Events
Take your pick from our selection of special events - and remember Kids Go Free from 13 February!
Skip to Putting History to the Test or Half Term Fun.
Was it really like that? Find out the reality of life in times gone by in a fun and practical way. Take a closer look at historical objects from the museum in our interactive Studio spaces.
Rag rugs
16 January - 12 February, All day, every day
Rag rugs were a cheap and colourful way of covering floors, using old bits of cloth saved from worn-out clothes and furnishings. See how a traditional rag rug is made and even have a go yourself.
Know Your Place: Dining with King James the First
Half Term Week - 13 - 21 February, All day, every day
Discover the essential rules and etiquettes of preparing for a seventeenth century feast as you are challenged to lay the dining table according to the guests' status and wealth - if you get it wrong it could be more than your job at stake. Held in our Kitchen Studio.
Bringing-up Baby
Half Term Week - 13 - 21 February, All day, every day
A baby feeding 'murder' bottle. So-called because of the number of germs it typically housed.
Explore how babies were cared for in the past by looking at traditional methods of swaddling and feeding in our Costume and Textile Studio.
Get up close to fantastic original objects such as the 'murder bottle' and teething ring.
Younger visitors can also help to 'care' for baby by taking part in our role play game.
Napoleon's Britons
Half Term Week - 13 - 21 February, All day, every day
Inspired by the book Napoleon's Britons by local author Paul Brunyee, visit the Military Studio and discover the reality for people fighting these wars and experience some of the day-to-day hardships of a soldier's life.
Half Term Fun
Family trails down Kirkgate, the Victorian Street
13-21 February, All day, every day
Pick up a family trail during half term week, and discover more about the Victorian period in our world-famous Victorian street, Kirkgate. Suitable for children aged four to ten years, the trails lead visitors on a journey through the sights, sounds and smells of Victorian England.
A child looks out on Kirkgate, our Victorian Street
Visit the toy shop for bygone childhood memories, smell the smell of the Candle Maker's shop and factory, take your seat in the Victorian school room and talk to the shopkeepers, the grocer or the banker for flavour of nineteenth century life.
For a real taste of the time pop to the sweet shop for a traditional sugar mouse. Queen Victoria is on the throne, bread is 6d a loaf and the Hansom Cab waits in the street.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to York Castle Museum this half term. I am a 14-year-old student and have visited York Castle Museum since I was 2 years old. This visit was just as enjoyable as the first and York Castle Museum is still my favourite museum."
Visitor to York Castle Museum
