National Museums Liverpool Blog - world museum liverpool

This May sees a new exhibition, 'Telling Tales: the art of Indian Storytelling', opening at World Museum, Liverpool. The exhibition will run from 24 May until 8 September 2013 and will feature artwork and scrolls by Indian artists who draw on both traditional Indian tales and contemporary issues in their art. Objects from NML’s own Indian collection will be displayed alongside the scrolls making for an interesting dialogue between old and new. The exhibition will also include a life size series of projections of Elena Catalano performing traditional Indian dancing.

I was lucky enough to go along to Toxteth TV last week to watch Elena being filmed for the projection by our exhibitions team. Elena was filmed on ‘greenscreen’ so she alone can be picked out and projected straight on to the walls of the exhibition.

Watching Elena put the finishing touches to her costume was fascinating. Particular emphasis is placed on the feet, the edges of which were painted red; Elena then wrapped bells around her ankles. This complemented the dance, where each movement and step travelled down to a flat, turned out foot. 

Not only was the skill of the dancing mesmerising but also Elena’s ability to tell a story with her facial expression. This will fit wonderfully with the exhibition’s theme which proves that storytelling isn’t all about the written word!

Legend has it that St George saved a princess who was to be fed to a dragon that terrorised a village. Now, we can’t promise a real life dragon, but there will be plenty of medieval themed fun at Liverpool’s St George’s Day festival (the first of its kind!) on Sunday 21 April.

Children’s TV star, Mike the Knight will kick off the day at 11am when he’ll meet a special dragon at St George’s plateau. The Plantagenet Medieval Society will also be recreating the pageantry, excitement and action of medieval combat along with courtly dancing and music.

The festival will be hosted in areas around St George’s Hall and St John’s Gardens where there will also be a fun fair and various themed stalls including a hog-roast.

There will be lots of indoor fun too at the World Museum, Walker Art Gallery and St Georges Hall ranging from medieval arts workshops and storytelling to costume dressing and a knight’s trail.

Children can also come in fancy dress inspired by Knights, Dragons and Princesses with prizes for under-10s and under-5s. I also here on the grapevine that those who take part in fancy dress will be able to enjoy discounts at restaurants in Queen Square and discounted car-parking at Queen Square Car Park.

Paul Finnegan, a member of our Bug House team, has been lucky enough to receive some Death's-head Hawkmoth caterpillars for World Museum. The Death’s-head is the largest moth in the UK with a wingspan of up to six inches and played a starring role in the famous Silence of the Lamb’s movie poster. These fascinating little creatures migrate from North Africa and parts of Europe to the UK each summer. Adult moths make a loud squeaking sound which, prior to the creation of modern bee hives, the moths used to calm angry bees when raiding hives to steal honey! The caterpillars are currently munching their way through privet leaves and when they are about five inches long they will bury themselves in soil to pupate. After around three months the adult moths will emerge and Paul is hoping to breed them. We’ll keep you updated on their progress…  

We’re looking for young explorers to embark on an exciting journey through crafts and drama to discover more about where they live. Young Explorers is a new group for 8-12 year olds who want to learn new skills and make a difference to their surroundings. The project will culminate in designing an artefact that will be exhibited in World Museum. 

The sessions will be on Saturday mornings in March and April at World Museum, check out our What’s On listings for dates and times. 

Most of us have already celebrated the New Year, and enough time has passed that we have made – and broken – New Year's resolutions a plenty!

If like me you've taken a while to get started with your plans to start a new fitness regime or take up a new hobby, why not have another crack at starting a fresh this Sunday, with the dawning of the Chinese New Year.

2013 is the Year of the Snake, and World Museum can certainly boast a lot of snakes in its collections. You can visit the Clore Natural History Centre to see some of the snake specimens and skeletons on display, or have a look at our online collection if you really want to have a good nose at what’s in our stores.

And if snakes aren't you thing, but you'd like to get involved in the New Year celebrations on 10 February, Liverpool will be awash with activity and some of our venues are getting involved. There’s loads going on this weekend and next, including Martial Arts displays at World Museum, Chinese Crafts at Merseyside Maritime Museum and Lion Dances at the Museum of Liverpool and Lady Lever Art Gallery.

Or why not go to the Museum of Liverpool's Global City gallery, to learn about the history of the Chinese community in Liverpool? The special exhibition East Meets West: The story of Shanghai and Liverpool, looks into the city’s relationship with China and Shanghai, and is watched over by its resident Ceremonial Chinese Dragon.

Happy New Year everyone!

See extracts from this powerful drama at World Museum

School groups visiting World Museum have a unique opportunity to see short extracts from Arthur Miller’s 'The Crucible' in our Treasure House Theatre on 13 February 2013. The sessions will run at 11am and 1pm and will include a chance to ask the performers questions. This event is free of charge and interested schools should email adam.gledhill@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or call 0151 478 4050 to book.

 

The play, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, is set in 1962 Massachusetts when a witch-hunting fury sweeps through communities. As attempts to calm the hysteria fail, families are torn apart and lives are destroyed.

 

Hand in Hand Theatre Productions are currently rehearsing for the powerful drama, ready for a short stint at at the Floral Pavilion’s Blue Lounge this spring. They will be running a special schools matinee show on Friday March 8 - contact the theatre for details of their special school rates.

 

Here's Alyster Chapman, Education Demonstrator at the Aquarium, to tell you about some new inhabitants at World Museum...

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There are some new animals to come and see at the Aquarium, the common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis). Though the name tries to suggest it, these animals are not fish at all, but molluscs, they’re related to octopus, squids and nautiluses, and more related to a garden snail than a fish. When we first got these cuttles in they were only a few cm in length, we fattened them up in the back and waited till they were feeding fine and grown on to put them out. They’re currently around 6cm in length. 

The common cuttlefish can grow up to 50cm though the majority grow to 20-30cm in length and eat smaller molluscs like snails and clams, as well as crabs, shrimps and small fish. They are eaten by sharks and larger fish.

Cuttlefish are amazing animals; they can change the colour and texture of their skin to help camouflage into their surroundings. If you go and take a look you will notice the different body patterns each cuttle has depending on where they are in the tank. If they’re by a darkened patch with stones and other bits going on, they will create a disrupted body pattern - displaying a variety of coloured tones to blend in, and if they’re in clear sand the cuttle will be all one colour and bumpy. 

Why not call in to the Aquarium and see if you can spot all 6?

Here's John Moran, Education demonstrator at the Planetarium paying tribute to Sir Patrick Moore: 
Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell Moore CBE, FRS, FRAS to give him his full title sadly passed away last week but he leaves behind a true legacy of not only astronomical knowledge but also of broadcasting over 50 years to which I am personally very grateful. The Sky at Night is the longest continuous show in British television history and is still going strong. For the last few years The Sky at Night has been broadcast from the home of Sir Patrick on account of his frail health but he never lost his enthusiasm or sharp mind for his subject. People often say to me how difficult it was to understand him as he spoke so fast and with the fervour of a true intellectual that they would often feel bamboozled, but his books, of which he has written dozens, are the complete opposite, with simple explanations on some hard to explain subjects. Patrick Moore was one of the main reasons behind igniting my love of astronomy and what made it even cooler in my mind is that he always considered himself to be an amateur. 

Meet Your Muslim Neighbours (MYMN) is an established group of volunteers, adult and children of Muslim faith. They run this initiative to help break down barriers and build bridges for all communities.

World Museum’s inaugural Meet Your Muslim Neighbour event in June 2012 attracted almost 700 visitors. Brimming with family friendly activity, the day included henna hand painting, Arabic art writing, samosa tasting and a show-and-tell on cultural artefacts and objects.

Following the success of Meet Your Muslim Neighbour Day at World Museum, there are now plans to roll out the same event across all National Museums Liverpool’s venues, starting with Museum of Liverpool tomorrow (Saturday 20 October). Drop in any time 11am-4pm - see the website for further details.