Diary of Special Events - August and September 1995

Special Events | Illustrated Talks | Videos | August & September at a Glance

Special events

Summer at the Museum features a variety of activities for all the family to enjoy, from honey bee workshops to talks about some very different dinosaurs.

Honey bee workshop

August 1, 2 and 3: 11.30, 13.15 and 15.00

Join Cathy Maund to learn more about honey bees and discover the secrets of the hive. Sample different honeys from light to dark, runny to set, and extract some honey from the hive to take home in your own individualized pot.
Booking details below

Animals in their habitats workshop

August 8, 9 and 10: 11.30, 13.15 and 15.00

To find out more about the different types of habitats in which animals live, join artists Tanja and Damian and create pop-up puppet animals emerging from their burrows, caves, nests and ponds.
Booking details below

Ground beneath our feet workshop

August 15, 16 and 17: 11.30, 13.15 and 15.00

Learn about the structure and geology of the Earth by discovering all about the different types of rock that lie beneath our feet. Using collage techniques, draw a section down through the soil and layers of rocks with artists Hannah and Andie.
Booking details below

Cave painting workshop

August 22, 23 and 24: 11.30, 13.15 and 15.00

We know something about the lives of early humans from the cave paintings they left behind. Join artists Louise and Caroline and help recreate scenes from the ancient caves with drawings of bison, mammoths and wild horses. Booking details below

Booking details

Places for the above workshops may be booked on the day at the Information desk or in advance by telephoning 0171- 938 9242 weekdays between 09.00 and 11.00. All the 13.15 workshops are for children aged 6 and over, and the 11.30 and 15.00 workshops are for children aged 8 and over. Each party of children should be accompanied by an adult.

The animals in their habitats workshop and the cave painting workshop have been designed to accompany The Nature of History exhibition supported by AT&T.

Mary Anning, fossil finder from the past

August 6, 13 and 20: 11.30 - 13.00 and 14.30 - 16.00

Mary Anning lived an adventurous life finding and selling fossils at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Join Mary in Gallery 30 to listen to her exciting stories and hear about the time she discovered the fossilized remains of a species previously unknown to science.
No booking required

Illustrated talks

All talks will take place in the Palaeontology Demonstration Room, next to the entrance to Gallery 39. They will last for approximately 45 minutes. Recommended minimum age - 8 years, unless otherwise stated.

Rock to riches

August 5: 14.00 William Lindsay

From pterosaurs to plesiosaurs, dragonflies to ducks, the excavation and reconstruction of fossil animals requires patience and great skill, as palaeontologist William Lindsay will explain.

Dinosaurs and popular culture

August 12: 14.00 Mike Howgate

Join Mike Howgate to explore how our ideas about dinosaurs have changed over the years. Follow their portrayal as slow lumbering lizards in the 1940s and 1950s to the quick-witted calculating monsters we’ve seen in recent films.

Nature detectives

August 19: 14.00 Joyce Pope

Join Joyce for a list of handy tips and clues on how to spot the large variety of animals and birds with whom we share our environment, but hardly ever see.

The different dinosaurs

August 26: 14.00 Mike Howgate

You may know all about Tyrannosaurus rex and Stegosaurus, but what about the less familiar Ultrasaurus and Carnotaurus and other new and exotic species of dinosaur?

The man behind the NHM

September 16: 14.00 John Thackray

Sir Hans Sloane died in 1753 leaving his valuable specimen collection to the nation. It was this collection which formed the origins of the natural history department of the British Museum, that eventually became The Natural History Museum which we are today. Recommended minimum age 12 years

The unseen hordes

September 23: 14.00 Kevin Tuck

Moths come in all shapes and sizes, are often highly coloured and some have extremely strange life-cycles. For a fascinating tour around this beautiful insect group join entomologist Kevin Tuck.

Videos

All videos are 30 minutes long and will be shown in the Palaeontology Demonstration Room, next to the entrance to Gallery 39. Recommended minimum age - 8 years.

A taste of honey

In Australia, a certain variety of plant and three tiny species of possum are inextricably linked. The plants provide nectar and shelter, whilst the tiny marsupials guarantee the cross-fertilization of the flowers.

Cuckoo in the nest

By swooping in to steal eggs from unattended nests and quickly laying its own eggs to replace them, the cuckoo sneakily leaves the rearing of its young to other birds.

A clash of stripes

This film follows herds of common zebra and the rarer mountain species as they journey over the African plains. It reveals how they live, breed and consume vast quantities of coarse grass.

Life in the flight path

London’s third international airport, Stansted was built with the environment in mind. The result is a ‘green’ airport, rich in wildlife and complete with its own conservation area.

Flying for gold - the feathered athletes

What would happen if various bird species were to race against each other in a mock Olympic Games? The answer: a humorous video highlighting the different adaptive abilities found throughout the bird world.

                AUGUST AT A GLANCE


Tues 1       Honey bee workshop
Wed  2       Honey bee workshop
Thur 3       Honey bee workshop

Sat  5       Video   11.30  A taste of honey
             Video  12.30  Cuckoo in the nest
             Talk   14.00  From rocks to riches

Sun  6       Mary Anning, fossil finder from the past

Tues 8       Animals in their habitats workshop
Wed  9       Animals in their habitats workshop
Thur 10      Animals in their habitats workshop

Sat  12      Video  11.30  A clash of stripes
             Video  12.30  Life in the flight path
             Talk   14.00  Dinosaurs and popular culture

Sun  13      Mary Anning, fossil finder from the past

Tues 15      Ground beneath our feet workshop
Wed  16      Ground beneath our feet workshop
Thur 17      Ground beneath our feet workshop

Sat  19      Video  11.30  Flying for gold
             Video  12.30  A taste of honey
             Talk   14.00  Nature detectives

Sun  20      Mary Anning, fossil finder from the past

Tues 22      Cave-painting workshop
Wed  23      Cave-painting workshop
Thur 24      Cave-painting workshop

Sat  26      Video  11.30  Cuckoo in the nest
             Video  12.30  A clash of stripes
             Talk   14.00  The different dinosaurs

            SEPTEMBER AT A GLANCE

Sat  16      Video  11.30  Flying for gold
             Video  12.30  Life in the flight path
             Talk   14.00  The man behind the NHM

Sat  23      Video  11.30  A taste honey
             Video  12.30  A clash of stripes
             Talk   14.00  The unseen hordes

Events are free on admission to the Museum. The Museum reserves the right to alter or cancel any part of this programme without prior notice. Please note that some events are very popular and admission cannot be guaranteed.

The Natural History Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7 5BD
Tel: 0171-938 9123

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This document is maintained by Heather King (H.King@nhm.ac.uk) and Neil Thomson (N.Thomson@nhm.ac.uk)