What's On

Showing 13 events for 22 December 2024 to 22 March 2025:

• The Selsey Tramway

  13/07/2024 to 31/03/2025

  Location: The Novium Museum

  This exhibition recounts the fascinating but ill-fated story of Selsey Tramway.
  
  The exhibition recounts how a railway line was proposed to link the then remote and isolated village of Selsey with Chichester. By August 1897, the Selsey Tramway was born, operated by The Hundred of Manhood and Selsey Tramway Company.
  View more details for Selsey Tramway
  

  

  Exhibitions

• I Grew Up 80s

  07/12/2024 to 08/06/2025

  Location: The Novium Museum

  Revisit the vibrancy and innovation that defined a decade!

  'I Grew Up 80s' provides a colourful trip down memory lane, capturing what the decade was like from a child's perspective when music was on cassettes, shellsuits and leg warmers were must-haves and everyone received a Rubik's Cube for Christmas.
  

  The period saw huge developments in science, technology, fashion, entertainment and the way we interact with each other. The exhibition will explore life before the internet and investigates the shared cultural experience of childhood in the 1980s.
  
  Visitors will find more than 200 items of memorabilia showcasing the youthful exuberance of the decade, from toys such as Care Bears, My Little Pony and Transformers, to album covers of timeless musicians like Queen, George Michael, Phil Collins and Kate Bush.
  
  'I Grew Up 80s' offers nostalgic trip down memory lane for many of our visitors, but will also provide an enlightening insight for younger visitors to see the differences between then and now.
  

  As well as exploring what childhood looked like for their parents, children can explore interactive elements of the exhibition including 80s dress up, trivia questions, games and 1980s themed toys, including many old childhood 'must-haves'! 

  
  View more details for I Grew Up 80s
  Book I Grew Up 80s
  

  

  Exhibitions

• Festive Gonk Trail

  14/12/2024 to 04/01/2025

  Location: The Novium Museum

  Our cheeky festive gonks are hiding all around the museum—can you find them all? 
  

  • Track down all the gonks and count how many you find.
  •  Look out for the gonk with the answer to our special question.
  • Claim your festive prize! 

  Open now until Saturday, 4 January. £1 per hunt, including a prize. No need to book—just drop in!
  

  

  Family Events

• Quiet Session - I Grew Up 80s

  04/01/2025 to 04/01/2025

  Location: The Novium Museum

  Our quiet sessions are aimed at anyone who feels that they would benefit from a more relaxed experience when visiting I Grew Up 80s including, but not limited to, adults and children with autism and other sensory or mental health needs and adults living with dementia. All background noise will be turned off during these sessions and gallery capacity limited. At 10.30am sounds will be turned back on, but you are welcome to remain in the exhibition gallery and museum for as long as you like.
  
  Quiet Sessions run from 9.30-10.30am
  View more details for Quiet Sessions
  Book Quiet Session
  

  

  Exhibitions

• Quiet Session - I Grew Up 80s

  01/02/2025 to 01/02/2025

  Location: The Novium Museum

  Our quiet sessions are aimed at anyone who feels that they would benefit from a more relaxed experience when visiting I Grew Up In The 80's including, but not limited to, adults and children with autism and other sensory or mental health needs and adults living with dementia. All background noise will be turned off during these sessions and gallery capacity limited. At 10.30am sounds will be turned back on, but you are welcome to remain in the exhibition gallery and museum for as long as you like. 
  
  View more details for Quiet Sessions
  Book Quiet Session
  

  

  Exhibitions

• The Guildhall - Open Morning

  06/02/2025 to 06/02/2025

  Location: The Guildhall, Priory Park

  Come along and see inside this beautiful building! Open 10:00am - 11:30am
  
  Situated in Priory Park, The Guildhall is a Grade 1 listed building with a rich history. The Guildhall was built in the 1270s by the Franciscans and was dissolved In October 1538 by King Henry VIII. The building witnessed many dramatic events in its history including the trial of members of the Hawkhurst Gang and the trial of the poet and artist William Blake. It later served as the town hall and museum but is now mainly used for weddings and events and is rarely open to the public.
  
  Free, drop in event.
  

  

  Special Events

• 1984: British Pop's Dividing Year - An Evening Talk with David Elliott

  13/02/2025 to 13/02/2025

  Location: The Novium Museum

  Explore the pivotal year of 1984, a turning point in UK music history, as David Elliott delves into his book 1984: British Pop’s Dividing Year in this illustrated talk.
  
  Discover how 1984 encapsulated the entire decade: the shift from post-punk to indie, the dawn of CDs and digital sound, the last great British invasion of US charts, and the launch of Band Aid’s global cause phenomenon. It was British music’s most political year, with artists responding to the Cold War, Apartheid, the miners' strike, and Thatcherism—all set against the paranoid backdrop of Orwell’s 1984.
  
  Relive the era of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Wham!, Duran Duran, and The Smiths. Celebrate the rise of indie labels like 4AD and Factory, the debut of Pet Shop Boys, and the unforgettable sounds of Sade.
  
  From the vinyl revival to the enduring influence of 80s production styles, Elliott also reflects on how the music and icons of the era—like Bowie, Prince, and George Michael—continue to shape our cultural memory.
  
  Don’t miss this engaging journey through one of British music’s most defining years!
  Book now
  

  

  Talks and Tours

• I Grew Up 80s - evening opening

  13/02/2025 to 13/02/2025

  Location: The Novium Museum

  We’re staying open late on Thursday, 13th February to give you more time to explore I Grew Up 80s! Why not pop in with friends after work and dive into over 200 iconic items of 1980s memorabilia, from toys like Care Bears and Transformers to the sounds of Queen and Kate Bush.
  
  View more details for I Grew Up 80s
  Book I Grew Up 80s
  

  

  Special Events

• Quiet Session - I Grew Up 80s

  01/03/2025 to 01/03/2025

  Location: The Novium Museum

  Our quiet sessions are aimed at anyone who feels that they would benefit from a more relaxed experience when visiting I Grew Up In The 80's including, but not limited to, adults and children with autism and other sensory or mental health needs and adults living with dementia. All background noise will be turned off during these sessions and gallery capacity limited. At 10.30am sounds will be turned back on, but you are welcome to remain in the exhibition gallery and museum for as long as you like. 
  
  View more details for Quiet Sessions
  Book Quiet Session
  

  

  Exhibitions

• The Guildhall - Open Morning

  06/03/2025 to 06/03/2025

  Location: The Guildhall, Priory Park

  Come along and see inside this beautiful building! Open 10:00am - 11:30am
  
  Situated in Priory Park, The Guildhall is a Grade 1 listed building with a rich history. The Guildhall was built in the 1270s by the Franciscans and was dissolved In October 1538 by King Henry VIII. The building witnessed many dramatic events in its history including the trial of members of the Hawkhurst Gang and the trial of the poet and artist William Blake. It later served as the town hall and museum but is now mainly used for weddings and events and is rarely open to the public.
  
  Free, drop in event.
  

  

  Special Events

• Mystery Warrior: The North Bersted Man

  'In more than thirty years of archaeology this is the most spectacular discovery that I have witnessed' - James Kenny, District Archaeologist.

  The 'Mystery Warrior' was discovered in 2008 by Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd. This was found during archaeological investigations, prior to the construction of Berkley Homes' Bersted Park.
  

  Arguably the most elaborately equipped warrior grave ever found in England, archaeologists believe he was a refugee French Gallic fighter who fled Julius Caesar's Roman Army as they swept across continental Europe around 50BC.
  

  
  View more details for Mystery Warrior - The North Bersted Man
  

  

  Exhibitions

• King Charles I Bust

  This important historical sculpture depicts King Charles I wearing a gold crown and chain of office.
  

  The unique bust, which was created by Hubert Le Sueur — an appointed sculptor to King Louis XIII of France who spent most of his career at the English court of King Charles I — was presented to the City of Chichester, West Sussex, where it was displayed in the niche of Chichester's Market Cross from the 1660s.
  

  
  View more details for King Charles I Bust
  

  

  Exhibitions

• The Racton Man

  'Racton Burial', a permanent exhibition located in the first floor gallery, delves into the history of a fascinating burial discovered in 1989, but only recently thoroughly investigated by a team of specialists. Find out about this individual's captivating story of life and death.
  View more details for The Racton Man
  

  

  Exhibitions