Museum of the Moon

Sara Jaspan, Exhibitions Editor

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Museum of the Moon

King's Hall, Stoke-on-Trent
21-29 August 2018

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Museum of the Moon, King's Hall, Stoke-on-Trent
Museum of the Moon at University of Bristol, UK. Photo by Simon Galloway, courtesy of Luke Jerram
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First thing upon arriving at Stoke-on-Trent train station, skip the takeout coffee and head straight to King’s Hall where acclaimed contemporary artist Luke Jerram’s remarkable Museum of the Moon installation (recently profiled on BBC Radio 4) will be on show for just nine days before the next stop on its international tour.

The ethereal spectacle consists of a spherical floating moon sculpture measuring seven meters in diameter (each centimetre of which represents five kilometres of the Earth moon’s surface at an approximate scale of 1:500,000) pitted with craters traced with 120 dpi detailed NASA imagery, and bathed in a specially commissioned accompanying surround sound composition by BAFTA and Ivor Novello award-winning composer Dan Jones.

Jerram has described the artwork as a meditation upon the significance that the celestial body has played throughout history and the different beliefs, mythologies, identities and ideas that subsequent cultures have bestowed upon it. Take a seat or lie down beneath the luminous globe in a patch of pale moonlight and allow your mind to wonder at the simple, beauty and incomprehensible nature of our planet’s 4.57-billion-year-old natural satellite.

Afterwards, soften your return to terrestrial reality with a generously iced cake or homemade scone at the Alice in Wonderland inspired tearoom, The Rabbit Hole, less than a minute away.

Museum of the Moon will be accompanied by several related events. Check www.appetitestoke.co.uk for more details and discover more places to visit and things to do in Stoke-on-Trent this summer here.

Where to go near Museum of the Moon

Stoke Minster, Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Place of worship
Stoke Minster

Just a short walk from Stoke-on-Trent train station is Stoke Minster, believed to have once been an important Celtic religious site and where Christian worship has taken place since Saxon times.

Emma Bridgwater Factory, Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Museum
Emma Bridgwater Factory

The pottery lover’s mecca, over 1.3 million Emma Bridgwater pieces are produced at the designer’s Stoke-on-Trent based factory every year – each one touched by over 30 deftly-skilled hands. Take an award-winning tour, visit the heavily discounted shop and have a go at producing your own earthenware masterpiece.

Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
Stoke-on-Trent
Museum
Potteries Museum & Art Gallery

Home to the most significant collection of Staffordshire ceramics in the world and the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever found, a visit to Stoke-upon-Trent is not complete without an afternoon whiled away in The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.

Stoke-on-Trent
Library
City Central Library, Hanley

Described as “the finest and most distinctive example of Modernist architecture in Stoke-on-Trent”, City Central Library is Stoke-on-Trent’s largest library, home to the city archives.

Stoke-on-Trent
Gallery
AirSpace Gallery

AirSpace Gallery is a collaborative, artist led project in Stoke-on-Trent, providing studio and exhibiting space as well as professional support and development opportunities for artists.

Bethesda Chapel, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Place of worship
Bethesda Chapel

Bethesda Methodist Chapel in Hanley is considered to be one of England’s grandest surviving town chapels – and it’s easy to see why.

Gladstone Pottery Museum Summer in Stoke on Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Museum
Gladstone Pottery Museum

The last complete Victorian pottery factory in Britain, Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton provides a unique insight into the history of Stoke-on-Trent; an area renowned for its world-class pottery and ceramics.

trentham gardens stoke on trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Tourist Attraction
Trentham Gardens

Comprising of 725 acres of land set within a glorious stretch of North Staffordshire countryside on the southern fringe of Stoke-on-Trent, the award-winning visitor attraction Trentham Estate is the last remnant of one of England’s greatest garden estates.

Middleport Pottery
Stoke-on-Trent
Museum
Middleport Pottery

Built in 1888, the beautifully-conserved grade II* listed Middleport Pottery has been producing its world-famous Burleigh pieces for over 120 years. Today it is the only working Victorian pottery left in Stoke-on-Trent and a multi award-winning visitor attraction.

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