Spring to Summer 2011 listings

11 February –5 June 2011
Exhibition
Secret Egypt: Unravelling Truth from Myth
FREE
Investigate the truth behind some of the myths about ancient Egypt. Did aliens build the pyramids? What was the mummy's curse? Were the Egyptians obsessed with death?

The displays bring together over 200 objects from some of the most important Egyptian collections in the country including a giant statue of Ramesses II from the British Museum, a rare sculpture of Queen Nefertiti from the Ashmolean and a well preserved mummy of a woman called Perenbast. Also on display will be many treasures previously unseen by the public including objects from Manchester
University Museum, the Birmingham Museum collections and Bolton Museum. www.secretegypt.org.uk

An in-house exhibition

9 April – 29 June 2011
Exhibition

Trapezius
FREE
Through sculpture, installation and film, artists Lisa Gunn and Flora Parrott explore the human spinal column and its ability to heal and repair.

Gunn's work focuses on growth, healing and preservation, while her films explore the overwhelming power of nature and its ability to age and erode.

Parrott's works mix printmaking, collage and sculpture to articulate a physical experience – what happens when you breathe or your muscles relax and tense.

Thursday 2 June
Handling Session

Collection Conversations
10.00am – 12.00pm
FREE
Drop in to What's In Store and handle items from our natural history, archaeology and social history collections. One of the curators will be on hand to answer your questions.

Friday 3 June
Talk
Trapezius Talk – Roz Goddard
12.30pm – 1.30pm
FREE
Poet, author and former Birmingham Poet Laureate, Roz will explore the exhibition in words. Known for her streetwise and bittersweet poetry, Roz's talk will delight and beguile.

Saturday 18 June
Event
An Audience with Navin Kundra
12.00pm – 2.00pm
FREE
Join broadcaster Sat Dhaiwal for an exciting conversation and acoustic performance with one of Asian music's most talented young artists Navin Kundra.

Booking is not required.

Part of the Positive Images Festival

Tuesday 21 June
Lunchtime Talk
Herbert Illuminations:
Trapezius - Artist's talk with Lisa Gunn
12.30pm – 1.30pm
FREE
Lisa shares with us how her work celebrates the power of nature through a combination of film, sculpture and elements of natural history.

Booking is not required.

Friday 24 June
Family Workshops
Tiny Tot Explorers Sensory Play
10.30am – 11.30am & 1.00pm – 2.00pm
FREE
We are repeating our early years sensory play session for 1-3 yrs – it promises to be creative, messy and fun! Booking is essential,
call 024 7629 4774.

Friday 24 June
Event

Costume Study Day
10.00am – 3.00pm
£5
Explore our costume collection in detail and bring items of your own to see if our team can shed light on their hidden past.

Places are limited; book at reception or on 024 7629 4774.

Saturday 25 June
Event
Scratch Choir
10.30am – 3.00pm; Performance: 3.15pm
FREE
Join Chris Hoskins to learn and perform songs from across the world as a celebration of global culture. No previous experience needed!
Age 16+.

Booking advised, but you can turn up on the day. Book at reception or call 024 7629 4774.

Part of Refugee Week

Saturday 25 June
Storytelling
Story Telling 
2.00pm
FREE
Kusumika Chatterjee breathes life into Ruma Gordon's true story about the experiences of a gypsy girl who came to Britain. Suitable for age 11/12 years+, booking is not required.

Events produced in partnership with Coventry Peace House.
Part of Refugee Week

2 July – 30 October 2011
Exhibition
BBC Walking with Beasts
Since the dinosaurs died out over 65 million years ago, our planet has been dominated by an amazing and diverse range of mammals. In 2001 the BBC brought a number of them back to life in their six-part series Walking with Beasts. Featuring large scale models including woolly mammoths, sabre tooth cats, and Neanderthal man along with skeletons and animatronic heads, this exhibition promises to be as engaging as it is visually spectacular.

Using animation, touch screen computers and hands-on interactives this exhibition shows some of the science behind the series. Blue screen technology offers the opportunity for visitors to be transported back in time, and walk, on screen, with the beasts.

Walking with Beasts will tell you more about these fantastic creatures and the times during which they lived.

TICKET PRICES*
Adults £4.95 / Concessions £3.95 / Under 5s FREE
Family tickets £14.00 Concessions £12.60
1 adult & 3 children or 2 adults & 2 children
* includes voluntary gift aid donation

Saturday 2 July
Quiz
Bollywood Quiz
2.00pm – 4.00pm
FREE
Test your knowledge of Asian films with broadcaster Sat Dhaiwal.
Booking is not required.

Part of the Positive Images Festival

13 July – 9 October 2011
Exhibition
Stitch in Time: A Story of Patchwork
FREE
Stitch in Time explores key moments in the fascinating history of British and American patchwork making.

From the expensive use of imported chintz in the 1700s to the Victorian passion for 'crazy' patchwork on both sides of the Atlantic, the exhibition follows the story through necessity in the Great Depression and the Second World War and on to the great craft revival of the 1970s when everyone had a go at making 'Grandma's Hexagon'.

The patchworks in this exhibition are drawn from the outstanding historical collection built up by Jane and Peterson Cobbett. Stitch in Time brings together an extraordinary range of styles, patterns and fabrics as well as revealing stories about the history, makers and owners of the pieces on display.

Saturday 16 July
Workshop
Bag It!
10.00am – 4.30pm
£15 plus £5 for materials
Create a handbag inspired by vintage fabric and clothing in a day!

Sewing machine skills are essential, suitable for age 16+. Places are extremely limited; book at reception or on 024 7629 4774.

Saturday 16 July
Drop-in Event
Harpotunities
1.00pm – 3.30pm
FREE
Informal drop-in sessions in the café where you can try your hand at the Celtic harp.

Booking is not required.