This week, museums all over the UK will be opening late and hosting a variety of quirky events. Museums at Night events will take place from Wednesday 17th to Friday 19th May with everything from immersive theatre and candlelit tours, to unusual workshops and classes.
We’ve picked a selection of quirky highlights:
Stop the Clock
When: 17th May 2017, 4pm – 9pm
Where: Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery, The Music Hall The Square, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1LH
£: Admission costs £2 – £10. Family friendly
What is it?
Visitors can enter The Clock Room and become part of the mechanism, with an immersive multi-projector light and sound installation. There’ll also be a Heyday Arts Bar and live music.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk and www.shrewsburymuseum.org.uk
Explorer Tunnels Tours – Going Underground
When: 17th May 2017, 7pm – 9pm
Where: Stockport Air Raid Shelters, 61 Chestergate, Stockport, Cheshire SK1 1NE
£: Admission costs £6.50 or £5.50 for concessions and under 16s. Suitable for ages 11+
What is it?
Visitors can take a special evening tour around Stockport’s Air Raid Shelters and see areas not usually open to the public, including some unlit and reinforced tunnelling.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
Labyrinth: Night at the Museum – Dark Tours
When: 17th – 20th May 2017
Where: Manx Museum, Kingswood Grove, Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 3LY
£: Admission costs £12 for adults and £6 for children. Suitable for adults
What is it?
Head to the Manx Museum and take part in an immersive theatre tour. Explore the museum by torchlight and hear about the island’s darker side.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
Freds at Night: Make Stuff with MadLab
When: 18th May 2017, 6pm – 9pm
Where: Fred Aldous, 37 Lever Street, Manchester M1 1LW
£: Free. Suitable for adults
What is it?
Join a free workshop and make some wearable tech, have a 3D portrait made, or go on a virtual reality journey.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
Bad Language
When: 18th May 2017, 5pm – 9pm
Where: Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, 84 Plymouth Grove, Manchester M13 9LW
£: Free. Family friendly
What is it?
Bad Language present an immersive evening of storytelling in the beautifully restored surrounds of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
Dr Johnson’s Bluestocking Salon
When: 18th May 2017, 6.30pm – 9pm
Where: Dr Johnson’s House, 17 Gough Square, London EC4A 3DE
£: Tickets cost £45. Suitable for adults
What is it?
Attend a literary salon at Dr Johnson’s House, take on the role of one of the characters who would have attended such an event in Georgian times.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
100 Years of Women in Engineering
When: 18th May 2017, 5pm – 9pm
Where: Kelham Island Museum, Alma Street Off Corporation Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S3 8RY
£: Admission costs £5 for adults and £2 for children – turn up and pay on the day
What is it?
Celebrate 100 years of Women in Engineering by meeting the Munitionettes, hearing Lizzie’s story and joining the pub landlord in the Millowners Arms.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
The Original Gothic Experience
When: 18th May 2017, 8pm – 10pm
Where: Strawberry Hill House, 268 Waldegrave Road, Twickenham, Middlesex TW1 4ST
£: Tickets cost £15. Suitable for adults
What is it?
Join a guide and enjoy a storytelling experience and theatrical tour through the atmospheric Strawberry Hill House.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
Liquid Treasure at The Tall Ship
When: 19th May 2017, 7pm – 12am
Where: The Tall Ship at Riverside, 150 Pointhouse Place, Glasgow, Strathclyde G3 8RS
£: Tickets cost £20. Suitable for adults
What is it?
Head to The Tall Ship for an evening of whisky tasting, hosted by of the ‘crew’ at Glengoyne Distillery, featuring a treasure hunt for grown-ups.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
Haute Macabre: Dr Sketchy’s Anti Art School
When: 19th May 2017, 7pm – 10pm
Where: Aberdeen Maritime Museum, Shiprow, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire AB11 5BY
£: Tickets cost £7. Suitable for adults
What is it?
Enjoy a unique evening of art, burlesque and booze as performance and life drawing come together for this after hours event.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
This Won’t Hurt A Bit
When: 19th & 29th May 2017, 6.30pm – 9pm
Where: Surgeons’ Hall Museums, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, 18 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, Lothian EH8 9DW
£: Costs £9 for adults and £7 for concessions. Suitable for ages 14+
What is it?
A promenade performance around the museum will explore the unorthodox experiments with Chloroform which helped to relieve suffering.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
Jack’s Back!
When: 19th May 2017, 6.30pm – 9.30pm
Where: Time Bandits, Meet by The Cluny, Lime Street, Newcastle NE1 2PQ
£: Free. Family friendly
What is it?
Find yourself wandering down dark, winding passages, witnessing crimes as Victorian Whitechapel is recreated for this special event.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
Museum of Lies: Fact or Fib Tours
When: 19th May 2017, 6.30pm – 9.10pm
Where: The Infirmary Museum, University Of Worcester City Campus Castle Street, Worcester, Worcestershire WR1 3AS
£: Free (donations welcome)
What is it?
Take a tour with a twist and work out fact from fiction as you make your way around the museum. Refreshments will be available at the start of tours.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
Let the Good Times Be Gin
When: 19th May 2017, 6pm – 10.30pm
Where: The Geffrye Museum of the Home, 136 Kingsland Road, London E2 8EA
£: Tickets cost £5. Suitable for adults
What is it?
Enjoy an evening of gin themed fun with talks, masterclasses and the craft of distilling gin. And gin to just drink, of course.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
Special Evening Candle-lit Tour
When: 20th May 2017, 7pm – 8.45pm
Where: Clearwell Caves – Ancient Iron Mines, Nr Coleford, Royal Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire GL16 8JR
£: Tickets cost £12 for adults, £10 for concessions and £7 for children
What is it?
Create your own miners’ clay-stick candle holder, then venture underground with the museum director to experience the caverns by candlelight.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
Under the Skin: Taxidermy Late
When: 20th May 2017, 6pm – 9pm
Where: Grant Museum of Zoology, UCL Rockefeller Building 21 University Street, London WC1E 6DE
£: Free. Suitable for adults
What is it?
For a different evening out, watch live taxidermy demonstrations and watch a screening of Walter Potter: The Man Who Married Kittens. All proceeds from the evening will go towards the Fluff It Up project to protect and conserve the museum’s taxidermy specimens.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk
Creswell Crags
When: 20th May 2017, 5.30pm – 9pm
Where: Creswell Crags Museum and Education Centre, Creswell Heritage Trust Crags Road Welbeck, Worksop, Nottinghamshire S80 3LH
£: Tickets cost £9 for adults and £8.50 for concessions
What is it?
Take part in some 18th century themed fun and become a Victorian explorer. Make a lantern and take a tour of the caves. Drinks will be available afterwards.
More info: museumsatnight.org.uk