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Winter Events 2009
Christmas at the Cook
12 noon - 4pm
21st & 22nd December
Festive Family Fun with Christmas crafts and activities, visit Father Christmas in his grotto (£2 includes gift from Father Christmas) and festive fayre in Nana Tom's Cafe. Don't miss the grand finale as we mark Midwinter with our spectacular seasonal fire sculptures (3.30-4pm).
Wishing all our visitors a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Any donations towards the costs of events will be greatly appreciated.
We regret that we do not have the capacity to accommodate any childminding groups or organised groups.
All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Winter opening 9am - 4pm every day except Mondays. Further information contact: 01642 311211.
March – October
Tues-Sun 10am-5.30pm
November – February
Tues-Sun 9am-4pm
(last admission to main displays 45 minutes before closing)
Closed:
Mondays,
23-26 & 28, 29-31 December, 1 January
and first full week
of January (4-8th 2010) for annual maintenance.
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until 3rd January 2010
Galapagos Adventure
Contemporary images of the famous Pacific islands and their inhabitants. Organised to celebrate the anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s famous ‘On the Origin of Species.’
until 3rd January 2010
Mana Waka (Spirit of the Canoe): Cook, Maori & the Haka
Marking the 240th anniversary of Cook’s first visit to New Zealand in 1769 and looking at Cook’s first encounter with the fearsome Maori warriors who challenged the visitors from their war canoes.
 
David Gross carving the hull (left), George Nuku assembling the stern post (right).
As part of this project, New Zealand Maori artist George Nuku and Seaham based artist David Gross, working with users of the Tramshed, Hartlepool, have carved a large waka taua (war canoe) for the collections. This forms the spectacular centre piece of the exhibition.
The waka takes shape
2010
Tataow!: Cook, Tahiti & Tattooing & Tattoos of the Tees Valley
On tour to Hartlepool Museum (Jan-April) & Head of Steam, Darlington (April-September)During his first visit to the Society Islands (Tahiti) in 1769 Cook and his crew experienced tattooing and became the first recorded European sailors to have tattoos. This exhibition will not only tell that story but also feature the results of a unique contemporary project to record the tattoos of people in the Tees Valley. In association with the photographers of ‘Wideyed’ and tattoo artists of Angel Tattoo, Middlesbrough.
17th July – 4th October 2009
Tattoos of the Tees Valley
The Captain Cook Birthplace Museum
When Captain Cook and his crew aboard HM Bark Endeavour first sailed to Tahiti in 1769, they discovered a sophisticated people with ornate skin decorations they called ‘tataow’. Some of the crew had tattoos as souvenirs of their visit, including Darlington-born Robert Stainsby, who was one of the first British sailors recorded as having these markings.
From that time the art of tattoo has proliferated around the globe, shipped from port to port by seafarers.
The legacy of Cook and Robert Stainsby can now be glimpsed in Tattoos of the Tees Valley, a portrait exhibition created for The Captain Cook Birthplace Museum by Lucy Carolan, Richard Glynn and Sophie Ingleby.
In the course of their individual explorations, the photographers have discovered a thriving regional tattoo scene, with people wearing a variety of decorations ranging from bespoke designs through to traditional ‘flash’ art and historical Polynesian markings. Their portraits, and the stories behind each individual’s tattoos, offer an insight into the range of tattoos and their meanings.
The meanings tattoos embody are as varied as the individuals who wear them, from marking significant moments in life to the simple love of a design.
Tattoos of the Tees Valley presents a vivid portrait of the region’s contemporary tattoo culture.
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