What's On

Oxford: The War and the World, 1914-1919 Exhibition

Hardit Singh Malik, an Indian student at Oxford who became a World War One fighter pilot, and May Wedderburn Cannan, a poet who volunteered to aid the war effort in France, are among those featured in a forthcoming exhibition Oxford: The War and the World.
 
The Rumble Museum is privileged to be hosting this exhibition from 1st to 20th December - viewing by appointment only - please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to request a visit. We are holding a launch event on Friday 7th December, 3.30 - 4.30pm for the community. There will be a short talk by local historian Liz Woolley, followed by refreshments and an opportunity to view the exhibition. Please email on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to book.
 

World War One and Women's Suffrage Collection Afternoon

Can you help the Rumble Museum at Cheney School save stories, memories, and objects connected to Women’s Suffrage (or Women’s Rights more broadly, from any era), as well as items from the First World War?
 
We need people to bring any objects (photographs, diaries, letters, medals, souvenirs, etc) that your family has kept, or stories that have been passed down to our Digital Collection Day. We will then record your story or photograph the object and get details from you on their background and upload this to a major website. The website will be freely available to anyone to use and will help preserve these key objects and documents.
 
Please come along to the Rumble Museum at Cheney School with your objects between 2 and 5pm on Friday 2nd November, 2018. 
 
We will have experts on hand to help to give you more information on the items. There will also be re-enactors, artefact-handling, refreshments and an opportunity to talk to members from the wider community.
 
For more information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
 
This is part of a national project called ‘Lest We Forget’ co-ordinated by the University of Oxford – see https://www.facebook.com/OxfordLWF/’

Iris Festival of Natural History, Classics, Art and More, 27 March 2019

We are delighted to announce the Iris Festival of Natural History, Classics, Art and More on 27th March, 2019.

This event will be a large community event to celebrate the Rumble Museum at Cheney School as it continues the process of becoming the first Arts Council Accredited museum in a state school.

There will be five main discovery zones: Natural History, Art, Classics and Archaeology, Storytelling and Anthropology. Each zone will contain activities, stalls, exhibitions, workshops, and a wide range of visiting museums with artefacts to handle and explore. There will  be live shows including animatronic dinosaurs, as well as the opportunity to see birds of prey! There will also be fossils pits, printing at a vintage printing press, the Story Museum's Little Shop of Stories, an ancient Greek daily life museum, Roman music and mosaics, artists' exhibitions, as well as a cafe serving refreshments and hot and cold drinks.

In each zone, there is a wide range of visiting museums bringing artefacts to handle nd explore, as well as a range of organisations running exciting activities ranging from floating magnets to ball pits!

The event will include expert talks as well as a wide range of stalls, activities and exhibitions. Visitors will be able to follow an exciting new model Dragonfly Trail as they explore the site, with each discovery zone containing striking decorations, workshops, stalls,  performances and activities themed on different aspects of museum learning.

The stalls, activities and exhibitions run from 3.30 until 6pm. It is free and caters for all ages. Primary and secondary school groups are warmly welcome.

The following talks will also take place throughout the afternoon and evening:

3.30 - 4pm - Professor Richard Fortey, Natural Historian and Palaeontologist

4.15 - 4.45pm - Professor Helen King, 'Ancient Greek Magic and Medicine'

5.15 - 5.45pm - Peter Randall-Page, Artist and Sculptor, Royal Academician

6 - 6.45pm - Will Gompertz, BBC Chief Arts Correspondent

The festival itself does not require booking unless you are visiting with a school group. Talks do need to be booked, and can be done so by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mycenaeans at Rumble as part of BBC's Civilisations Festival

We're delighted to be taking part in the BBC's Civilisations Festival this month with an exhibition, talks and performance from a professional storyteller.

On Monday 5th March, Jeff Wright, Storyteller and Creator of the Trojan War Podcast will deliver a fast-paced, hugely exciting show featuring some of the best-loved excerpts from the Iliad, as well as stories from before the Trojan War and from the Odyssey.

Women's Suffrage Season at the Rumble Museum

This year, The Rumble Museum at Cheney is running a variety of projects, exhibitions, talks and workshops to explore the story of Women’s Suffrage in the UK and beyond.

There will be a variety of pop-up exhibitions and events throughout the year, starting with Year Eight students creating an alternative guide to the Weston Library’s Exhibition “From Sappho to Suffrage” and culminating with an all day event on 14th December to mark the first time women in England voted in a general election.

Green Season: Caroline Lucas Visit and Workshops

 The Rumble Museum at Cheney School is delighted to announce its Green Festival on Friday 19th January. Over the next few weeks and months, the Rumble Museum is working with Cheney School's Environmental Impact Team to explore the vital issues of sustainability and conservation.

We are honoured that the event will be opened by Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Green Party, who will speak and take questions between 1.30 and 2.30pm.

Lest We Forget: World War One Collection Day, 10th November

Can you help the Rumble Museum at Cheney School save stories, memories, and objects from the First World War?

We need people to bring any objects (photographs, diaries, letters, medals, souvenirs, etc) that your family has kept from World War One, or just stories that have been passed down to our Digital Collection Day. We will then record your story or photograph the object and get details from you on their background and upload this to a major web site to be launched on 11th November 2018. The web site will be freely available to anyone to use and will help preserve these key objects and documents from the War.

Iris Festival of Ancient and Modern Science

Tuesday 7th February 2017, 3 - 7pm

We are delighted to announce that the we are holding a Festival of Ancient and Modern Science on Tuesday 7th February 2017, 3 - 7pm at Cheney School.

This is an Iris Classics Centre event, open to all, where visitors are able to see the museum exhibits.

This event is a celebration of ancient and modern science, and areas of the school will be themed on different areas of scientific understanding, with a very wide range of organisations offering activities, stalls and events which explore ancient and modern connections.

All ages are welcome to attend - there will be activities, performances, stalls and events suitable for every age range. There will also be outdoor bird demonstrations with the Department of Zoology, and stargazing with Professor Allan Chapman. School groups are very welcome to attend - please email to book.

The Festival will be opened by Professor Robert Winston, and from 3 - 5.45pm there will be activities, demonstrations, stalls and exhibitions, and a walk-through exhibition in the Library. There will also be re-enactments, music and drama performances.

We are also hosting the following talks from authors and experts:

  • 3 - 3.30pm - Professor Robert Winston opens the festival
  • 3.45 - 4.15pm - Kyle Grant: "Growing Plants on Mars"
  • 4.30 - 5pm - Ben Kane: "Archimedes and Ancient Weaponry"
  • 5.15 - 5.45pm - Professor Helen King: "What’s wrong with me? Symptoms and labels in Hippocratic medicine"
  • 6 - 6.45pm - Professor Anthony Grayling: "The Science of the Presocratic Philosophers"

 

A brochure containing full details of stalls, exhibitions, activities, speakers, and performances can be downloaded here  (6MB).

The festival itself does not require booking unless you are a bringing a group. Author talks and Professor Winston do need to be booked, and can be done so by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., stating which talk(s) you would like to attend in the title.

If you would like to be involved in helping out at the festival, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Iris Festival of Imagined Worlds

Friday 9th February 2018, 3 - 6pm

We are delighted to announce our Festival of Imagined Worlds on Friday 9th February 2018. This event will celebrate novels set in imaginary worlds, exploring how ancient myths and histories have often inspired these worlds. There will be museum artefacts to explore and handle which are connected to imagined worlds and stories.

The event will include author talks and book illustration workshops, as well as a wide range of stalls, activities and exhibitions. Visitors will be able to walk through different fictional worlds as they explore the site, each one containing striking decorations, workshops, stalls,  performances and activities themed on novels and authors. These will include the worlds of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, J.K. Rowling, Philip Pullman and others. A number of museums will be bringing artefacts, and running stalls and activities.

The stalls, activities and exhibitions run from 3 until 6pm. It is free and caters for all ages. School groups are warmly welcome.

The following author talks will also take place throughout the afternoon and evening:

2.30 - Melinda Salisbury, author of The Sin-Eater's Daughter

3pm - Alice Broadway, author of Ink

3.30 - Alan Gibbons, author of Shadow of the Minotaur

4.30 - Steve Voakes, author of The Dreamwalker's Child

5pm - Angie Sage, author of the Septimius Heap series

The festival itself does not require booking unless you are visiting with a school group. Author talks do need to be booked, and can be done so by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

There is also a costume competition at the Festival - you can read details of how to enter here

Poster image,"Bluebell Woods", by Danny Flynn, is inspired by Wytham Woods in Oxfordshire. Danny Flynn will be running workshops as part of the festival.