Sensory Stories & Rhymes

Sensory Stories and Rhymes run on Tuesday mornings at The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in the city centre, with sessions listed for 10, 17 and 24 November, and 1, 8 and 15 December. They're designed for the city's youngest visitors, who get to explore the gallery's collections through songs, stories, movement and sensory play, engaging with art in a way that makes sense to them.

Each child gets a sensory play bag of freshly cleaned resources to keep them occupied throughout the session. The idea is that having something to hold and touch gives physical meaning to the words being spoken, which helps develop listening and language skills. It's a hands-on way of bringing stories to life rather than just sitting and listening.

One of the better things about the format is that the sessions move to a different gallery each week, so the backdrop changes along with the story. It means you're seeing different parts of the museum's collections over the course of the run. The sessions are part of a wider family programme at The Herbert, which also includes 'Sensory Seekers with Coffee Tots' over at The Wave Waterpark and a festive 'Sensory Stories and Rhymes: Santa Sing Along Special' as the term draws to a close.

They run on Tuesdays from 10.30am to 11am, so it's a short, focused half-hour. It costs £1.50 per child, and adults pay the standard Herbert entry fee. The museum is at Jordan Well, CV1 5QP, right in the city centre.