Explore design and innovation at M&S with exciting hands-on activities, and enjoy free refreshments!

You can also browse our dressing-up rails, try our family trails and go shopping in the Penny Bazaar!

This event is part of Be Curious, the University of Leeds’ annual family open day with loads of free family-friendly activities. Come along and get hands on with the research that happens right here in Leeds.

Booking details: No need to book, just drop in – it’s all free!

On the 300th anniversary of John Smeaton, dubbed the Father of Civil Engineering, our new exhibition celebrates civil engineering in its many forms! Uncover unique objects that were central to Smeaton’s journey and an accompanying exhibition by our Young Smeatonians group which poses challenging questions about the subject.

The exhibition is held in partnership with Leeds 2023 and forms part of the Smeaton300 programme.

Benjamin Lucas was born in Leeds in 1791, but an 1833 conviction for larceny and sentence to fourteen years transportation would change the course of his life for ever.

Let us take you on a gloriously nostalgic trip back to the golden days of traditional Music Hall and Variety. For your delight and delectation, this talented company offers song, dance, magic and laughter as they pay tribute to the many great stars who appeared on BBC TV’s longest-running series The Good Old Days.

A screen presentation about Bank House Horsforth and the troubles of the Stable family, and maybe a walk if the weather is kind. 

Delve into the archive of Horsforth Museum on screen, with this 45 minute journey of suprises.

Join members of the team behind the 'Forgotten Battles: Gender in the Armouries' project to discover the hidden queer histories within the Royal Armouries Museum - and get your hands on some objects from the collection! Created by local queer people, 'Forgotten Battles' is a trail and exhibition (on display until November) which reclaims the Royal Armouries as a queer space, revealing hidden stories of gender within the museum.

Great British Motor Shows are creating another signature show, this time, at Harewood House. Sitting on the lawns overlooking the impressive House façade, the Motor Show will have hundreds of classic and performance cars, bikes and commercials to visit, alongside the beautiful House and gardens, making it a great family day out.

The Rolls Royce Rally brings together some of the UK’s most prized motor cars and their proud owners, and 2024 marks the 44th year that the rally has been held at Harewood.

Why not take some time out, enjoy a picnic or ice cream on the North Front with the iconic House as your backdrop, and join us for a quintessentially English family day out!

Each year of the decade is represented by a piece of popular music. 

Themes from the songs are enlarged upon, so by the end of the talk, subjects covered include fashions back then, the Cold War, Vietnam, flower power, the space race – and more! 

A light-hearted and nostalgic look back at a decade many remember fondly!