Penlee House

Baby Sensory
2026-03-30 10:00 - 11:30, 2026-03-16 10:00 - 11:30, 2026-03-02 10:00 - 11:30, 2026-02-16 10:00 - 11:30 UTC
Free, drop-in session for babies from birth to crawlers. Come and experience the amazing artworks whilst exploring sensory play together in the Gallery.

Arty Afternoons: Fuzzy Felt faces
2026-03-28 14:30 - 15:30
There are all sorts of faces in the current exhibition. Create a fuzzy felt face shaped board and add in different eyes, ears, noses and other facial features!

FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm.

FREE Public Guided Tours
2026-03-26 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-03-24 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-03-19 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-03-17 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-03-12 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-03-10 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-03-05 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-03-03 11:00 - 11:30 and 6 more dates
Our team of Volunteer Tour Guides will be offering insights into the current exhibition through a program of short guided tours.
Tours will be offered at 11.00 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The tours are included in the admission price to the Gallery and last between 30 and 45 minutes. No booking is required, but places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Friends of Penlee House Repeat Guided Tour of the Sheila Hichens Collection of Newlyn School Art
2026-03-24 14:00 - 15:30 | St Michael’s Mount, Marazion
Discover the remarkable Sheila Hichens Collection at The Steward’s House on St Michael’s St. Michael’s Mount with Cath Wallace- Art Historian.This exceptional collection features more than 40 works by celebrated Newlyn School artists, including Walter Langley, Stanhope Forbes, Laura Knight, and Harold Harvey. Together, these powerful paintings capture everyday life in West Cornwall before the mid-20th century.Hosted by the Friends of Penlee House, this exclusive guided tour offers a rare opportunity to experience a culturally significant collection in a truly unique setting. Tickets:£20 for Friends of Penlee House£25 for General Admission Tuesday 24 March Meeting point: Stewards House, St Michael’s Mount Time: 2 pmPlease note: Entry to the Castle or Gardens is not included and must be booked separately. Limited mobility transport to the Mount may be available — contact Judith Summers at judithmarybosavern@gmail.comfor details.Spaces are limited — early booking is recommended!

Arty Afternoons: Zoom in and Draw
2026-03-21 14:30 - 15:30
Explore the wonderful paintings, photographs an artefact that we have in our gallery and museum spaces. Take a viewfinder with you and look for exciting details. Zoom in on the details and draw new artworks based on what you can see inside your viewfinder, but on a bigger scale!
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm.

Arty Afternoons: Mix and Match flip book
2026-03-14 14:30 - 15:30
Take a look at the wonderful exhibition of photographs and portraits here at Penlee House Gallery & Museum. There are so many different types of hats, clothes and people on display. Create a paper mix-and-match book, where you can muddle up what people are wearing!
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm.

Arty Afternoons: Newlyn copper badges
2026-03-07 14:30 - 15:30
Come and visit our beautiful collection of Newlyn Copper in the Social History Museum, which was originally made by out-of-work fishermen. What wildlife can you spot on the designs? Draw your own Newlyn Copper design inspired by the sea and make it into a badge to wear at home.

FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm.

Little Penlee Explorers: Drop-in sessions for under 5s
2026-03-02 10:00 - 12:00
Join us to explore, play and create at Penlee House! With activities throughout the galleries, these free, drop-in sessions are for under-5s and their grown-ups.
Monthly on Mondays, 10 am-12 pm.

Arty Afternoons: Paper Chain People
2026-02-28 14:30 - 15:30
Discover the many different people shown in the paintings and photographs at Penlee House Gallery & Museum. Make a paper chain of all the people you spot and decorate their clothes and special features to show who they are or what they are doing in the pictures.
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm.

Arty Afternoons: Dress a Portrait
2026-02-21 14:30 - 15:30
Many of the portraits and photographs in the current exhibition show people from past times. Bring history into the present and update the people in the images by dressing them in modern clothes and giving them more modern accessories. You could swap a mirror for a mobile phone or a traditional Victorian outfit for a football kit!
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm.

February Half Term Activity: Harry Penhaul inspired camera viewfinders and film rolls
2026-02-19 13:30 - 15:30
Join us at Penlee House Gallery & Museum this half term and explore the exhibition of photographs by Harry Penhaul. Create a mini camera viewfinder and imagine taking photos of the exhibitions. Sketch what you have discovered on a ‘roll of camera film’, and your drawings will become the ‘photographic’ images.

Arty Afternoons: Colourise Black and White photos
2026-02-14 14:30 - 15:30
Discover the historical photographs in the Harry Penhaul exhibition. These were taken before colour photography, but can you make them modern by adding colour? Use different materials to colourise the brilliant photos of local life in West Cornwall in the 1940s and 50s.
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm.

Friends of Penlee House Lecture: The Cornish Fishing Industry in Archive Photographs
2026-02-09 14:30 - 16:00 | Queen’s Hotel, Penzance
The Cornish Fishing Industry in Archive Photographs. A talk by John McWilliams. A look at the Cornish fishing industry of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in contemporary art and photographs.
John McWilliams has published a number of books on the history of the fishing industry in Cornwall and Brittany. He was a member of the photo history group at Penlee House Gallery & Museum and has a wide knowledge of the extensive archival resources
Date & Time: Monday 9th February, 2.30pm
Venue: The Queen’s Hotel, Penzance
Tickets: £7 Friends, £15 Non-Friends
Book Now!

Arty Afternoons: Victorian Silhouettes
2026-02-07 14:30 - 15:30
Many of the portraits in the current exhibition were painted during or around the Victorian Era. Try making your own Victorian-style silhouette artwork. You could base it on one of the portraits in the gallery or imagine a scene from Newlyn about 100 years ago — perhaps fishwives selling their catch or fishermen setting out to sea.
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm.
