Treasure

Until 30 December 2006
Admission: free

What makes a treasure? Precious metals, age, rarity? Or all three? Find out more in this exhibition of archaeological treasures from the Swindon area, including an ornate silver 16th Century dress fastener, a Saxon sword and a rare Bronze Age rapier. Many of the items are on display for the first time.

Finds Day

Thursday 1 June, 11.00am-4.00pm
Admission: free

Do you have treasures hidden in your garden or lurking in your attic? Not sure what you've found? Then come to a special Finds Day where Katie Hinds, Wiltshire's Finds Liaison Officer, and Kirsty Hartsiotis, Collections Development Manager at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, will be on hand to identify objects.

Treasure Trail

Half-term holidays, end of May

There will be a Treasure Trail and other activities for children and families during the half-term holiday at the end of May. Full details to follow.

For more information about Museums and Galleries Month, please see the Museums and Galleries Month website (www.mgm.org.uk).

Other Exhibitions and Events at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery

Swindon's Big Trip

A Friends of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery Talk

Friday 19 May 2006 at 7.30pm at the Museum and Art Gallery
£4.50 (£3.00 for Friends)

The annual mass summer trip to the seaside was one the highlights of the year for Swindon's Great Western Railway workers in the 19th and 20th centuries. A new book to be published in 2006 tells the story of the GWR Trip Week, people's experiences and the seaside resorts they loved. Its author Rosa Matheson will give an illustrated talk recounting some of those holiday stories and memories.

Telling Tales

Until 3 June 2006
Admission: free

This exhibition explores the theme of storytelling in art and gives visitors the chance to create their own tales. The exhibition includes works by John Nash, L S Lowry, Richard Long and Lisa Milroy, from the Swindon Collection of Modern British Art. But what do the pictures say to you? Visitors are encouraged to write about a favourite work and what it means to them.

Swindon Curiosities: The Art of Collecting

Until 30 December
Admission: free

This exhibition dips into the museums diverse geology, archaeology and social history collections and goes behind the scenes to explore the history of collecting. Find out more about the kinds of objects collected over the years, and the work of curators past and present. The display features a wide range of objects, from Roman pottery to 20th Century Swindon souvenir china, 19th Century ice skates to 1970s platform shoes, fossils and minerals to musical instruments and postcards

Richard Jefferies Museum, Coate

The birthplace of Victorian writer Richard Jefferies opens to the public on the first and third Sunday of each month from May to September 2006, and on Sunday 10 September (during Heritage Open Days). The cottage is situated within the lovely surroundings of Coate Water and features some of the mementoes of his life. Open 2.00pm-5.00pm.