November
Family events
Big Saturday
Saturday 21 November
11am-4pm
Evolution Revolution
Celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's book, On the Origin of Species - about Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Find out why this was one of the biggest, most important and most controversial ideas of all time and take part in hands-on activities. Part of The Evolutionist, our Darwin extravaganza.
11am-4pm: Evolution revolution activity zone
Find out about evolution through object handling, seeing live insects and frogs, playing evolutionary games and meeting scientists.
Drop-in, Free, All ages
11am-4pm: Tree of Life
Help us recreate Charles Darwin's evolutionary Tree of Life by adding your own animal drawing to our Tree of Life sketch.
Drop-in, Free, All ages
11am-4pm: Skull cleaning and evolution
Help us clean some animal skulls. Discover some of the different shapes and sizes they come in and how this helped Darwin with his theory of evolution.
Drop-in, Free, All ages
12-1pm: Family friendly film screening
Monkeys, sheep, dogs, cats and even penguins - whatever your favourite animal may be, we've got a great collection of animated films.
Book on the day, Free, Ages 7 and under, 30 places
12-1pm, 2.30-3.30pm: Clippy Island; an investigation in evolution
Take part in this interactive activity where you and your family become birds and play a game of survival.
Book on the day, Free, 10+, 30 places
1-3pm: Carnivorous plants
It's feeding time for these ravenous, predatory plants. Find out how Charles Darwin studied these plants when working on his theory of evolution.
Drop-in, Free, All ages
1.30-2.15pm: Insect tours
Find evidence for evolution on this behind-the-scenes tour of our insect stores.
Book on the day, Free, 10+
2.30-3.30pm: Frogs and evolution
Join Andrew Gray, Curator of Herpetology (reptiles and amphibians), for an interactive talk on evolution and adaptation using a wide range of live animals from our Vivarium. These will include a range of unusual snakes, lizards and frogs. During the talk you will be able to get up close to the animals and learn why Darwin considered these wonderful creatures so interesting.
Book on the day, Free, All ages, 30 places
Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 November
2-3pm
Victorian gentleman tour
Discover the wonders of the world with our Victorian gentleman guide, Graeme Pye Esquire. Ask him for an 'I've spied Mr Pye' sticker.
Drop-in, Free, All ages
Friday 27 November
11am-12pm
Magic Carpet: Nature Discovery
Get comfy on our magic carpet and enjoy stories and activities.
Book on 0161 275 2648 (from 20 November), £1 per child, Under 5s and their families/carers
Adult events
Sunday 1 November
1.30-3.30pm
The End of the Line film screening and talk
Imagine an ocean without fish. The End of the Line, directed by Rupert Murray, examines the effects of our love affair with fish as food, and the devastating implications of a future with no fish. Marine conservationists will be on hand after the film to answer your questions. Part of Manchester Science Festival.
Book on 0161 275 2648, Free, All ages (Rated PG, some scenes may be unsuitable for young children)
Sunday 1 November
3-4pm
Darwin's dangerous idea walking tour
In his anniversary year, Manchester salutes Charles Darwin and the idea that shook the world. We will see adaptations to different environments, survival of the fittest and living fossils as we explore the life and times of Charles Darwin. Part of Manchester Science Festival.
Meet at Information Desk, £5 per adult, £2 per child (payable to guide)
Sunday 1 November
11am-12noon
On the shoulders of giants walking tour
Discover how Manchester's scientists and technologists continue to shape the world we live in. Find out what the giants of the past, Rutherford and Turing, would make of the would-be pioneers of today. Guided walk with short performances by actors. Part of Manchester Science Festival.
Meet at Information Desk, £5 per adult, £2 per child (payable to guide)
Wednesday 11 November
3-5pm
Showcase
Community archaeology in the Museum
With Dr Lindy Crewe, The University of Manchester.
Drop-in, Free
Day School talk
Friday 13 November
6-7.30pm
The day the time barrier was broken
Human evolution began 150 years ago on 27 April 1859. On that afternoon Joseph Prestwich and John Evans found stone tools in undisturbed gravels and so broke the shackles of a short creationist timescale for human history. Professor Clive Gamble will review the events of that day in a remarkable year made famous by Darwin's On the Origin of Species. The demonstration of a great antiquity for humans had far reaching implications and 150 years later we can put them into perspective by reviewing what we now know or our earliest beginnings.
Book on 0161 275 2643 or email
phyllis.stoddart@manchester.ac.uk , Free
Day School
Saturday 14 November
From Darwin to DNA: Exploring Evolution in Prehistoric Archaeology
9.30-10am: Registration
10-11am: Jill Cook - On the origins of on the origins
11-11.30am: Coffee/tea
11.30am-12.30pm: Joao Zilhao - The emergence of language, art and symbolic thinking: A Neandertal test of competing hypotheses
12.30-2pm: Lunch (not provided)
2-3pm: Stephen Oppenheimer - Human prehistory and the use of DNA
3-3.30pm: Coffee/tea
3.30-4.30pm: Lisa Maher - Microliths And Mortuary Practices In Near Eastern Prehistory: The Burial Evidence From Jordan
See the document at the bottom of the page for more details. Please contact Phyllis on 0161 275 2643 or
museum@manchester.ac.uk , £40 / £30 if book by 16 Oct
Tuesday 24 November
1-2pm
On the Origin of Species
150th anniversary celebration with Dr Robert Callow.
One hundred and fifty years ago, on 24 November 1859, the publisher John Murray delivered, to a largely unsuspecting world, 1250 copies of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Modestly bound in green cloth and lacking eye-catching illustrations, it was a book to be taken seriously. Making no attempt to explain the origin of life or the nature of human existence, it nevertheless punctured the veil of concealment fostered by centuries of theological introspection. As James Hutton had done for rocks, so Darwin did for organisms: the living and the dead. Evidence is all around us; we have only to open our eyes. This talk celebrates this milestone in understanding and provides a perspective on Darwin's achievement. Part of The Evolutionist, our Darwin extravaganza.
Book on 0161 275 2648, Free