What’s On

Activities and Events

A variety of exciting activities, workshops and events take place in the museum galleries, the community rooms and out in the town. These include getting hands on with museum objects, art sessions, memory cafes and ‘behind-the-scenes’ tours of the museum stores. Keep checking back regularly to see what’s coming up.

Latest Events:

poster text: 11th Dec Find out about the history of the Christmas cracker, invented here in England! We have all of the materials that you will need to make your own special cracker too. Our Make and Create session for the Christmas season will be based in the middle of the market so do come along and find us on our stall.
Museum Winter Closure Poster Museum closes: 1.30pm Sat 11th December Museum reopens: 9:30am Tues 18th January

Happening now: The Museum has it’s own radio show! Find out more here

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Full Details

Museum Make and Create: Train of Thought

To coincide with Newton Abbot library’s railway fun day on 4th December our monthly Make and Create session will be inspired by trains!

Saturday 4th December 10:30-12:30

FREE to attend (booking essential) book here

Make a concertina book and use collage and words to share thoughts and memories of journeys you have made or wish to make in the future. Your books will then go on display in the library!

We have introduced two different ticket types to make your booking easier:

  • Type One: 1 adult and 1 child working as a pair
  • Type Two: 1 adult and 2 children working as a group

If you have any queries about booking your place, please contact the museum on 01626 201 121

If tickets sell out, you can request to be added to the waiting list by emailing [email protected] with your name and mobile number

Railway Studies and Modellers Show

Please note this is at the Library NOT the museum

Saturday 4th December 10am-4pm

A celebration of all things rail including model railways and rare books and artefacts from the Railway Studies Collection

Suggested donation: £4.25

Find out more here







11th Dec Find out about the history of the Christmas cracker, invented here in England! We have all of the materials that you will need to make your own special cracker too. Our Make and Create session for the Christmas season will be based in the middle of the market so do come along and find us on our stall.

Museum Make and Create SPECIAL: Cracking Christmas

Saturday 11th December, 10am-3pm, Market: Town Centre

Find out about the history of the Christmas cracker, invented here in England! We have all of the materials that you will need to make your own special cracker too. Our Make and Create session for the Christmas season will be based in the middle of the market so do come along and find us on our stall.












The Museum will be closing to the public over the Christmas period and into the New Year to allow us to do Collections Care and look after our wonderful history.

Museum closes:

1.30pm Sat 11th December

Museum reopens:

 9:30am Tues 18th January








Relaxed Visit

29th January 1-3pm

Free entry and no need to book!

Newton Abbot Museum welcomes anyone who might benefit from visiting the Museum at a quieter time.

Explore our galleries in a calm and relaxed environment where we will ensure our sound levels are reduced. There will be a quiet space available away from the galleries, and you are welcome to borrow our new sensory bags and ear-defenders.

These sessions are great for visitors with Autistic Spectrum Disorder or other communication and sensory needs and their families / carers but are suitable for all.

To help you prepare for your visit we have made a visual story which you can see if you click here. For other access information please visit our Museum Access page.

If you have any questions about the Museum’s relaxed visits or require any further information please email [email protected] or phone 01626 201121



Temporary Exhibitions

With the community rooms now up and running our temporary exhibition programme is on! You can find them upstairs (or button 2 on the lift)


There are currently no temporary exhibitions on display but watch this space, there will be more in the new year 🎆



Within the community rooms, the museum and local groups/schools can hold regular exhibitions of collections and artwork.

There is always something new to see and do in the museum – even for regular visitors. Every month, a different group or school chooses a new item for our ‘Object of the Month’ case. The photo wall has a new theme each month, with historic images of local places, people and events from different eras. The ‘Your Space’ case is updated regularly with displays of collections or artwork by the local community. Our ‘Recent Donations’ area allows us to display the very latest objects that have been added to the museum collection. In addition, our bespoke gallery cases have a flexible design so that displays can be easily updated and changed and the objects swapped with items in our stores.

Do you have an idea for an exhibition or display you’d like to do? We’d love to hear from you – please contact us with your suggestions.

You can find details of Town Council events here and the full listing of Museum Friends Talks here

You can view our museum gallery of past events and activities here or explore past temporary exhibitions and the museum collection here

The community rooms in Newton’s Place are available for hire, full information is on The Town Council’s website here