REM Nottinghamshire Museums at Night

press release

11.05.10

For Immediate release

Late night tours by a villainous Sheriff and spooky walks across Nottinghamshire this weekend

Night owls can look forward to a weekend of nocturnal adventures as museums and galleries alike inspire fresh discovery by opening their doors to late night visitors as part of Museums at Night 2010 – the annual after-hours celebration.

Museums and galleries across the country are uniting to open up their collections to the public, with late opening hours and a huge range of activities for all and the East Midlands boasting a great range of events this weekend.

Museums at Night is organised by Culture24 and will take place from 14 -16 May to coincide with the Europe wide campaign La Nuit de Musées.

Renaissance East Midlands is supporting the family friendly events and museum openings happening at night across the East Midlands. In Nottinghamshire this includes a guided tour with the Villainous Sheriff of Nottingham on a guided tour of the old county gaol at the Galleries of Justice Museum or take part in the Moth Watch in the grounds of Wollaton Hall and Park.

Nottinghamshire Archives

Strange Deaths and Ghostly Occurrences!

Friday 14 May 8pm – 10pm

Cost: £6.50

0115 950 4524

Book early for this spooky evening! The fun starts at 8pm with a talk on ‘Strange Deaths and Ghostly Occurrences followed by ‘mysterious and spooky’ tales from the Storytellers of Nottingham.

Continued

Galleries of Justice Museum

Villainous Sheriff of Nottingham tour

Friday 14 May 4:00pm to 7:00 pm

£6.75 – pre  booking is essential

0115 952 0555

A fun, interactive performance, meet the Villainous Sheriff of Nottingham while he takes you on a guided tour of the old county gaol. With a gruesome emphasis on his attendance at executions. You may even see him be put on trial! The tour ends with an object handling session with Crime and punishment objects never seen by the general public.

Wollaton Hall and Park

Sunset tour around Wollaton Hall

Friday 14 May 2010 8pm to 10pm

FREE

0115 915 3911

Take a chance to take a peek behind the scenes of Nottingham’s most spectacular Tudor building with a special evening tour, which will include a chance to view the sunset from the Prospect Room plus wine and cheese refreshments.

Wollaton Hall and Park

Night Owls / Moth Watch family event

Saturday 15th May 2010 6pm to 10pm

Tours to Admiral’s Bath and caves £2 bookable on the night
Moth watch £1 donation bookable on the night

0115 915 3911

Come along to our Night Owls family event. Our curator Dr Sheila Wright will be on hand to give info on some of our natural history specimens some of which will come out of the stores for the night including owls, moths, bats and other night creatures.

As it is also National Moth and Bat Night, we shall be doing a ‘moth watch’ in the courtyard (weather permitting), so join us to see which of the 330 different species of moth present at Wollaton you can spot! Dr Wright will also be hosting a bat walk (bookable) around the lake. Warm clothing and good shoes needed plus a small torch. Tours will also be available to the Admirals Bath and caves.

Mr Straw’s House, Worksop

Mr Straw’s Guided Tour at Night

Friday 14th May 7pm to 8.15pm

£6.30 adult tickets

01909 482380

Step back in time to the 1920s and find out how a grocer’s family lived in this market town. This ordinary semi-detached house, with original interior decorations from 1923, was the home of the Straw family. For 60 years the family threw little away and chose to live without many of the modern comforts we take for granted. Photographs, letters, Victorian furniture and household objects spanning 100 years can still be seen exactly where their owners left them.

Don’t miss

  • Introductory video introduces the Straw family.
  • Explore three floors of Edwardian house with informative guides.
  • See annual exhibition of items not usually on display.

This is a rare opportunity to visit your local museum during the evening and the exciting activities should appeal to regular museum goers and new customers, adults and children.

For the latest information and to find out what’s happening near you visit www.culture24.org.uk/museumsatnight

ENDS –

For further information, interview requests and pictures contact:

Mandy Dearsley

E: mandy@hollandalexander.com

T: 0116 261 6867

or Louise Holland

E: louise@hollandalexander.com

T: 0116 261 6868

Notes to Editors:

  1. Museums at Night is organised by Culture24 and is funded by MLA. For further information visit www.culture24.org.uk
  2. Museums at Night Weekend will take place over the weekend Friday 14 – Sunday 16 May. The Europe-wide celebration will be on Saturday 15 May.
  3. Culture24 is a registered charity and not-for-profit online publisher, working across the arts, heritage, education, and tourism sectors.
  4. Renaissance is the MLA’s ground-breaking programme to transform England’s regional museums. Renaissance East Midlands leads and delivers the programme across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire for further details visit www.renaissanceeastmidlands.org.uk
  5. La Nuit De Musée was introduced by the French Culture Department to succeed Printemps de Musées and takes place on the Saturday nearest to International Museums Day (May 18).  It is now supported by the Council of Europe. In 2009, over 2,500 museums in 41 European countries took part. For more information visit www.nuitdesmusees.culture.fr
  6. MLA is the government agency for museums, libraries and archives. Leading strategically, MLA promotes best practice to inspire innovative, integrated and sustainable services for all. Visit www.mla.gov.uk

Holland Alexander. Be Inspired. Events, Marketing & PR Agency. London & Leicester.