London Museums at Night – Summer 2009
Late Evening Openings at Many of London's Galleries and Museums
May 13, 2009
Museums at Night is a national campaign organised by Culture24, the re-launched 24 Hour Museum. It is funded by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).
The campaign encourages museums and galleries to stay open late into the evening for one weekend every year. In 2009 that weekend will be 15/16/17 May. The idea is to attract people who wouldn't normally visit museums and galleries. The event is closely allied to La Nuit de Musées, a campaign supported by the Council of Europe, taking place on 16 May throughout Europe.
Museums at Night 2009 in London
Here are some of the London institutions taking part in Museums at Night 2009:
- Sir John Soane's Museum – 15 May 2009. The museum will host curator-led candlelit tours on the evening of 15th May 2009. The museum is the former home of Sir John Soane, architect of the Bank of England. He was an avid collector and amassed more than 20,000 antiquities and architectural drawings. Highlights of this exhibition include works by Canaletto, Hogarth, Piranesi and Turner. The museum is also home to the Egyptian Sarcophagus of Seti I.
- National Gallery – 15 May 2009. The National Gallery is open until 9 p.m. on Fridays throughout the year, but on 15 May the gallery will remain open until midnight. This will be a good opportunity to see their latest exhibition, Picasso: Challenging the Past (admission charge), and Picasso's Prints: Challenging the Past (free).
- Royal Observatory – 16 May 2009. Another exciting way to pass a summer evening is to visit the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. The Observatory will offer family events throughout the evening as well as late access to the Telescopes exhibition and the interactive Time and Astronomy Galleries. The Observatory will premiere a new show entitled, Ice Worlds.
- HMS Belfast Battleship Boogie – 16 May 2009. Come and learn the dance steps of the 1940s and enjoy live music on this historic battleship.
- The Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms A Night in the Shelter – 16/17 May 2009. Families are invited to spend the night in the museum and get a glimpse of life during the war. A guided tour will offer the chance to examine items from World War II, play 1940s games and sample a typical meal based on wartime ration allowances.
- Benjamin Franklin House, The Craven Street Bones – 16 May 2009. Take a tour by lamplight and hear creepy tales of body snatchers and human bones under the floor of this beautiful Georgian building. Visitors who would like to know more about London's buried dead might like to read Skeletons: London's Buried Bones.
Full information of all venues taking part in Museums at Night 2009 is available from the Culture24 website.
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