FREE Public Guided Tours
2026-06-11 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-06-16 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-06-18 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-06-23 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-06-25 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-06-30 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-07-02 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-07-07 11:00 - 12:00 UTC 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.

Arty Afternoons: Buildings Collage
2026-06-13 14:30 - 15:30
Different buildings feature in lots of the paintings in our current exhibition. Explore perspective, and how buildings look smaller the further away they are. Using building shapes made from card and collage, a townscape based on the artworks at Penlee House.

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

Arty Afternoons: Beautiful Brooches!
2026-06-20 14:30 - 15:30
Taking inspiration from the stunning enamel brooch showing a ballerina by Lara Knight and Ella Naper, design and make your own colourful brooch that you can wear.

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

Baby Sensory
2026-06-22 10:00 - 11:30, 2026-07-06 10:00 - 11:30, 2026-07-20 10:00 - 11:30
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: Mazey Day – Brilliant Badge Making!
2026-06-27 11:00 - 15:30
Join us in the park and explore our current exhibition and collections. Design and make a badge either by choosing a Penlee House image or making your own marks inspired by our ‘Making Her Mark: A Celebration of Women in Art’ exhibition.

FREE family activity; drop in anytime between 11 am and 3.30 pm.

Arty Afternoons: Quay Day – Flying Fish
2026-06-28 11:00 - 15:30
Taking inspiration from the Golowan theme ‘Forever Flying High!’ and from our fishing-themed artworks here at Penlee House, design and make your own colourful flying fish.

Arty Afternoons: Portrait Games
2026-07-04 14:30 - 15:30
Explore the different styles of portraits and self-portraits on display in the gallery spaces here at Penlee House. Join us to try out lots of fun, different games focused on drawing portraits.

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
2026-07-06 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: Silhouette Collage
2026-07-11 14:30 - 15:30
Explore the galleries and look closely at the painting by Sandra Masterson called Dreams. Take inspiration from the delicate silhouette of a feather on a soft, colourful background and recreate this using black paper and tissue paper collage. Choose an object from the natural world to be your silhouette focal point.
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm.

Festival of Archaeology: Iron Age Beads
2026-07-18 14:30 - 15:30
Come and see one of the smallest archaeological finds at Penlee House, a beautiful glass bead, and be inspired to create some beads from our special modelling material.
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30pm and 3.30pm

Social History Display: John Willie Matthewman
2026-07-20 - 2026-08-31
From 20 July to 31 August, the upstairs Local History Gallery will feature a small display of paintings by John Willie Matthewman (1877–1947).
Born in Sheffield, Matthewman moved to Penberth in 1928 and spent many years painting the landscapes and coastline of West Cornwall. His work reflects a close familiarity with the area, capturing places that remain recognisable today.
Although not as widely known as some of his contemporaries, Matthewman exhibited with the Newlyn Society of Artists in 1937, and one of his paintings was accepted for exhibition at the Royal Academy, London, the following year.
Curated by Gordon Matthewman, a descendant of the artist, this selection of works offers a rare opportunity to see paintings displayed close to the landscapes in which they were created, providing a glimpse into the artistic and social history of the area.
Usual admission charges apply.

Talk Making Her Mark: Celebrating Women Artists of the Lamorna Colony with Lorraine Downes
2026-07-21 13:00 - 14:00
Join us to hear Lorraine Downes, one of Penlee House’s amazing volunteer tour guides, discuss the women artists of the early-twentieth-century Lamorna artists’ colony, their inheritance from earlier women artists and the legacy they have left today.

Art in the Park: Making YOUR mark!
2026-07-23 13:30 - 15:30
In our current exhibition ‘Making Her Mark: A Celebration of Women in Art’ every artist has used different mark-making skills and styles. Make your own paintbrush from recycled materials and paint a mini artwork using inks and watercolours.

Festival of Archaeology: An Archaeological Game - Dig it!
2026-07-25 14:30 - 15:30
As part of the national Festival of Archaeology this month, come along and create your own archaeologically themed board game.
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30pm and 3.30pm

Festival of Archaeology guided walk: Castles and Quoits
2026-07-28 10:00 - 12:30
Explore the context for some of the amazing prehistoric objects at Penlee House Gallery & Museum. Join James Kitto – Chair of CASPN (Cornish Ancient Sites Protection Network) and Bard of Gorsedh Kernow – for a wander to the atmospheric Chûn Castle and Quoit.
Tuesday 28 July 10am-12.30pm
Festival of Archaeology guided walk: Castles and Quoits
£15 for adults; Free for Under 18s (must be accompanied by an adult)
Explore the context for some of the amazing prehistoric objects at Penlee House Gallery & Museum. Join James Kitto – Chair of CASPN (Cornish Ancient Sites Protection Network) and Bard of Gorsedh Kernow – for a wander to the atmospheric Chûn Castle and Quoit.
The walk will take in both the Iron Age Chûn Castle and the much earlier Chûn Quoit.
Please note that this walk involves uneven terrain.
Meeting point: TBC
