The project aims to promote town pride by focusing on hidden histories and art objects that usually go unnoticed by the usual passers-by. The project provided a large-scale free family day out for residents in Congleton during the summer holidays, with the potential for families to visit multiple times to make the most out of Town Expeditions. The trails provided young people with a deeper understanding of the town’s history and heritage, but also of how things change over time. The project made the town's natural and cultural heritage more accessible to schoolchildren and families and increased their sense of belonging to the town.

The “Town Expeditions” project created different types of activities for families with children of preschool age and above, around different Congleton themes and locations. We developed four themed activity trails, four tasks for exploration and four tasks for creativity. All of these activities were available during the six-week summer holidays from 24 July until 1 September 2024. The four trails were focused on; architecture and planning, nature and vegetation, art and design and history and archaeology. All the trails were focused on Congleton’s history and heritage. The activity passport acted as a reward scheme for young people who completed trails and activities. For each activity they completed, they were awarded a sticker for their activity passport.

As part of the six-week event and in addition to the trails, there will be four tasks of exploration; What Plants Grow Here? (designed to encourage young people to explore their own gardens or local green spaces), How Does the Town Work (young people can ask questions about how towns are built and work, then professionals living/working in the town will answer), Who Sings and Who Crawls? (designed to encourage young people to explore their natural surroundings and the local wildlife from their own homes), and finally, What is Close to the Town? (Information on three local walking routes including The Cloud, Biddulph Valley Way and Astbury Mere).

The final segment of the event came in the form of “create” activities. There were four “create” activities altogether; Childhood Memories (advice on how to have conversations between older relatives and young people about childhood in the 60s and 70s), Discover the Beauty of the Town (a Padlet based activity where young people add their favourite and most beautiful elements of Congleton such as a plant, or landmark), Draw Your Own House (a creative activity where to draw your own house, drawings will then be turned into a colouring book), and finally Creative Congleton (aimed at high-school and college students, this activity provides existing tools for young people to create a piece of Congleton based art).

You can find out more on the project's webpage.

The project's activities were attended by 300 families, with the greatest demand from the target audience being for trails, especially around the museum itself as well as Congleton Bath House and Physic Garden. Some individual adults took part in the trail and said to volunteers at the museum “It’s a great way to learn about the town if you’re just visiting or have recently moved here”. The museum saw repeated visits from families who took part in multiple trails, not just one.

Regarding the difference the project made to the museum, it resulted in an 18% increase in museum visitors in August 2024 compared to August 2023. This is due to the event itself, proving that a constant offer during the summer holidays can boost engagement and visiting. Museum donations are also up, as well as general feedback in the museum visitor book and Google Reviews.

One of the best things to come out of the project is the relationship the museum has formed with volunteers at Congleton Bath House and Physic Garden. Due to the success of the project, conversations about future partnerships and activities have taken place – a win-win for both charities.

In summary, the project was very successful. The museum engaged with new audiences through the partnership with Congleton Bath House and Physic Garden and saw repeated visits from families. The museum broke a record for a number of visits in August due to the project and the museum has set a standard for what it can achieve. The museum has instilled in the minds of the people of Congleton that there’s always something going on at the museum.

Our project was unique to both Congleton town and the Cheshire region and was a definite highlight of our education and heritage programme at the museum.

The project materials that are leftover will be used in the future activities of the museum.