On Wednesday, 31 March, A Night at the Museum was held at Coventry's Herbert Art Gallery & Museum. This was a special A History of the World event and was hosted by BBC Coventry & Warwickshire's Annie Othen.
BBC Midlands Today's Lindsay Doyle also presented a live piece to camera in front of the E-Type Jaguar - one of the 10 items chosen to represent Coventry and Warwickshire's history.
Some of the other items on display include the Whittle W2/700 jet engine, a gold Elizabethan ring (which may have belonged to Shakespeare), handwritten lyrics to Too Much Too Young and the Rover safety bicycle.
A gentleman admires the Waverley Wood Handaxe, which was on display. Its real home is the Warwickshire County Museum. Participating museums from across the county also had stands offering further information.
The museums also brought along other interesting items from their collections. The Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum loaned a Leamington Lawn Tennis Club trophy as the town was home to the world's first lawn tennis club.
The Midland Air Museum had a stand at the Herbert and their main item on display was Sir Frank Whittle's jet engine.
There were also lots of activities for all the family. This stand was from Rugby Art Gallery & Museum. Visitors were invited to make rugby balls and add events to their timeline.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust invited visitors to their stand to try wax seal making. This involved stamping a replica of the Shakespeare ring into a tiny pool of wax on a card.
There was also an impromptu performance of Romeo and Juliet amongst the gathered crowds in the covered court.
Debbie Korley and Dyfan Dwyfor, from the Royal Shakespeare Company, who performed a piece from Romeo and Juliet.
The history of the Coventry Strasse sign is explained. It originally came from a runway in France which was used by the German aircraft that bombed Coventry in 1940. It was given the name Coventry Strasse after the raid.
Two young historians make miners masks after looking at objects from a mining collection.
In celebration of the Waverley Wood Handaxe, there was also a resident flint knapper, who demonstrated the art of creating tools from flint.
Those who wanted to leave their computers and mobile phones behind could also try their hand at calligraphy.
One of the highlights of the night was the paper aeroplane competition. Many of the visitors crafted planes and then put them to the test at the top of the stairs.
There was live poetry readings from the Coventry Live Poets Society.
The night was rounded off by a very special performance. In tribute to the Too Much Too Young lyrics, Neol Davies of The Selecter got together with some of his friends to perform a few songs and tunes in the cafe.
It was a great end to a great evening. To find out more about A History of the World, please visit the History section of the BBC Coventry & Warwickshire website.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~35~RS~)
E-mail this to a friend
Bookmark with:
What are these?