100 years of the Powell-Cotton Trust

What you can look forward to in our centenary year

We’re kicking off the year by introducing a fresh logo for Quex House & Gardens, Home of the Powell-Cotton Museum, along with a brand new website.

We open our centenary season on 14 February with a new Welcome Space and updated garden interpretation to help you find your way and discover stories from all around our venue.

Look out for our Big Museum Build with Animate Arts when we’ll be inviting families, children and curious creators to get hands-on and help build a museum made entirely from imagination, paper and cardboard!

Then, later this spring, we’re launching a virtual tour of the museum, house and gardens, making it easier for you to explore whether you’re planning a visit or browsing from home.

Hands-on events and family-friendly days

Throughout the year, you’ll find lots of chances to get creative and spend time together.

Many of your favourite annual events will be back, including our Spring Eggsplorer’s Easter Trail (28 March-19 April), Queer Nature Tours, Bricktacular LEGO workshops (20 & 21 June), the Festival of Archaeology (17-31 July) and the return of our Nocturnal activities (October half-term)

New activities will include Africa Day (24 May), a new self-led music trail linked to our musical instruments research (July) and Grandparents’ Day (4 Oct).

We’ll wrap up the year with our popular Wreath Making sessions and a very exciting new festive event – A Cosy Quex House Christmas (Weekends 21 Nov – 13 Dec)

Celebrating our heritage

There will be opportunities to take a moment to reflect on everything that 100 years of care has made possible and look ahead, starting on Monday 4 May when we will celebrate together the Trust’s supporters and Quex Park neighbours at a special PCT100 Garden Party supported by Birchington Parish Council.

As the year progresses, our visitors will be invited to look more closely at the history of Quex House and the family life within it, through new tours launching in September throughout Heritage Month. It will be followed by a formal fundraising event in Quex House.

Collections past and present

The centenary is also a chance for us to reflect on how our collections have changed and been understood over the years. We’ll be sharing new displays, exhibitions, and talks that explore both historic stories and fresh perspectives, including:

• A new temporary art exhibition in Gallery 1 with local artist Sam Parsons (April)
• Events and workshops examining decolonisation and museum practice today (7 May)
• A redisplay focusing on Zulu material culture (July)
• PCT100: Past & Present – a year-long strand inviting contemporary creators to respond to the Trust, its collections and its future

All of these projects show that looking after our collections is a responsibility that continues to grow and change.

Gardens, seasonal food and wellbeing

Our gardens will take centre stage during the centenary year, fresh spring planting, new ways to explore with our updated garden interpretation and relaxed family wellbeing days during the summer holidays.

We’re also delighted to be teaming up with Angela’s of Margate for a series of seasonal suppers in the summer and inviting you to enjoy the gardens in new ways.

There will also be garden parties and outdoor events to celebrate Quex Gardens as a place for everyone.

Learning, partnerships and outreach

Education and community remain at the heart of everything we do, and our centenary year is an opportunity to extend that work even further.

In 2026, we’ll be developing new learning resources for schools and youth groups, expanding our outreach across Kent, and strengthening partnerships with local libraries, heritage sites and county-wide events.

New self-led Mini Tours for school groups, launched in partnership with Palm Bay Primary School, will make it easier for teachers to explore the collections in ways that suit their pupils. Learning will also travel beyond Quex, with our Museum on Tour programme visiting KCC Libraries and sharing museum stories in familiar community spaces.

We’ll be supporting educators and youth leaders through a Teacher Twilight and Youth Group Leader sessions (Thursday 26 March), alongside taking part in public events. These include hosting the annual launch of Wheels of Time (Saturday 21 March) and representing the museum at the Kent County Show at Quex Park (30–31 August), ensuring our centenary programme reaches new audiences and celebrates learning in all its forms.

Join us throughout the year

Some details for our centenary are still being finalised, and we’ll announce more events as the year goes on. But one thing stays the same: you’re invited to join us, explore, ask questions, enjoy and share in this special year with us.

Whether you visit once or return throughout 2026, we look forward to welcoming you as part of 100 years of caring for collections and the stories behind them.