KINNEIL Museum is opening its doors at night on Friday, May 18 – and you’re invited to come along! The event is part of a Scottish-wide Festival of Museums, co-ordinated by Museums Galleries Scotland, and the UK-wide Museums at Night initiative.
Drop in to Kinneil any time between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on May 18 and enjoy entertainment and activities. You’ll have the chance to:
- meet members of the Roman re-enactment group The Antonine Guard and pose for photos;
- tour the surrounding historic Kinneil Estate – on two guided evening walks with historian Ian Scott (at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.);
- enjoy music from members of UNISON Kinneil Band;
- pick-up free history goodie bags (subject to availability); and
- see the displays and attractions in the recently-revitalised museum.
The event has been organised by the charity The Friends of Kinneil, with support from Falkirk Community Trust, and funding from Museums Galleries Scotland as part of the Festival of Museums.
Maria Ford from the Friends said: “It should be a great evening, offering something for everyone. We’re delighted Ian Scott has agreed to take people around the surrounding Kinneil Estate as part of the Night at Kinneil Museum. The Estate is packed with history, including the impressive mansion Kinneil House, the ruins of a medieval church and the workshop once used by inventor James Watt.
“Kinneil Estate also features part of the Roman Antonine Wall. Our friends in the Antonine Guard, a Roman re-enactment group, are coming along in Roman gear, so make sure you bring your cameras for a souvenir photo. There are also lots of Roman things to see inside the museum itself.”
Mr Scott’s tours will leave outside the museum at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. No booking is required, although children should be supervised and all walkers should wear appropriate footwear and clothing. In the event of wet weather, the walk may be re-scheduled.
The Friends will also be giving out 250 goodie bags, packed with local information, sweets and treats and Kinneil postcards. It’s first-come, first served – with giveaways for adults and children. A big thank-you to LIDL, Spar, Farmfoods, Tesco and Scottish Fine Soaps for helping us provide additional treats for visitors.
P.S. If you’re visiting the Museum for the first time – there are lots of driving directions and maps at www.kinneil.org.uk/map
This event has been supported with a Festival of Museums grant from Museums Galleries Scotland.
THE FESTIVAL OF MUSEUMS
Festival of Museums will be staged over the weekend 18 – 20 May 2012. From Aberdeen to Ayrshire and Skye to Stirling, there’s an ever-growing programme with more than 50 confirmed events so far Scotland-wide, and many of the events are free.
This year, visitors can enjoy some sleuthing at the Bell Pettigrew Museum in St Andrew’s; settle down to some wistful and wonderful Celtic fairy tales at the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens in Glasgow; discover Scotland’s ‘horrible history’ at the Falconer Museum in Forres, Moray; listen to Tosca in the National Galleries in Edinburgh or attend a Japanese tea ceremony at Dumfries Museum and Camera Obscura. From little ones to big kids, and young Einsteins to avid inventors – there’s something for everyone.
The Festival, organised by Museums Galleries Scotland, coincides with other Europe-wide celebrations of the many eclectic cultural experiences offered to visitors by museums and galleries.
Joanne Orr, Chief Executive of Museums Galleries Scotland, said: “Festival of Museums is about igniting imaginations while celebrating Scotland’s wealth of culture. The festival’s real victory is the sheer variety of museums taking part – the programme includes many events in the bigger museums as well as communities working together to offer a new experience at their local museum. This allows everyone to get involved and makes the weekend the perfect excuse to finally get around to enjoying a museum which you have been intending to visit or to simply pop in to your ‘local’ for a bit of fun and inspiration.”
- Festival of Museums will take place 18-20 May 2012.
- Museums across Scotland are taking part with day and night-time events.
- Festival of Museums takes place on the same weekend as Museums at Night events across the UK.
- Festival of Museums is about museums working together to celebrate Scotland’s culture while simultaneously highlighting to people how museums and galleries offer great-value days out, year round.
- Festival of Museums is coordinated by Museums Galleries Scotland.
- Visit www.festivalofmuseums.com to explore the full events programme.
MUSEUMS AT NIGHT
Museums at Night is the annual after-hours celebration of arts, culture and heritage when hundreds of museums, galleries, libraries, archives and heritage sites open their doors for special evening events. It takes place over the weekend of Friday 18th – Sunday 20th May 2012. www.museumsatnight.org.uk
Culture24 is a non-profit cultural publishing organisation supporting arts and heritage venues to reach audiences across digital platforms. We collect and share cultural data, publish websites, run the national Museums at Night campaign and lead action research projects. www.WeAreCulture24.org.uk
Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2011 and 2015, we will invest £1.4 billion of public money from government and an estimated £0.85 billion from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk
Love Art London is the leading independent arts club in London, providing its members with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the art world. Every month Love Art London creates 4 unique pop-up events at galleries, studios and places of cultural interest, each of which are led by artists, curators, critics and those in the know. www.loveartlondon.com
The Historic Houses Association represents 1500 privately owned historic houses, castles and gardens throughout the UK. These are listed buildings or designated gardens, usually Grade I or II, and are often outstanding. www.hha.org.uk
The Arts Marketing Association is open to all arts professionals involved in bringing the arts and audiences together. The AMA has an active and diverse membership of over 1900 who regularly participate in professional development opportunities to improve their working practices. www.a-m-a.org.uk
The National Trust is a charity with a statutory duty to preserve places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland ‘of historic interest and natural beauty for the benefit of the nation’. As Europe’s largest conservation charity we protect over 350 historic houses, 160 gardens, 1,100 kilometres of coastline, 254,000 hectares of land of outstanding natural beauty, six World Heritage Sites, 28 castles and 60 pubs – and give access to them for people to enjoy. The Trust has around 4m members and 61,000 volunteers. Find out more at: www.nationaltrust.org.uk
English Heritage is the Government’s advisor for the historic environment. We provide advice on how best to conserve England’s heritage for the benefit of everyone. Most of England’s heritage is in private hands. We work with landowners, commerce and industry, planners and developers, national, regional and local government, the Third Sector and local communities to help them conserve the historic environment. We promote public knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of our heritage. We are also entrusted with the custodianship of some of the most important monuments of human history – such as Stonehenge and Hadrian’s Wall. For further information about our work, please visit www.english-heritage.org.uk
ICOM UK, the UK Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM UK), is an organisation created in 1946 by and for museum professionals. ICOM is a unique network of almost 30,000 members who represent the global museum community. www.icom.museum
Museums Galleries Scotland represent over 340 museums and galleries across Scotland, which welcomes 25 million visitors and provides £800 million in value to the Scottish economy. www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk
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