Monday 8th May Bank Holiday
This is just a quick post to let you know that John Muir’s Birthplace will be closed on Monday 8th May for the Coronation Bank Holiday.
Cash only payments
Edit: our tech issues have now been resolved and we are able to take card payments again!
Unfortunately some gremlins have got into our chip and pin system! We are only able to take cash payments until our tech issues have been resolved, so please do bring along cash if you’re planning on visiting our shop. There’s a cash machine in the Co-op a few doors down from us and one just next to Dunbar Town House Museum and Gallery.
Thank you for your patience!
New schools resource up and running
We are grateful to Museums Galleries Scotland for a grant which has allowed us to produce a series of films outlining different aspects of John Muir’s life:
- Where did John go on his 1000 mile walk?
- What’s so special about Yosemite?
- When did John die and what has happened since?
- What did John Muir campaign for?
- Did John go to school?
- John Muir, lone walker or devoted family man?
- Where did John go on his last long journey?
- Did John ever return to Scotland?
- How did John learn about farming?
- How does Scotland remember John Muir?
- What did John discover in Alaska?
- Was the environment or his family more important to John Muir?
These films were researched and written by John Muir’s Birthplace staff during the lockdown in early 2021. Originally limited to just participating schools, we have decided to make the videos available for everyone to watch. You can access them here.
Free Muir and Burns drop-in crafts
It’s Burns Night tonight!
Our current round of activities runs alongside our winter exhibition on John Muir and Robert Burns. The two Scots writers had lots in common.
They both:
- developed a love of reading from an early age. Muir aged 15 ‘became hungry for knowledge’ and started reading ‘all sorts of books’ and young Rabbie always carried a book with him!
- kept journals and commonplace books
- discovered a nest of fieldmice
- were farming from a very young age
- grew up in cultures of writing, singing, and story-telling
- visited Lauderdale House and gardens in Dunbar
- were pioneering, ahead of their time in many ways
- were humane and respectful towards the natural world
- had a female champion and mentor – Muir had Jeanne Carr and Burns had Frances Anna Dunlop.
Why not pop in this weekend and have a go at making a robin bookmark and learn a bit more about what robins meant to John Muir?
Thanks to the parents of this wee visitor for giving us permission to share the photo on social media.
Or have a go at writing your own Scots poem! Our brilliant Museum Assistants have come up with a creative task using ‘To A Mouse’ as inspiration.
Work with us!
We’re recruiting!
East Lothian Council Museums Service is recruiting Seasonal Museum Assistants across our four museum sites. This includes two posts here at John Muir’s Birthplace.
We are looking for people with
- enthusiasm
- flexibility
- great communication
- organisational skills
- and a passion for delivering great customer service
to join our team to help visitors get the most from their visit to our museums.
Museum Assistants open and close our museums, welcome visitors to our venues, answer enquiries and make sure that everyone has an enjoyable and safe visit. They operate our shops, assist with school and other groups, activities, events and exhibitions.
For more detail and information on how to apply take a look here. Deadline for applications is 29th January.
Festive opening hours
With all the snow and the Christmas lights we are feeling very festive here at John Muir’s Birthplace.
We are pleased to be open from now until 1pm on Christmas Eve. We will then close for the festive season and reopen on Wednesday 5th January. 1pm is earlier than our usual Saturday closing time so do be aware of this if you’re planning on doing some last-minute Christmas shopping with us!
We’ll be back to our usual winter hours from January 4th – open Wed – Sat 10am – 5pm (last entry 4.30pm) and Sun 1pm – 5pm (last entry 4.30pm). We are closed on Monday and Tuesday. Feel free to come in and shelter from the blasting Janwar’ win‘ with our exhibition on John Muir and Robert Burns in the back room. We’ve also got a great programme of crafts running through the winter for our wee visitors, and a reference library set up to keep our big visitors entertained.
Exhibit with us!
We would like to invite exhibitors from across the UK to be part of a ‘Climate Call to Action’. Combining the best in visual art with a passion for inspiring climate action, we plan to hold a series of exhibitions throughout 2023 to encourage climate action.
We welcome entries from amateurs or professionals working across a diversity of art forms, including artists, photographers, makers, crafters and community groups.
opportunity to host meet the artist sessions and workshops
Dunbar High Street location with 10m wall space and case
expressions of interest by 15th January 2022 to John Muir’s Birthplace,126 High Street, Dunbar, EH42 1JJ, museumseast@eastlothian.gov.uk, 01368 8659899.
Please don’t hesitate to be in touch with any further queries. We’re open to both first-time and seasoned exhibitors – no question is too silly!
Free period products
Did you know that we have supplies of free period products in the toilets here and at Dunbar Town House?
To find out more about East Lothian Council’s commitment to providing free period products have a look here.
We’re really pleased we’re able to offer this service and even more pleased about how well it fits with our Green Tourism charter. Hey Girls, whose products we use, are doing a lot of work to make sure their products are as green and sustainable as possible.
Free November drop in crafts
Did you know that we have drop-in craft activities running throughout winter? You can find them in our temporary exhibition space on the ground floor. They are free and, as part of our Green Tourism commitment, as sustainable as we can make them.
This month we were feeling inspired by our current exhibition, the Leaves of Auchencraw.
Leaf pressing
Have you noticed the glorious autumn colours this year? Here at the museum we have started collecting fallen leaves and flowers from various locations. There are loads of them in Lochend Woods!
Please bring in your leaves and flowers to the museum for pressing.* These could be from local areas or from anywhere you may be visiting. We have a Woodland Trust identification guide you can use if you aren’t sure which tree your leaf has come from.
If you enjoy pressing and identifying leaves and flowers why not try recording your findings in field notes or a nature journal? For some examples take a look at this blog post about the field notes the writer Rob MacFarlane keeps or go right back to the source and browse this archive of John Muir’s journals from his adventures. We also have some ideas for journal activities in the ‘Learn’ section of our website.
Make and take your own worm
What happens to leaves after they have fallen? They are often decomposed into soil.
Did you know that 1cm of topsoil can take over 1000 years to form?
Decomposition is done by lots of different organisms like worms, fungi, and bacteria. They are part of a mind-boggling network that makes up the soil under our feet. Soil is active, as much a series of processes as it is a thing!
Healthy soil is essential for helping seeds to grow into trees.
Helicopter seeds
Why do you think we call them helicopter seeds? We have some in the museum you can toss in the air to find out why! Then have a go at making your own.
Other names people use for these seeds: spinning jenny, whirligig, whirlybird and wing-nut. In the botanical world they are called samaras.
Trees have lots of different ways of dispersing their seeds. The reason helicopter seeds fly is so they can move further away from the original tree. This helps to propagate (spread) new trees in different areas.
*Important note: please collect leaves and flowers responsibly. If you do intend to pick flowers rather than fallen leaves make sure to follow the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland’s code of conduct. There is information on responsible wildflower picking on the Natural History Museum, London’s guide to pressing flowers.
