If the idea of exploring a museum by torchlight sounds intriguing – and you like animals – then put Friday 14th (not 13th – phew!) in your diary.
As part of London's annual
Museums at Night weekend,
The Grant Museum, the only remaining university zoological museum in London, is holding a torch lit tour so you can get to know the creatures that come out after dark. This cultural initiative is funded by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and organised by
Culture24.
The Grant Museum actually contains over 62,000 specimens in total, but this event is going to focus on the nocturnal types, such as owls, bats, badgers and even aye-ayes (and if you've never seen one of these cute rodents it is worth the trip just for that!). You'll even get to find out how the animals have evolved to live without light.
Learning about these midnight munchers isn't the only good thing about the evening. It is a Friday night after all, so come expecting to enjoy a glass of something (alcohol or soft drinks are on offer) at the drinks reception any time between 5.30pm and 10pm.
Museums at Night is part of a European campaign called La Nuit Des Musées, which is held on 15 May in many cities all over Europe, including France (which has over 2,000 events), Belgium and Italy. To find out more go to the
official website (in French and English). For more details on what's occurring over the London weekends as well as behind-the-scenes news, visit the
Museums at Night blog.
