What's On

This season, the Rumble Museum is celebrating and exploring trees in a range of events, projects, workshops, surveys and talks. As part of this we are holding a conference for sixth form on trees on Tuesday 10th March. 

The day will start with a woodland walk in several locations across the city. This will be followed by an opening talk by Professor Yadvinder Mahli from the University of Oxford on remarkable things about trees.

Students will then spend the rest of the day in workshops of their choice, including: Willow Weaving with Andy Goodwin, Tree Planting with George and Luke from Oxford City Council Tree Planting, Tree Medicine with Chris Parkin from the History of Science Museum plus Multaka volunteers, Dendrochronology with Jennice Singh from the University of Oxford, Tree DNA with Henry Hung from the University of Oxford, Wood Mosaics with Becky Paton, Tree Art with Emma Coleman-Jones, Tree Printing with Richard Lawrence, Trees and Well-being with Gail Austen and Jessica Fisher from the University of Kent, Tree Moths with Dr Liam Crowley from the University of Oxford, Tree Stories with local author Julia Golding and Tree Filming with Film Oxford. 

At the end of the day, students will each be given tree seeds to plant. Watch out for a full write-up soon. 

On Saturday 21st February, 2.30 – 4.30pm, we are delighted to announce a very special afternoon at our Creative Writing Cafe. We will be teaming up with Dr Efi Spentzou from Myth and Voice to explore the Minoans.

The Cafe will be exploring the beautiful murals of the Minoan Civilisation, and for those who would like to, there will be an opportunity to have a go at creative writing inspired by these murals.

There will be refreshments (donations welcome!) and a short reading from Flower Gatherers.

Whether you would like to sit and write, admire the beautiful murals, or have a drink and chat, you are most welcome! Visitors can drop in and out, or stay for the full two hours.  

The cafe is held at St Alban’s Church Hall, Charles Street, Oxford. It runs every fortnight from 21st February, with a different theme each time. 

If you would like to attend, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We are delighted to announce an Astronomy and Stargazing Evening on Thursday 18th December, 4.30 - 8pm at Cheney School.

The event will feature an opening talk from an expert astronomer, planetarium shows, stalls and activities, and stargazing.

Below are timings for each part of the evening:

4.30 - 5.15pm - planetarium show

5.30 - 6pm - opening talk by Katie Savard, University of Oxford: Black Holes

6 - 8pm - stalls, activities and stargazing - including planetarium shows at 6.15 - 7pm, and again from 7.15 - 8pm

Please note all three planetarium shows are identical.

If you would like to book places to attend, please fill in this form.

We are delighted to announce a Festival in collaboration with the University of Oxford and Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, “Read Between The Lines: From Hieroglyphs to Emojis” on Tuesday 11th November, 3.30 – 5.30pm at Cheney School – followed by a Labyrinth escape!

The “Read Between The Lines” event (but not the Labyrinth Escape) will be British Sign Language interpreted.

Emojis, scare quotes, cartouches in Egyptian hieroglyphs, and many more elements of written texts exist between, around, or on top of the words themselves, and help us read between the lines.

They may provide emotional cues, let the writer use a word without quite “believing” in it, tell us what to focus on, or make the name of an important person like Tutankhamun stand out… This event will celebrate ancient and modern inventions for reading between the lines!

Activities will include experiments on ancient and modern writing, designing your own emoji, deciphering a Linear B tablet, making a cuneiform or an Egyptian hieroglyphic text look professional…all with Minoan dancing, facepainting and refreshments! Myth and Voice Initiative will also run activities exploring 'writing between the lines' from new Minoan inspired novel Flower Gatherers.

At 3.05pm, 4pm, and 5pm, there will be a ten-minute performance of a fun new play, “Where have the ancient emojis gone?”, directed by Paul O’Mahony and followed by a discussion with experts on all sorts of symbols.

The whole event will be followed by a very exciting Labyrinth Escape Show at 5.30pm – not to be missed!

You can see the full brochure for the event online here.

The event is free and open to all ages. We welcome school groups as well as individuals and families. To book, please fill in this form. If you have any questions, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This project has been supported by the University of Oxford’s PCER Fund; the Philological Society; the TORCH Performance Research Hub (University of Oxford); the Faculty of Classics (University of Oxford); the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics (University of Oxford); the Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies (University of Oxford); Wolfson College, Oxford; the Institute of Classical Studies; the General Fund for Assyriology (University of Oxford); the Iris Project; and the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies.

We are delighted to announce a first event of its kind organised by the Rumble Museum at Cheney School.

Nature Late will celebrate the world of nature on site at Cheney through talks, workshops, stalls, activities and exhibitions. The schedule is as follows:

6 - 6.30pm - "Saving Our Insects" - opening talk by Professor Dave Goulson.

6 - 8pm - Ecology Festival for all ages with a large range of science and nature-themed stalls and activities

8 - 11pm - Moth Night - FULLY BOOKED

You can read the full brochure for the event here.

If you would like to attend any part of the event, please fill in this form. 

It is free and aimed at all ages. There will be live performances by artists Rachel Sophia and Mac Palazon & David Nebres, refreshments and a wide number of stalls and activities, crafts, talks and workshops.

Our new collection of bird prints around Oxford will also be available to view and purchase.