An Indoor Family Day
As Sunday 26 August drew near it became apparent that the weather for this year’s Family Day was going to be extremely wet and windy with a weather front sweeping through during the daylight hours from the west. The Museum’s Events Team decided the previous day to implement our ‘wet weather plan’ and laid out tables in the Merston and Meryl Hansed Memorial aircraft halls to accommodate the stalls normally placed outside.
The weather forecast was accurate and the planned early afternoon Boultbee Flight Academy Spitfire flying display was cancelled. However, during the day the Family Day attracted over 700 visitors who braved the elements to enjoy the indoor stalls and exhibits. Our engineers opened up indoor aircraft cockpits not normally open to the public, the Worthing Model Tank Club demonstrated their mini radio controlled tanks and new this year, Mark White helped our little visitors build AIRFIX model aircraft. Free to their parents, the ‘Make-it and Take-it’ event is designed to get youngsters into plastic model making and the activity proved to be a great success.
Also a big hit with our little visitors were readings by Rosemary Coxon and 11 year Hanna Thomas, granddaughter of Richard Thomas, the Museum’s Education officer, from David Walliams’ book ‘Grandpa’s Great Escape’.
In conclusion, a very successful Family Day enjoyed by staff and visitors alike in spite of some terrible weather.
Photos: Brian Blackman & John Chivers
