Things to do with family at The Firs
Spend time surrounded by musical inspiration in the pretty cottage and garden at The Firs and make music with instruments in the sound garden.
Elgar Soundscapes: Creating Musical Journeys through Nature.
Discover a musical family experience in the garden at The Firs to find the 5 ingredients needed to build musical compositions.
A composer’s job is to create musical recipes using sounds, which the orchestra performers can follow to recreate compositions.
Elgar Soundscapes is an interactive activity inspired by our Curating Elgar project, developed with over 200 participants to respond to Elgar’s story, music and connection to landscape and nature. Visit The First to have a go at creating your own musical journeys by exploring sounds within the garden and try it out in your own green spaces.
Sound Garden
Choose between the three large instruments that wind around the pagoda, surrounded by trees and beautiful plants. There’s the vertical xylophone, hammock xylophone and a metallic swirl to create all sorts of tunes.
We have the instruments just add your imagination. You might even have an Elgar in the making?
Using our specially crafted music makers (also known as golf balls on sticks) create your own tune and share it on our social media use #soundgarden.
Cottage garden
After making music there is lots of exploring to be done in the woodland areas and pretty cottage garden, with bug hotels to discover and an opportunity sit next to a life size statue of Elgar himself on one of our garden benches.
Summer of Play at The Firs
Elgar’s Music Makers
Over the summer holidays come and join in with a weekly activity based around 50 things to do before you are 11 and ¾. Each week there will be a different facilitated activity for families to enjoy together. Booking is essential.
Week 1: Monday 22 July 2024. Get to know a tree. Use your senses to discover the trees in our orchard, create a bark rubbing and make a clay tree guardian.
Week 2: Monday 29 July 2024. Make friends with a bug. Explore our orchard and gardens, use a magnifying glass to look closer and discover what bugs might be hiding!
Week 3: Monday 05 August 2024. Make a home for wildlife. Come and help us to create a cosy bug hotel for our garden.
Week 4: Monday 12 August 2024. Help a plant to grow. With the help of our gardener, discover how to cultivate a cutting, create a seed ball to grow and play plant I spy!
Week 5: Monday 19 August 2024. Join natures band. Listen for different natural sounds and create a natural wind chime to take home.
Week 6: Monday 26 August 2024. Wear a wild crown. Have fun collecting loose materials and design your own cardboard crown to celebrate the final 50 things session!
Adult supervision is required at all times. Recommended ages for these activities are 5-9 years old. The booking is per child not per family, there is no need for the accompanying adult to book a place.