Thames
Valley Police Invites Families for a Day of Fun!
This
summer Thames Valley Police is holding a family fun day and is throwing
open its doors to families to come along and find out more about policing.
This is the third annual open day, and last year’s event proved a
great success, with over 2,000 people attending. This year’s open
day will be held on Saturday 9th August, between 10am and 4pm, in the
grounds of Thames Valley Police Training Centre at Sulhamstead near Reading,
which includes the Force museum.
The event is being held to help promote greater understanding of the work
of the various departments and specialist roles that make up Thames Valley
Police. This year the family friendly open day will be better than ever,
with a wider range of exhibits to see and activities to take part in,
such as a display from the dog section and a chance to see the Force helicopter.
Families will have the opportunity to look round the museum, which is
packed with exhibitions about the history of Thames Valley Police, as
well as collections including items from the Great Train Robbery of 1963,
uniforms, equipment, medals, photographs and scenes of crime evidence.
Officers from some of the Force’s specialist departments will also
be on hand to give the public a personal insight into their role and work,
the majority of which the public might not be aware of because it goes
on behind the scenes. Roads Policing officers will be in attendance as
will members of the Specialist Search and Recovery team and the Firearms
team. The Mounted Section is also taking part and will be bringing their
horses to the event and the Counter Terrorism Wing (CTW) will be doing
an explosive display!
As well as input from specialist departments, people will get the chance
to see the ‘Worlds Collide’ film, produced with help from students
at St Birinus School, Didcot, to let young people know about the dangers
of replica firearms. The film will be followed by a talk from a firearms
officer. Visitors will also get the chance to see Irish dancing, listen
to a brass band, see classic police cars, and solve a murder mystery!
The open day is part of the Thames Valley Police Museum’s contribution
to a regional family friendly marketing campaign which promotes museums
and seeks to make them more accessible to families.
Museum curator Ken Wells, a retired police officer and scenes of crime
officer, said:
'Although the museum is quite small it has some really interesting exhibits
and we are really keen to let more people know about it. Visits to the
museum have increased since last year’s open day and we have now
added three new exhibitions and revamped the Great Train Robbery exhibition.'
Chief Constable Sara Thornton, who will be opening the event, said: 'We
are always keen to build stronger links with our communities and this
is an ideal for us to get to know Thames Valley residents. It is also
a great opportunity for members of the public to meet some of our officers
and find out a bit more about what we do.'
Parking at the site is limited and will be available on a first come first
served basis. Entrance costs £1 per adult, free for children. No
animals are permitted on site. The event will be signposted, however,
if using a sat nav, please use postcode RG7 4DU.
More information about the event, including directions to the site, is
available on the Thames Valley Police Museum website www.thamesvalley.police.uk/news_info/info/museum/index.htm.
