Kinneil Museum in Bo’ness and Callendar House museum in Falkirk are taking part in national celebrations of culture this month.
The venues are supporting Scotland’s annual Festival of Museums and the UK’s Museums at Night celebrations.
Kinneil Museum (and its neighbour, the historic mansion Kinneil House) will be open on the evening of Friday, May 13. There will be House tours for the first hour (from 6 p.m.), giveaways, fun events in the museum, music – and a bat walk in the grounds. All the Kinneil events are free of charge. More at www.kinneil.org.uk/night2016
On May 14 and 15, the LandWords festival returns to Callendar House with storytelling, reading workshops – and an appearance from Kelpies creator Andy Scott. Some charges do apply.
Full details are on the Festival of Museums website – www.festivalofmuseums.co.uk
Councillor Adrian Mahoney, Falkirk Council’s spokesman for Culture, Leisure and Tourism said: “Taking part in festivals like these raises the profile of our facilities and encourages people to get out and explore museums and their collections. I hope lots of people will come along and join in the local activities on May 13, 14 and 15 – and also enjoy the wider events around the country.”
The Festival of Museums is an annual event coordinated by Museums Galleries Scotland to showcase Scotland’s extensive cultural offering through over 100 exciting day and night time events taking place at cultural attractions across the country. The programme caters to all ages and interests and includes everything from historical re-enactments and night time murder mysteries to children’s storytelling and arts and crafts.
Joanne Orr, chief executive of Museums Galleries Scotland, said: “Festival of Museums is about igniting imaginations while celebrating Scotland’s wealth of culture. We’re working the best museums and galleries from all over the country and this year’s festival is shaping up to be our most exciting yet.
“The events at Kinneil Museum and Callendar House are just some of many exciting events taking place as part of Festival of Museums between 13 and 15 May 2016. For a full programme of events, please visit www.festivalofmuseums.com.”
The Kinneil – with ends at dusk with a nature walk, and hunt for bats – is supporting the UK-wide Museums at Night festival and the local Nature-Fest.
BBC 6 Music presenter Lauren Laverne is the Ambassador for Museums at Night. She said: “Museums at Night is a fantastic initiative that really makes museums and galleries accessible, fun and interesting. It is so important to encourage a new generation to support and embrace arts and heritage in the UK. There are countless great events going on over the Museums at Night weekend – I can’t wait to sample some of them.”
Nick Stockman, Campaign Manager for Museums at Night said: ““Every year we’re delighted by the range of creative events that cultural and heritage venues programme as part of the festival. There will be hundreds of exciting after-hours opportunities for visitors to go behind the scenes, get hands-on, and discover amazing stories this May – watch this space!”
About Festival of Museums
Created and co-ordinated by Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS), Festival of Museums encourages Scotland’s museums to provide visitors with the opportunity to enjoy exciting, entertaining and surprising day or night events at museums and galleries over one weekend.
This year’s Festival will take place from Friday 13 May to Sunday 15 May and features a range of over 100 events, taking place at cultural attractions throughout Scotland.
MGS works in partnership with Culture 24 / Museums at Night which takes place over the same weekend. In 2016 MGS is also working with Voluntary Arts Scotland to tie in to Voluntary Arts Week and develop partnerships between museums and voluntary arts groups across the art forms.
Find out more at www.festivalofmuseums.co.uk
Museums at Night
Museums at Night is the annual after-hours festival of arts, culture and heritage when hundreds of museums, galleries, libraries, archives and heritage sites open their doors for special evening events.
The Museums at Night festival has experienced phenomenal growth during the past eight years. Museums at Night took place twice for the first time in 2015. The festival attracted 220,000 visits to 700 events in more than 500 venues across the country. The festival is designed to encourage new audiences into museums and galleries.
Find out more at www.museumsatnight.org.uk
Nature-Fest
Nature-Fest is Falkirk district’s annual wildlife festival, offering a range of events through May.
Download the 2016 programme of events here: http://j.mp/nature-fest16
Or find out more at www.facebook.com/FalkirkNF/
LandWords
LandWords is a partnership between Falkirk Community Trust and Edinburgh International Book Festival’s Booked! programme, which is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The LandWords May weekend is part of Festival of Museums 2016, the annual programme of Scotland-wide events co-ordinated by Museums Galleries Scotland.
More at http://j.mp/landwords
Kinneil 
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