Night at the Museum
Press release - 22 April 2009
Spend an evening at the Natural History Museum at Tring – for one night only
The Natural History Museum at Tring will be open until 22.00 on 15 May, as part of the national Museums at Night campaign. Visitors will get the chance to see Tring’s wild, weird and wonderful animals long into the evening, when the galleries are usually closed.
Museum staff will be bringing out a variety of specimens for visitors to examine a little more closely and people will be able to stroke a snake skin, feel the fur of a mole and a genet and get up close to an elephant tooth and some dried seahorses.
Museum manager Paul Kitching said, ‘By taking part in the Museums at Night campaign, we hope that many people who live and work in Tring will seize the chance to see the Museum after hours and experience our fantastic collections. We’ve recently opened a new exhibition, Bumblebees and unveiled the newly refurbished Gallery 6, so there’s plenty of new things to see and do in the Museum.’
The shop and café at the Natural History Museum at Tring will also be open so visitors can stock up on nature-related goodies and sample some of the Zebra Café’s tasty treats in the evening.
Visitor information
Address: The Natural History Museum at Tring, The Walter Rothschild Building,
Akeman Street, Tring, Herts HP23 6AP
Date: 15 May 2009
Admission: free
Opening hours: Friday 15 May 10.00–22.00 Normal opening hours are Monday–Saturday, 10.00–17.00 and Sunday, 14.00–17.00
Access: Step-free access is limited to Gallery 1, the temporary exhibition gallery, the shop and Zebra Café. A virtual tour of the upper galleries of the Museum is available in the temporary exhibition gallery.
Visitor enquiries: 020 7942 6171
Website: www.nhm.ac.uk/tring
For more information about the Natural History Museum at Tring, please contact
Jane Lucas
Natural History Museum Press Office
Tel: 020 7942 5189, email: j.lucas@nhm.ac.uk
(Not for publication)
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Notes for editors
Notes for editors
- The Natural History Museum at Tring opened in the late 1800s to house the collections of Lionel Walter, second Baron Rothschild and offers outstanding examples of nineteenth-century taxidermy at its very best. The Museum was bequeathed to the nation and became part of the Natural History Museum in 1938. The public galleries were modernised, but the fascinating character of the Museum has been retained.
- More than 130,000 visitors a year enjoy a glimpse into the fascinating world of a Victorian collector, where they can see a huge variety of wild, weird and wonderful specimens from across the animal kingdom – from armadillos to zebras.
- The site at Tring also houses both the stunning Rothschild library and the Natural History Museum’s ornithological collection, which has been based there since the early 1970s.
- Museums at Night is organised by Culture24 and is funded by MLA. For further information visit www.24hourmuseum.org.uk
- Museums at Night Weekend will take place between Friday 15 – Sunday 17 May. The Europe-wide celebration will be on Saturday 16 May.
- Culture24 is a registered charity and not-for-profit online publisher working across the arts, heritage, education, and tourism sectors.
- 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
- 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 2008, 2,200 museums in 40 European countries took part. For more information visit www.nuitdesmusees.culture.fr
