An art installation celebrating 30 years of caring for children and young people will come to Skipton this weekend.

The Butterfly and The Bird is a 3D, inflatable artwork which was commissioned by Martin House Hospice Care for Children and Young People to mark its 30th anniversary.

It will be inside Skipton Town Hall on Sunday 24th September between 10am and 3pm, where visitors can explore the inflatable and learn more about Martin House.

Martin House and professional artist Sarah Jane Palmer worked with young people using the service, along with schoolchildren from around the region – including Grassington Primary School – to create the inflatable sculpture and a butterfly animation.

It includes house martins – the bird for which Martin House is named – and butterflies, which are the symbol of the children’s hospice movement.

Alison Wragg, community fundraiser for Martin House, said: “The Butterfly and The Bird is a wonderful space to explore and which we can use in many ways – as a mobile art gallery, a storytelling space, or a sensory experience for our children.

“But it is also designed to provoke discussion and invite questions, and gives us the chance to dispel myths and talk about what hospice care really means.”

Martin House provides care and support to children and young people with life-limiting conditions – and their families – from across West, North and East Yorkshire, at its hospice in Boston Spa, in hospitals and in their own homes.

There is also a rare opportunity to see behind the scenes when Martin House holds its annual open day on Sunday 8th October, from 11am to 3pm.

Care team staff will give guided tours of the hospice, and there will be family entertainment and the chance to learn more how to support the hospice, and volunteering opportunities.

For more information about Martin House and how you can support it, visit www.martinhouse.org.uk.

Picture caption: The Butterfly and The Bird, which will be at Skipton Town Hall this weekend.