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MGM 2008 - A Top Ten Of Museums At Night Events This Weekend
By Richard Moss
15/05/2008
Image: a still showing Wallace and Gromit at the breakfast table
Smashing toast Gromit! Wallace and Gromit will be shown in 90 museums for the Museums at Night weekend. © Aardman
Even before Ben Stiller mugged his way through the 2006 box office smash, Night at the Museum, the idea of spending an evening in a museum or gallery has long had a certain appeal.
The night brings with it different qualities and experiences, and museums, stuffed as they are to the gunnels with lots of strange and interesting things, seem perfect – if sometimes scary – places for a little twilight wandering.
If you are of a similar mind then this weekend, Friday May 16 to Sunday May 18 2008, is your chance to take a wander round some of the best museums and galleries across the UK at night. Many of them are opening their doors after hours as part of the Museums at Night Weekend celebrations taking place during Museums and Galleries Month 2008.
Ninety museums and galleries will be showing Nick Park’s Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit animation ‘The Wrong Trousers’, which has been kindly donated by Aardman films specially for the screenings together with a selection of Aardman’s new Shaun the Sheep shorts. Some of these screening events are now sold out so please check your local museum to see if they have any tickets available.
As well as the screenings other museums are organising late night tours, events and all manner of entertainments.
But where to start? To help you get a taster of what’s on here’s 24 Hour Museum’s Top Ten Museums and Galleries to visit during Museums at Night 2008.
Aardman have released several copies of their new Shaun the Sheep films specially for the Museums at Night weekend. © Aardman
Image: a photograph of a manuscript
1. Frankenstein at The Museum of History Of Science
A leaf from the original manuscripts of one of the most famous and influential novels ever written, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, will be on show at the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, on Saturday May 17 2008 from 7 – 10pm.
This rare chance to see a page of the hand-written manuscripts, on special loan from the University of Oxford Bodleian Library, comes as part of an evening of Frankenstein themed events at the museum.
The manuscript will be on show throughout the evening from 7pm. Other Frankenstein themed activities on the night include talks by Dr Matt Bradley and Katrin Thier, an auction of Frankenstein comics, performances by Dr Frankenstein and the Monster, and a showing of the 1931 film adaptation of the novel starring Boris Karloff.
Image: a photograph of a cake with A Night at The Museum written on it
2. Song, storytelling, drama and poetry at Bakewell Old House Museum
A spectacular evening of song, storytelling, poetry and drama on the theme of innovators – takes place at Derbyshire’s Museum of the Year, Bakewell Old House Museum, on Saturday May 17.
From 7.30 to 10.30pm performances will take place in various rooms of this atmospheric building, with a whole evening of programme to delight, enlighten and entertain.
The Sitwell Singers will start the evening with a selection of songs from the Renaissance followed by Derby’s Chamber Choir. Buffet refreshments will be served in the interval.
Adults £8, Child £6. Advance tickets available from Anita Spencer on 01629 813642 email:
bakewellmuseum@googlemail.com
Image: a photograph of a football stand with the words Newcastle on it
3. Late Shows in various venues across the North East
Surely the most ambitious of the events happening for Museums at Night weekend are this weekend’s Late Shows in Newcastle and the North East.
This packed evening enterprise takes place on Saturday May 17 from 7 to 11pm and features not one museum but 20 – if you include the St James' Park football stadium and the Angel of the North!
Museums and cultural venues which are normally closed in the evening will open their doors from 7-11pm, offering a range of free events including: a rare opportunity to tour the pitch at Newcastle United, the chance to chill out in the etch-a-sketch lounge at the Hatton Gallery and a participatory live art and film installation at the Laing Art Gallery in which couples’ romantic clinches are displayed in old-fashioned Technicolor.
A free bus service will be running between the venues, making it easy for people to visit as many venues as possible during the evening. To find out more phone (0191) 277 2171 or visit www.thelateshows.org.uk
Image: a photograph of dancer with an animal head mask
4. In a Different Light 2008 at the Pitt Rivers Museum
A venerable and esteemed veteran of this opening late business is The Pitt Rivers Museum and Oxford Natural History Museum. For 2008 they plan to repeat their successful late night offer of torchlit tours, music and entertainment, which attracted some 3,000 visitors last year.
Expect the same dizzying combination of music and dance amongst the dinosaurs of the Museum of Natural History together with a raft of activities ranging from mask making to bug handling.
Tickets are limited for the torchlight tours, (available on the night) but the events are free and adults can watch the activities from the gallery listening to Javanese music whilst enjoying a glass of wine.
Image: a photograph of the Roman Baths at Bath
5. Museum Night in Bath & North East Somerset
15 museums and galleries in Bath and Somerset are throwing open their doors during the evening of Saturday May 17 for a host of activities taking in everything from the Aardman film screenings to open air dance workshops, live music and storytelling.
An open air Appalachian dance troupe (with a barbecue and a gospel choir), will be at the promenade theatre in the Roman Baths. There will be dance and embroidery demonstrations at No 1 Royal Crescent (Bath's complete Georgian House), whilst the American Museum at Bath will also be going dance crazy with the American dance troupe, the Applejacks - and a barbecue.
Elsewhere there is a a soundscape made from objects on display at the Museum of Bath at Work and taster sessions in speaking Mandarin at the Museum of East Asian Art.
And that's not all - to find out everything that's happening visit the Bath Tourism website www.visitbath.co.uk.
Image: a photograph of men looking at a machine
6. A night of gas, electric and oil at Internal Fire, the Museum of Power, Wales
Between 6pm and 10pm, Internal Fire, the Museum of Power in Dyfed Wales is welcoming people to its second Museums At Night event with the museum open free to all on Saturday night May 17.
Staff will be in period costume and as many of the exhibits as possible will be lit with period lighting - gas, electric and oil.
The museum is dedicated to the history of the internal combustion engine in industry over the last 100 years and aims to display all exhibits in working order. The collection covers early oil engines through to gas turbines but with the emphasis on diesel power from the 1920s to the 1960s.
The intention is to create a display as near to the original working environment as possible so that visitors can see, smell and hear what these engines did.
Image: a photograph from a planetarium show
7. A night of stars and storytelling at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
A visit to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich on Saturday night, May 17, will be rewarded with ‘A Grand Night Out’ that includes talks, live planetarium shows and a chance to observe the 28-inch (70cm) refracting telescope and camera obscura in action.
There will also be free interactive workshops in the Learning Centre with questions to an astronomer, live music at the Observatory café and storytelling on the Meridian Line.
As if that wasn’t enough those energetic folk at the Royal Observatory will be screening Wallace and Gromit: A Grand Day Out, which fittingly involves a trip to the moon – and a quest for cheese. Between 5pm and 8pm.
Image: a flyer for the Fermanagh Museum Night of the Museum weekend
8. An evening of art and music at Fermanagh County Museum
Fermanagh County Museum is hosting an evening of art and music that runs between 7pm and 11pm. The annual TP Flanagan lecture tackles the life of the artist and current subject of a temporary exhibition at the museum, Kathleen Bridle.
There will also be music from award-winning musician and composer Jim McGrath, an art competition, refreshments and the opportunity to view two exhibitions - Ulster Painters 1900-1945 and the Kathleen Bridle Showcase.
Image: a close up photograph of the Lindow Bog Man showing his upper body and mis-shapen skull
9. Late Night Lindow at Manchester Museum
Late Night Lindow sees the Manchester Museum hosting an exciting night of adult-only evening events that are just that little bit different from what you might expect.
On Friday May 16 the museum is inviting visitors to come along for a drink and a night-time visit to Lindow Man. There will also be some special events including 'Flash Fiction' - which challenges you to write your own life story for Lindow Man in under 150 words, with expert tips from creative writer Gena Perry.
Another feature of the evening is a session of bog storytelling. Who says storytelling is just for kids? Storyteller Gina Perry will spin some yarn about bogs and Lindow Man between 8pm and 9pm.
Image: a photograph of Newstead Abbey shrouded in mist
10. Meet Lord Byron, his family and friends at Newstead Abbey
Those of a Byronic bent might enjoy a night of regency fun and frolics at Newstead Abbey. Between 6 and 9pm, you are invited to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the famous poet who will be rising from the dead to take up residence in his ancestral home.
Expect costumed characters aplenty and the chance to meet Lord Byron and his mother Catherine Gordon, who will be accompanied by John Hanson, his solicitor and Joe Murray (Byron's favourite retainer).
Members of the household staff will also be on duty in their Sunday best because the mad, bad and dangerous one will surely want to inspect his new home.
Want to know more? See what's going on in a museum near you by simply adding MGM into the search box at the top right of this page.
Remember to check with your local museum before travelling - some of these events and screenings are already sold out or fully booked and we don't want you to be disappointed!
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Information published here was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared. Welsh language pages developed with CYMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.