NB: To let us know if you plan to attend our dinner and reception, please follow the links provided in your booking email. If you have not received this, please contact the Development Office at alumni@darwin.cam.ac.uk
All Weekend:
No booking required!
Garden Quiz & Treasure Hunt
Explore the Darwin gardens at your own pace, with our specially created treasure hunt if you’re feeling competitive!
Colouring Competition, Old Library
Be inspired by the colours of the Darwin gardens and bring to life a beautiful drawing of the College’s much-loved wisteria, created by current student Rachel. Prizes available and submissions will be judged by Head of Wellbeing Beau-Jessica Roberts. Pleaes hand in your masterpieces to the Porters Lodge for a chance to win!
Punting
What’s a nostalgic return to Cambridge without a float down the Cam? Maximum six people to a boat: sign up on the day.
Saturday 6 July: 10-18:00
Sunday 7 July: 10-16:00
Open House: The Painted Room
Saturday 6 July- 10-17:00
Sunday 7 July- 13-16:00
Your chance to mingle with the great and good of late 19th century Cambridge, as depicted in the mysterious and beautiful frescoes of Darwin’s Painted Room.
Gwen Raverat Painting Exhibition, Fellows Study
Artist, illustrator, and daughter of Sir George Darwin, Gwen Raverat (1885-1957) was born and died at what is now Darwin College. Her memoir, Period Piece, recalls her childhood at Newnham Grange, and her pictures provide fascinating glimpses of the house as family home.
Saturday 6 July- 11:00- 16:00
Sunday 7 July-10:00- 16:00
Darwin College: A History, Study Centre
Take in the evolution of the Silver Street site, from family home and the base of several generations of Darwins, through 60 years as Cambridge’s first postgraduate College.
Friday 5 July
12:00-14:00 Welcome Lunch for Alumni- 1964-1974 Richard King Room
The weekend will begin with a lunch for alumni from the years 1964-1974, with the Master and the Development Director. We hope to bring together as many of the College’s earliest cohort of students as possible. If you wish to attend, please book here.
18:00-19:30 Celebration Reception Darwin College Garden
19:30-21:00 Celebration Dinner Dining Hall
The drinks reception for the Celebration Dinner will begin at 18:00 in the gardens. All are welcome to DarBar after dinner to enjoy our specially created Darwin-themed cocktails and more!
Saturday 6 July
09:00- 12:00 Family Activities Morning Bar Area
Keep younger visitors entertained with colouring, Lego and crafts with the DCSA Families Officer.
10:00-12:30 Brunch Dining Hall
Pay as you go, no booking required.
10:00-12:30 Family Sports Morning Gardens- main lawn
Burn off some Saturday morning energy, or blow away the cobwebs of the night before, with games including Spikeball, croquet, Cornhole, lawn bowls and more.
10:00-11:30 Cookery Demonstration Richard King Room
Darwin’s renowned Catering Manager, Ivan Higney, will be cooking up a storm in the Richard King Room, showcasing Darwin’s commitment to sustainability and green thinking. If you would like to learn more about our efforts to provide healthy and sustainable food, then please follow this link.
10.30-11.30 Darwin on Display Newnham Grange- meet in the Old Library
Guided tours of Newnham Grange and items connected to the Darwin family will be hosted by Dr Edwin Rose (Advanced Research Fellow) and Ms Libby Howie (Bye-Fellow). Edwin’s research has focused largely on Sir George Howard Darwin, son of the naturalist Charles Darwin, who made this house his family home from 1885. Libby will be sharing the story of the artistic trailblazer, Gwen Raverat- wood engraver, illustrator and daughter of Newnham Grange Gwen Raverat (née Darwin).
11:30-13:30 Honey Tasting and Beeswax Candle-making Gardens
What do you get when you mix Darwin’s wonderfully varied gardens with a colony of industrious bees? Some of the most delicious honey in Cambridge! Join the Darwin Beekeeping Society to taste the results, and to make your own beeswax candles as a unique souvenir.
12:00-14:00 Picnic Lunch Gardens
13:00-15.00 Sunflower Seed Planting and Insect Spotting Gardens- meet at the student allotments.
Calling all budding horticulturalists and entomologists… or anyone who just fancies seeing something grow. Give those green fingers an outing by planting seeds and collecting bugs with Darwin gardener Derrienne Bell and PhD student Jana.
13:00-15:00 Face-painting Gardens
14:00-16:00 Chess Sessions Parlour
14.30-15.30 Darwin on Display Newnham Grange- meet in the Old Library
16:00-17:30 What can higher education and research do to solve and change Global Challenges?- Panel Discussion, John Bradfield Court
Join a panel of Darwinians for a wide-ranging exploration of the role of research and the higher education sector in responding to the challenges facing the global community.
- Professor Fiona Karet, Vice-Master, Professor of Nephrology, Honorary Consultant in Renal Medicine
- Professor Carol Brayne CBE, Fellow, Professor of Public Health Medicine, Co-Chair of the Cambridge Public Health Interdisciplinary Centre;
- Professor Dame Jane Francis, Fellow, Director of the British Antarctic Survey
- Dr Duncan Needham, Dean and Senior Tutor, Director of the Centre for Financial History
- Ms Niamh Hartley, DCSA President and PhD student in Chemistry
16:30-18:00 Wine and Local Juice Tasting Richard King Room
Try out some local produce with Darwin Catering Manager Ivan Higney.
17:30-19:00 Family Formal Hall Dining Hall
Share the unforgettable experience of a Darwin Formal Hall with the younger members of your family, and still get them to bed on time! We are delighted to invite alumni and their families to a special family-friendly Formal on Saturday evening.
18:30-21:00 Celebration Dinner Dining Hall
All are welcome to DarBar after dinner to enjoy our specially created Darwin-themed cocktails and more!
Sunday 7 July
10:00-11:00 Garden Bird Walk with the Master of Darwin Gardens- meet at the wisteria
Join the Master, Dr Mike Rands, and PhD student Jana for a garden bird walk and see what the gardens have to offer!
11:00-12:30 Campus and Building Tour with the Dean and Bursar Gardens- meet at the wisteria
Join the Dean, Dr Duncan Needham, and Bursar, Mr John Dix as they give a guided tour of the history of the buildings and grounds at Darwin College. The Bursar will also present the future plans for the College.
10:00-12:30 Brunch- All welcome! Dining Hall
Pay as you go, no booking required.
11:00-13:00- Painting and Drawing Gardens
Whether you’re an experienced artist or absolute beginner, join postdoc Rachel to sketch and paint Darwin’s beautiful gardens.
11:30-13:30 DCBC Boat Club Outings
Return to the river with Darwin College Boat Club . All former rowers are welcome to form a crew. Sign up here.
13:00-14:00 Garden Tours with the Garden Fellow Gardens– meet at the wisteria
Join Darwin gardener Derrienne Bell, and Dr Torsten Krude for a tour of the Darwin gardens, and discover its best kept secrets.
14:00-16:00 Afternoon Tea Gardens
14:30-15:45 Harpsichord recital and Violin and Viola Solo performed by the Director of Music and Bill Hawkes John Bradfield Court
Join Darwin’s Music Director, Francis Knight, for a session of Tudor keyboard music performed on the harpsichord from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.
Bill Hawkes first entertained the music lovers of Darwin as a child in the 1970s, when his father, Professor Dean Hawkes, joined the College as a Fellow in Architecture. We are delighted to have been able to lure him back! Bill will be join forces with Francis Knight for a violin and harpsichord recital, as well as performing some solo pieces by Gavin Byars, Arvo Pärt and Nick Drake.
15:00-16:00 Darwin on Display Newnham Grange- meet in the Old Library
