January 2009
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2009 AT THE MANCHESTER MUSEUM
Welcome to this look ahead release for 2009, outlining The Manchester Museum’s
forthcoming major exhibitions and activities. Throughout 2009, the Museum will be taking
part in a number of major initiatives such as Darwin 200, the nationwide celebration of all
things Darwinian. The Museum’s visitor programme also continues throughout the year with
monthly Big Saturdays and key events related to the Museum’s exhibitions and collection.
Please contact Ros Helliwell in the press office for further information about any of the
activities mentioned below or to discuss press opportunities.
JANUARY
LAUNCH OF DISABILITY EQUALITY ACTION PLAN
Friday 23 January 11am-1.30pm
Photo opportunities available on the day
Celebrate the launch of The Manchester Museum’s Disability Equality Action Plan. Over
the last 12 months the Museum has been working with an advisory group made up of staff
and disabled people’s organisations to research and develop a Disability Equality Action
Plan. This launch event culminates in the completion and official hand-over of this plan. The
event will feature an exhibition about the history of disabled people in Manchester, and
speakers from Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People and the University of
Manchester.
FEBRUARY
DARWIN FESTIVAL: DARWIN'S BIG BIRTHDAY BASH
Saturday 14 February 11am-4pm
Photo opportunities available on the day
Celebrate the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin: the man behind evolution - a theory
that changed the world. This action-packed Big Saturday will include special performances
from Darwin and his Dodo, craft activities to create a giant tortoise and giant birthday card
for Darwin, opportunities to take part in and listen to a South American piñata, and music
and storytelling with puppets. Visitors will be able to get up close some of the specimens
Darwin collected on his adventure around the world, the Museum's giant tortoise from the
Galapagos Islands and other carnivorous plants, insects, live animals and fossils. There will
also be talks about birds and plants, a recreation of Darwin's famous 'worm-charming' on
the bassoon and opportunities to take part in science experiments, meet University of
Manchester experts and watch a Family Friendly Film Club screening. This event is part of
the Museum's Darwin Festival – other Darwin exhibitions and events will take place from
August 2009.
For further press information or images contact Ros Helliwell in the Press Office:
T: 0161 306 1583 E: ros.helliwell@manchester.ac.uk
APRIL
OPENING OF NEW MANCHESTER GALLERY
Saturday 4 April 2009
Press launch: Wednesday 1 April 2009
Connections between the people of Manchester, the city's history and the Museum's
collection are explored in this new gallery, opening 4 April 2009.
The Manchester Gallery will explore the themes of journeys, our environment, the
Manchester Museum and its collectors. The stories behind the Museum’s objects and the
journeys that have brought them to Manchester, often mirror the journeys of people and
communities in Manchester today. Through these objects, the Museum’s history and
possible future of Manchester’s environment can be explored - from an underwater world
full of coral reefs; a swamp which deposited the coal that fuelled the industrial revolution; a
desert and an ice age, to an urban metropolis. They also uncover the Museum’s changing
relationship with the city – from its Victorian beginnings to the modern day – and highlight
the people behind the Museum’s collection – from working class to wealthy collectors,
academics and British soldiers.
As part of the Our City project, the Museum has been working with local community groups
to develop ideas and content for this gallery.
LAST CHANCE TO SEE LINDOW MAN: A BOG BODY MYSTERY
Until 19 April 2009
The discovery of the preserved body of a man in a peat bog at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, in
1984, raised many questions. The man at the centre of the story remains a mystery,
despite the efforts of archaeologists, historians, forensic scientists and museum curators. In
this new exhibition seven different people provide a range of perspectives on the life and
death of a man who returned to us after nearly two thousand years.
MAY
MANCHESTER HERMIT: ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
May-July 2009
Photo opportunities to be confirmed
The Manchester Museum will be engaging an artist-in-residence to live, as a hermit, in
the tower of its splendid Victorian Gothic Building for a period of up to 8 weeks between
May and July 2009. The successful artist will reside permanently in the tower for up to two
months, having previously had access to all of the Museum’s permanent exhibits and
collections, both public and hidden, and to the expertise of Museum and University staff. In
complete isolation, the hermit will be expected to reflect on topical issues including
biodiversity, climate change, extinctions and the future of the planet, drawing inspiration
from the Museum’s collection. Throughout the hermitage, the artist will be communicating
their experiences to the outside world using whatever format they choose.
JULY
LAST CHANCE TO SEE LINDOW MOSS: A PLACE OF FINDING
Photographs by Stephen Vaughan
Until 12 July 2009
This photographic exhibition documents the landscape at Lindow Moss; the mysterious
place where the preserved body of Lindow Man was found.
The photographer, Stephen Vaughan grew up next to Lindow Moss in the 1970s and 1980s
and returned in 2000 to make an extensive four year photographic document of this
dramatic landscape. The resulting exhibition was nominated for the Santa Fe Prize for
Photography in 2005.
For further press information or images contact Ros Helliwell in the Press Office:
T: 0161 306 1583 E: ros.helliwell@manchester.ac.uk
AUGUST
DARWIN FESTIVAL: CHARLES DARWIN, EVOLUTION OF A SCIENTIST
DARWIN FESTIVAL: NATURE DISCOVERY
DARWIN FESTIVAL: BEN HALL PHOTOGRAPHY
1 August 2009-30 August 2010
Press launch: Thursday 1 October (provisional date)
Who was Charles Darwin? What is all the fuss about his theory of evolution? Why was this
one of the biggest, most important and most controversial ideas of all time?
Why should we be interested?
The Manchester Museum’s Darwin Festival will reveal all through a variety of exhibitions
and events for all ages and interests. It will include an exploration of Charles Darwin’s life
and work, the theory of evolution and science since Charles Darwin. Visitors will be able to
find out how science works, the difference between faith and fact, and how Darwin’s work
has been used and abused.
The impact of Darwin’s work will be investigated through a temporary exhibition Charles
Darwin: evolution of a scientist, showcasing fantastic objects - some collected by
Darwin himself - and illustrated in a graphic novel style. A new permanent activity area
Nature Discovery will enable younger visitors and their families to explore nature and
evolution. With lots of object handling, families will be able to get hands-on in an
environment designed for fun, family learning and exploration. A photographic
installation of South American landscapes and wildlife which Darwin saw on his travels, by
local photographer Ben Hall, will complete the festival launch. An extensive programme of
talks, activities and tours for all ages will run throughout the Museum’s Darwin Festival,
which is part of the national Darwin 200 festival.
-ENDSNotes to editors
As a university museum, The Manchester Museum uses its international collection of human and
natural history for enjoyment and inspiration. Working with people from all backgrounds, the Museum
provokes debate and reflection about the past, present and future of the earth and its inhabitants.
The Manchester Museum is home to one of the largest and most important collections of ancient
Egyptian artefacts in the United Kingdom. The Vivarium houses a wide variety of live animals
including frogs, toads, snakes and other reptiles and amphibians. One of the star attractions in the
Museum is the T.rex, displayed in the pre-historic gallery alongside rare examples of fossils dating
back to the Ice Age.
Specific to Lindow Man: A bog body mystery

Lindow Man : A bog body mystery has been generously funded and supported by the Heritage
Lottery Fund, the Wellcome Trust, the Dorset Foundation, The Foyle Foundation and
Renaissance North West.

Lindow Man is on loan from the British Museum through their Partnership UK scheme, the
strategic framework for the British Museum’s programme of engagement with audiences
throughout the country
www.britishmuseum.org.uk/the_museum/about_us/management_and_governance/partnershi
ps/partnershipuk

The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research,
in the UK and internationally, spending around £650 million each year to support the brightest
scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical
research and its impact on health and wellbeing.
The Manchester Museum was Highly Commended in the Large Visitor Attraction category of the
Manchester Tourism Awards 2008
The Manchester Museum,
The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL.
For further press information or images contact Ros Helliwell in the Press Office:
T: 0161 306 1583 E: ros.helliwell@manchester.ac.uk
T: (0)161 275 2634 F: (0)161 275 2676 www.manchester.ac.uk/museum
Open: Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 5pm, Sunday, Monday and Bank Holidays 11am – 4pm with FREE
ENTRY
For further press information or images contact Ros Helliwell in the Press Office:
T: 0161 306 1583 E: ros.helliwell@manchester.ac.uk