Free Family Trail inspired by bestselling author Jessie Burton now at London Museum Docklands.
London Museum Docklands has launched a brand-new family trail inspired by Hidden Treasure, the new children’s book by internationally bestselling author Jessie Burton (The Miniaturist). Inspired by the tale of two young mudlarks, the trail takes families on a journey around the museum’s galleries to learn more about centuries of life by the river. The trail will be available from May half term and is aimed at children under 12yrs, who also get free entry into the museum’s new mudlarking exhibition, Secrets of the Thames.
Hidden Treasure is a tale of two children, whose lives collide when they find an ancient treasure in the Thames. Billy is an orphan. Bo's dad died when she was small and now her brother is off to war. Both children are poor, but through mudlarking, they have each found half of a priceless treasure given up by the river. Together they embark on an adventure to discover more about this mysterious object which holds the power to give back to one of them the most precious thing they have ever lost.
Occupying a converted 19th century sugar warehouse on West India Quay, London Museum Docklands tells the story of life by the Thames over 200 years. The trail map offers a new way to explore the museum's collection. It runs through the cobbled streets of the immersive Sailortown gallery, a recreation of the Victorian Ratcliffe Highway, drops into the home of a dock worker to see how people lived during the early 1900s and explores the River Thames as a place of work, travel and entertainment.
The new trail follows the opening of the museum’s new display Secrets of the Thames: Mudlarking London’s lost treasures. Free to enter for children under 12yrs, it is the UK’s first major exhibition on mudlarking with over 350 fascinating finds from the Thames foreshore.
Trail maps are available for free at London Museum Docklands and the book, Hidden Treasure is available to purchase from London Museum Docklands and the museum's online shop.