THE SCHOOL summer holidays have finally begun, and we’ve been enjoying the ridiculously hot weather up here at the museum.

The Parsonage, with its stone floors and thick stone walls, is usually a welcome refuge from the heat, but even we were sweltering when temperatures hit 32 degrees!

Families have been enjoying our drop-in Wild Wednesday workshops, which continue until the end of August, and are free with admission to the museum.

Coming up are workshops where you can make Paper Globes (14 August), Brontë finger puppets (August 21), and Origami Boats (August 28), and if you want to visit after hours, don’t forget our Late-Night Thursday on August 15, when the museum is open until 7.30pm, and entrance is free after 5.30pm to visitors who live in the BD22, BD21, BD20 postcode areas, and those living in Thornton.

This is a lovely thing to do with children in the summer holidays, when you don’t need to worry so much about late nights!

And another reason to visit in August is to experience our immersive installation created and conceived by award-winning children’s author and script writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce. The installation opens on August 10 and is called How My Light Is Spent.

The experience takes place in the cellar of the museum, is limited to a maximum of 15 people at a time, takes 15-20 minutes and is led by a guide. The experience is free to visitors with a museum ticket and you need to purchase your ticket prior to the experience beginning.

If you want to book ahead during the school holiday period, you can book online at bronte.org.uk-whats-on or by calling 01535 640192 on weekdays.

Frank was inspired by the story of the 70-year-old Patrick Brontë, having seen his wife and two of his children die, travelling to Manchester for a cataract operation.

After the surgery, he lay still in a darkened room for weeks to heal, being cared for by Charlotte. It was at this time that she began to write Jane Eyre.

The installation explores Patrick’s memories and imagination as he recovered from his operation.

Looking ahead to after the school holidays, our free Tuesday talk on September 3 links with the theme of the installation, as it explores this significant episode in both Patrick and Charlotte’s life in detail, and examines how this difficult time contributed to the writing of Charlotte’s most celebrated novel, Jane Eyre.

And just a few days later – on September 7 – we’re hosting an evening of conversation on the importance of nature and landscape with writer-in-residence Zaffar Kunial and novelist Michael Stewart, so book tickets if you want to hear more!

They can be booked via the website or by calling 01535 640192.