Museums at Night events for the brave and the curious

Weird Museum at the V&A Museum of Childhood.

We’ve picked a selection of Museums at Night events which will appeal to the curious minds and brave souls out there…

For the brave…

Priestgate Vaults: If Walls Could Talk
When: 11th – 14th May 2016
Where: Peterborough Museum, Priestgate, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE1 1LF
£: Costs £4 for adults and £3 for children (book in advance)
What is it?
Visitors can step inside Priestgate Vaults, the historic cellars under Peterborough Museum, revealing 500 years of history.  As part of an escorted tour, you will explore these cellars, as characters from the past tell their stories, brought to life using new technology and theatrical effects. Not for those of a nervous disposition.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Erasmus Darwin House Twlight Tour
When: 12th May 2016, 7pm – 8.30pm
Where: Erasmus Darwin House, Beacon Street, Lichfield, Staffordshire WS13 7AD
£: Costs £5 (includes post tour drink)
What is it?
Erasmus Darwin House will open its doors to visitors after hours, with costumed guides taking guests on an exciting and in-depth tour of the building (including the spooky cellars).  Post tour refreshments will be provided.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Night of the Bodysnatcher
When: 13th May 2016, 7pm – 8pm
Where: Old Operating Theatre Museum, 9A St Thomas’ Street, London SE1 9RY
£: Costs £8 and £6 for concessions (not suitable for children)
What is it?
Enjoy a talk in the dark atmosphere of the Old Operating Theatre on the gruesome profession of the Resurrectionists; the men who supplied the dissecting rooms of London from the graves of the city.  Hear the tricks of their trade and the stories of their gruesome work, by bodysnatching expert Kirsty Chilton, Assistant Curator at the museum.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Dispelling the Myths at The Coffin Works
When: 13th May 2016, 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Where: Newman Brothers at the Coffin Works, 13-15 Fleet Street Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham B3 1JP
£: Costs £8.50
What is it?
Visitors can join Gemma Freeman, from William H Painter Funeral Directors, who will help dispel the myths and misconceptions surrounding death, dying and funerals.  The event will also include a tour of the award-winning Newman Brothers’ Factory.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Animated Minds at Bethlem Museum of the Mind.

Old Haunts at The Guildhall
When: 13th May 2016, from 8pm
Where: The Guildhall, Guildhall Lane, Leicester LE1 5FQ
£: Costs £10/£8
What is it?
The Don’t Go Into The Cellar! theatre company presents Old Haunts: Ghostly Tales of Edwardian Menace by M.R. James. An original one-man show based on vintage spine-tinglers, Casting the Runes and Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad.  The theatre company are the finest practitioners of theatrical Victoriana in a macabre vein.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Blood on the Beach: A 1950s Murder Mystery
When: 14th May 2016, 8.30 – 9.45pm
Where: RNLI Henry Blogg Museum, Cromer, Norfolk NR27 9ET
£: Free (adults only and advance booking is essential)
What is it?
Enjoy a night of murder and intrigue by torch light.  Discover the truth behind the terrible fate of Professor Cecil Hunter, a visiting fossil hunter who has gone missing before his lecture.  Investigate and find clues around the town to help solve this murder so foul.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Films at The Fortress
When: 14th May 2016, 6.30pn – 10pm
Where: Redoubt Fortress and Military Museum, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN22 7AQ
£: Costs £6 (adults only)
What is it?
There’ll be a unique film screening of Hammer Horror’s The Mummy (1959), with a talk on Egyptian curses with Suzannah Musson, renowned Egyptologist, beforehand. The Outpost Cafe will be serving drinks and popcorn.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

For the Curious…

The Role of the Media During the Miners’ Strike – Any Lessons for Today?
When: 11th May 2016, 5.30pm – 6.30pm
Where: Winding House, Cross Street, New Tredegar, Caerphilly NP24 6EG
£: Costs £2 (includes tea and coffee)
What is it?
Explore the galleries after hours and then find out more about the role the media played during the 1984/5 Miners’ Strike. Paul Trippier from the University of South Wales will explore the role of the media during the Strike and if there are any lessons for us for today.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Animated Minds
When: 12th May 2016, 6.30pm – 7.45pm
Where: Bethlem Museum of the Mind, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 3BX
£: Free
What is it?
Andy Glynne, director of Mosaic Films, will be talking about Animated Minds, a series of short films aimed at addressing stereotypes around mental illness.  The animated films cover OCD, manic depression, agoraphobia, schizophrenia, Asperger’s Syndrome and self-harm. There will also be a screening of a selection of these short films.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Weird Museum at Night
When: 12th May 2016, 7pm – 9pm
Where: V&A Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA
£: Costs £10
What is it?
Enjoy a twilight journey through the weird history of toys and childhood. Explore the museum’s collection to discover the strange quirks of puppetry, dolls houses and Victorian toys.  Discover hidden corners of the collection in a scavenger hunt and try some object handling of an unusual variety, and take a tour through the weird and wonderful quirks of the museum before unwinding at the bar.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Spirits of the Tenements
When: 12th May 2016, 7pm – 9pm
Where: The Tenement House, 145 Buccleuch Street Garnethill, Glasgow G3 6QN
£: Costs £20
What is it?
Find yourself back in the era of the fortune tellers and mediums of late Victorian and early 20th century Glasgow. Enjoy a tour of the Tenement House before entering the parlour, where Murray, a professional mind reader, astrologer and psychic awaits. Murray will demonstrate techniques used by the mind readers and fortune tellers of the time, including tricks, palmistry and crystal gazing.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Uncover the Hidden Fort
When: 13th May 2016, 6.30pm – 9pm
Where: Newhaven Fort, Fort Road, Newhaven, East Sussex BN9 9DS
£: TBC (adults only)
What is it?
Enjoy a guided tour of some of the hidden parts of the fort not usually open to the public.  Hear about the history of the atmospheric Victorian fortress from resident experts.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Sonnets after Dark at Sir John Soane’s Museum
When: 15th May 2016, 6pm – 9pm
Where: Sir John Soane’s Museum, 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3BP
£: Costs £20 (adults only)
What is it?
Explore the museum after-hours as some of the country’s most exciting up-and-coming poets perform new sonnets inspired by Shakespeare. Start with a bespoke Bompas & Parr cocktail in Soane’s spectacular Library Dining Room. Travel through the Museum as poets perform newly-written sonnets in celebration of the bard and his links to the Soane.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Under the Skin Taxidermy Late at the Grant Museum of Zoology.

Under the Skin Taxidermy Late
When: 14th May 2016, 6pm – 9.30pm
Where: Grant Museum of Zoology, 21 University Street, London WC1E 6DE
£: Free (adults only and advance booking is essential)
What is it?
Enjoy an evening of live taxidermy by ethical taxidermist Jazmine Miles-Long, and an exclusive viewing of the film short Walter Potter: The Man Who Married Kittens.  A pop-up bar will be open all night selling wine, beer and taxidermy-themed cocktails.  Visitors can create their own alternative mounted animal head or simply sample a Grant Museum original Victorian Whimsy cocktail whilst browsing the collection.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Freaky Forensics
When: 14th May 2016, 6pm – 9pm
Where: Long Shop Museum, Main Street, Leiston, Suffolk IP16 4ES
£: Costs £3
What is it?
The Victorian factory buildings will become the scene of the crime and budding sleuths will discover how science can help solve the most dastardly of cases.  Learn how to identify fingerprints on the premises and find out what forensic methods were used in Victorian times, and which ones are used today.  Visitors can perform their own toxicological tests and forensic themed refreshments will also be available.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

Plague Tales – Pus, Pits and Powders
When: 13th May 2016, 5pm – 10pm
Where: Victoria Gallery and Museum, Ashton Street, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3DR
£: Free
What is it?
From powdered unicorn horn to scorpions and spells, discover more about the plague and experimental remedies. Meet a sinister plague doctor, create a plague mask and learn about current plague research at the university.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk

An Evening of Curiosity
When: 13th May 2016, 6pm – 9pm
Where: Lowewood Museum, High Street, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire EN11 8BH
£: Free
What is it?
Visit the Museum after hours for a spooky evening of entertainment. Explore the Witch Hunt exhibition, see the Palace of Curiosities show, and enjoy food and drink by candlelight.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk