature and Walking at Kirkstall Abbey, 21 October 12pm

08/10/2026

It's October, are you feeling spooky yet? Here at Kirkstall Abbey we're spooky all year round, but we now have a scare-tastic selection of Halloween themed books available in our shop and online, to help you get your haunt on 👻

Take a look next time you visit or browse the full selection in our online shop.

08/10/2026

06/09/2026

🔍 Ever wondered what treasures are hidden deep within the museum's collections? Looking for a free family-friendly day out that focuses on the beauty of botany?

Join us at Leeds Discovery Centre for a special open day celebrating all things botanical. Enjoy family-friendly behind-the-scenes tours of our collection store, discover historic herbarium specimens and try botanical crafts! You will also be greeted by in-character visual artist, Jude Kershaw from Run of the Mill History as she gives insight into life as an early 20th century female botanist.

🌼 Meet an early 1900s botanist 🌿 See century-old plant specimens 🎨 Take part in hands-on crafts

Perfect for curious minds of all ages!

🗓️ Saturday 12 September, 10am - 4pm
📍Leeds Discovery Centre
💵Free (Donations welcome)

👉Learn more: https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/whats-on/dead-plants-discovery-day-t6qc

03/09/2026

👶✨ Little explorer's welcome! ✨👶

Looking for fun with your under 5s? Check out our hands-on activities, learning, and play held across our sites and inspired by our museum collections. It's the perfect chance for little ones to learn, discover and make new friends through creative play.

🐯 Leeds City Museum, Tiny Tigers, Fridays from 10 - 11:45 am
🏭 Leeds Industrial Museum, Little Bobbins, first Thursday of every month, from 10 am – 12 pm
🏛️ Lotherton, Little Lotherton, second Friday of every month, from 10 am – 12 pm
🧑‍🔬 Abbey House Museum, Little Scientists and Little Shoppers, alternate Fridays, 10 – 11:15 am

Drop in and start your next adventure with us!

👉Visit our website to learn more: https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/whats-on?genres%5B%5D=21

02/09/2026

💃 The halls of Temple Newsam are coming alive with dance! 💃

Join us for Steps Through Time, a unique celebration of movement spanning hundreds of years of history. Wander through the house and enjoy performances or get involved with workshops! Encounter everything from medieval dance and ballroom classics to hip hop performances.

Take part, learn something new, or simply enjoy the spectacle in one of Leeds' most impressive historic homes.

👉 Visit our website to learn more about the day's performances and workshops: https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/whats-on/steps-through-time-a-day-of-dance-st32

🗓️ Saturday 5 September, 11 am – 4:30 pm
📍Temple Newsam House
💵£10.50 per adult, £4.50 per child, booking required

01/09/2026

September means England's largest festival of history and culture, Heritage Open Days! Explore free events across our sites and learn more about the history of Leeds...

🏭 Leeds Industrial Museum, Cottage and Gardens Tours: Join us for a free tour of our cottage rooms or our gardens and ground, Friday 11 - Sunday 20 September, from 11:30 am.

🏛️ Abbey House Museum, Museum Memories: The 2026 Alastair Laurence Lecture: This event is the inaugural Alastair Laurence Lecture. Dr Laurence had a lifelong scholarly devotion to Abbey House and wrote an authoritative work on its history up to 1927, Friday 11 September, 10:00 - 11:15 am.

🍃 Leeds Discovery Centre, Dead Plants Discovery Day: Join the Dead Plants Society at Leeds Discovery Centre for botany related arts & crafts and a behind the scenes look at the Natural Science Collection, Saturday 12 September, from 4 pm.

👉 Visit the website to learn more: https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/whats-on-home-qrnt

26/08/2026

🍂 September is almost here, join us for a new season of enlightening events and opportunities to learn, connect, and get inspired! 🍁

💐 Immerse yourself in the serene beauty of Japanese floral artistry with a calming afternoon of Ikebana flower arranging lead by artist Gillian Hui.
Lotherton Hall, Wednesday 2 September, 1 – 4 pm, Booking required.

☕ Discover the history of tea in relation to Temple Newsam in this fascinating hands-on experience, including a tea tasting session and a slice of cake in the historic Dining Room.
Temple Newsam House, Thursday 3 September, 11 am – 2 pm, Booking required.

✒️ Join award winning screenwriter Lisa Holdsworth for an exclusive evening at Abbey House as she shares the real story of how to make it in TV writing.
Abbey House Museum, Wednesday 2 September, 6:30 – 8 pm, Booking required.

🗿 Join us at the art gallery for a very special late opening event, moulded by the surreal concepts and forms of Leeds Art Gallery’s Summer of Sculpture.
Leeds Art Gallery, Wednesday 16 September, 6 pm, Booking required.

👉 Visit the website to learn more: https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/whats-on?genres%5B%5D=5

18/08/2026

🌞 Make the most of the last few weeks of summer with low-cost activities across our sites 🌞

📸 In the Frame, Store Tour and Workshop: Join us for a store tour and family crafts to celebrate World Photography Week, with a range of photography-inspired activities.
Leeds Discovery Centre, Thursday 20 August, 10 am – 12 pm or 1 – 3 pm, Booking required.

🐝 Birds, Bees, Bats & Bugs: A fun family nature-inspired trail for the school holidays, with crafty versions of the abbey's birds, bees, bats and butterflies.
Kirkstall Abbey, until Sunday 30 August, from 10 am, Drop-in.

🧶 Wild summer at the Mill: Join us throughout the summer holidays for nature inspired felt and wool craft workshops throughout August.
Leeds Industrial Museum, until Monday 31 August, from 10 am, Drop-in.

👉 Visit the website to learn more: https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/whats-on?start=&end=&genres%5B%5D=12