Welcome to South Tyneside’s state-of-the-art cultural venue, situated in the heart of South Shields, brimming with exciting new experiences, activities and facilities for people of all ages to enjoy.
Opening hours are Monday to Thursday - 9am to 7pm, Friday - 9am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday - 10am to 4pm.
Shop @ The Word is currently open Monday to Thursday - 10am to 5pm, Friday - 10am to 5pm. Saturday and Sunday - 10am to 4pm.
Café @ The Word is open Monday to Thursday - 9am to 6.30pm, Friday - 9am to 4.30pm, Saturday and Sunday - 10am to 3.30pm.
The Word
45 Market Place
South Shields
NE33 1JF
0191 427 1818
Free
Soundpit invites visitors to explore what sound and music ‘feels’ like in a fully immersive installation featuring three sandpits. Through playing and touching the sand, you can develop your own images, sounds and even pieces of music.
Find out more about Soundpit
See our opening times for Christmas and New Year.
Christmas Opening Times
Enjoy some fun Christmas activities and events at The Word and across South Tyneside Libraries this festive season!
We have fun arts and crafts sessions for children and families, as a well as a festive-themed costume talk for adults. There will also be various choirs performing at The Word who will spread some Christmas cheer throughout December.
Find out more about Christmas activities
‘Shiver Me Timbers: Pirates on Page, Stage and Screen’ was originally conceived as a physical exhibition and was on display at The Word, National Centre for the Written Word in South Shields from 25 May 2017 to 31 January 2018.
It proved to be very popular with people of all ages and we have now created this online version, featuring all of the amazing stories, myths and facts that visitors to the exhibition found so fascinating.
So if you are ready, we invite you to dive in and immerse yourself in the exciting – and occasionally dangerous – world of pirates!
View the exhibition
A film commissioned by The Word and produced by Tom Kelly and Unified Films specifically for those living with Dementia.
The Place We Love has been inspired by our original Lost Dialects exhibition which explored traditional North East words, phrases, songs and more, many of which are now rarely used. The effect of the exhibition on visitors with various stages of dementia was so profound that we commissioned the film to capture what the exhibition explored.
Watch The Place We Love
