Exhibitions and Events at Manchester Museum – May 2015
Permanent collection
Manchester Museum is home to an array of treasures from the natural world and the many cultures it is home to. Highlights include a T.rex and fossils of other pre-historic creatures, ancient Egyptian artefacts and live amphibians and reptiles.
Exhibitions
All exhibitions at Manchester Museum are FREE.
Romuald Hazoumè: Dance of the Butterflies
14 February 2015-December 2015
Dance of the Butterflies is a stunning new art work by one of Africa’s foremost contemporary artists Romuald Hazoumè. It features swarms of multicoloured ‘butterflies’ which will take over the Museum’s Living Worlds gallery, interacting with the Museum’s own collections. Hazoumè, whose work was featured in We Face Forward, the Manchester-wide celebration of West African art and culture in 2012, will return to create this work for Manchester Museum. The hundreds of butterflies are made from off-cuts of vibrant African wax-print fabrics from the artist’s home country of Benin. Dance of the Butterflies represents a very African take on politics, exploitation and the ‘butterfly effect’- the way in which tiny impulses within chaotic systems can lead to unexpectedly serious effects. The display opened to coincide with the reopening of the Whitworth, following a £15million redevelopment.
Making Monuments on Rapa Nui
The Statues from Easter Island
1 April-6 September 2015
The monumental stone statues of Rapa Nui (named Easter Island by European explorers) in the Pacific are some of the most widely recognised archaeological objects in the world. Based on fieldwork on the island by Professor Colin Richards, an archaeologist at The University of Manchester, the exhibition will take a fresh look at these impressive statues, or ‘moai’. Making Monuments will look at how the statues were made, the role they played in the lives of the islanders, how they were quarried and transported across the island, and what they mean. It will also deconstruct some of the myths about the island, and discuss current theories about the decline of this astonishing culture. As part of the exhibition, Manchester Museum will show one of the statues, Moai Hava, which was collected from Rapa Nui in 1868, and is on loan from the British Museum.
Family events and activities:
Baby Explorers
Tues 12 May, 10.30-11.15am, 11.30am-12.15pm & 1-1.45pm
Book on 0161 275 2648 (Bookings will be taken a week in advance from 2pm), free
Sensory play and interactive story sessions for babies who aren’t walking yet. Every other Tuesday (except half term school holidays when there are drop-in sensory play sessions 11am-2.30pm).
Early Opening for Early Birds
Sat 23 May, 9-10am
Drop-in, free, families with children under 5s and their older siblings
Are you and your young children up with the Larks and excited to get out and about and exploring? Come along to Manchester Museum’s Making Monuments on Rapa Nui exhibition for our early opening for early birds. Enjoy self-led tours, object handling and craft activities. (Just the Making Monuments on Rapa Nui exhibition will be open at 9am – you can explore the rest of the Museum from 10am).
Big Saturday: Statues from Easter Island
Sat 23 May, 11am-4pm
Drop in, Free, Families
Come along to Manchester Museum and find out more about the monumental stone statues (or ‘moai’) of Rapa Nui (named Easter Island by European explorers). Discover the role the statues played in the lives of the islanders, how they were quarried and transported across the island, and what they mean.
Learn some archaeology skills, meet experts, enjoy hands-on craft activities, and explore our Making Monuments on Rapa Nui exhibition.
All this and more…
Half term: Rapa Nui statues
Mon 25 May-Fri 29 May, 11am-4pm
Drop in, Free, Families
Visit the Museum’s Making Monuments on Rapa Nui exhibition, and find out more about the monumental stone statues (or ‘moai’) of Rapa Nui (named Easter Island by European explorers). Discover the role they played in the lives of the islanders, how they were quarried and transported across the island, and what they mean.
Create statues of your own inspired by objects in the exhibition, including Moai Hava, a statue collected from Rapa Nui in 1868, on loan from the British Museum.
Baby Explorers
Tues 26 May, 10.30-11.15am, 11.30am-12.15pm & 1-1.45pm
Book on 0161 275 2648 (Bookings will be taken a week in advance from 2pm), free
Sensory play and interactive story sessions for babies who aren’t walking yet. Every other Tuesday (except half term school holidays when there are drop-in sensory play sessions 11am-2.30pm).
Magic Carpet
Fri 29 May, 10.30-11.30am & 11.30am-12.30pm
Book on 0161 275 2648 (from a week before from 2pm), free, under 5s and their families/carers
Story making and activity sessions. For toddlers up to 5yrs and their families/carers (Young babies welcome with older siblings).
Discovery Centre
Sats & Suns, 11am-4pm
Drop-in, Hands-on, Free, All ages
Drop into the Discovery Centre for drawing and other art activities inspired by the Museum’s collection and pick up one of our free Museum activity sheets.
Throughout the week visit one of our handling tables and get hands-on with objects from the collection, such as an Alexander the Great coin, an urban fox and an ancient Egyptian scarab beetle.
Talks, tours and workshops for adults:
English Corner
Tues 5 May, 1-2.30pm
Drop-in, Free, adults
Free English conversation classes using the Museum’s collection as inspiration for discussion.
Museums at Night: Brighter Sound
Thurs 14 May, 6-9pm
Drop-in, Free, Part of Museums at Night – One night, city-wide, free events
Brighter Sound brings together musicians Jason Singh and Giuliano Modarelli in an event inspired by India’s Warli artists and the animation of the Museum’s collections.
A Fine Line has worked in partnership with Brighter Sound to explore the potential of artists’ interdisciplinary collaborations with Traditional Indian arts practise.
Jason Singh – a composer and sound artist and Giuliano Modarelli a virtuosic guitarist, spent an exhilarating three weeks working in the context of Warli painters who are themselves exploring and experimenting beyond the boarders of tradition.
Against a backdrop of Warli canvasses and images, Jason and Giuliano will perform an sonic account of their journey.
www.creativetourist.com/manchester-after-hours
Building the great monuments of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
Sat 23 May, 2-3pm
Book online at mcrmuseum.eventbrite.com or phone 0161 275 2648, Free, Adults
Based on fieldwork on the island by Professor Colin Richards, an archaeologist at The University of Manchester, this talk will explore the social significance of the range of volcanic materials that are used in the construction of the ceremonial platforms (ahu), including the statues (moai) and topknots (pukao). The recent excavations and discoveries of the Rapa Nui: Landscapes of construction Project will also be presented as will an alternative interpretation of the prehistoric Rapa Nui social world.
Rock Drop: Geology Identification Sessions
Thurs 28 May, 2-3pm
Drop-in, Free
Our Curator of Earth Sciences, David Gelsthorpe, will be available once a month to answer your questions and identify your rocks and fossils.
Taster tours
Every Wed & Thurs, 1pm
Drop-in (no need to book), Free, meet at the Information Desk (Floor G)
Come and join one of our Visitor Services Assistants for a tour and learn more about some of the fascinating objects on display at the Museum. Tours are drop-in and focus on different aspects of the Museum and its collections each time.
Vivarium Tours
Every Thurs, 12pm
Book on 0161 275 2648, Free
Take a tour of one of the most popular and distinctive galleries at Manchester Museum. Explore our comprehensive collection of live reptiles and understand how the Museum is taking a leading role in the conservation of some of the world’s most endangered amphibians.
Manchester Museum,
The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL
Open daily: 10am-5pm
24-26 Dec, 1 Jan: closed
0161 275 2648
www.manchester.ac.uk/museum
@McrMuseum
FREE ENTRY
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