Late Night Connected Worlds Programme
Experience the Museum of Natural History
and the Pitt Rivers Museum at night!
Enjoy our joint programme of activities across both museums.
Explore your connections with museum specimens and Oxford University research at the Museum of Natural History through crafts, talks, games, and stories. Learn from specialists about the interrelationship between Earth and life whilst enjoying music, illuminated exhibits, and a bar. Inspired by OUMNH's latest exhibition, Connected Planet.
Head through into the Pitt Rivers Museum to journey into worlds of Evenki cosmology, South American Indigenous resistance through featherwork, and the Agaba masquerades from the oil-rich Niger Delta in PRM current special exhibition, Unmasked: Spirits of the City. Discover stories of disabled people across time, enjoy live spoken word in the galleries, and find out how MultakaOxford is connecting people while taking part in crafts and activities.
Check signage on the night for any updates to the programme as listed below.
The floor plans provided below include both museums and indicate where to find the many things happening.
Timed activities are shown in green with letters and drop-in activities are numbered in blue.
Timed Activities Across Both Sites
Full programme for each museum listed further below including additional drop-in activities running all evening.
7–9pm
Sign up for the timed workshops and tours at the Pitt Rivers
E. Ground Floor, Pitt Rivers Museum
7.15pm
The Rutland Ichthyosaur
A. Westwood Room,
First Floor,
Museum of Natural History
Our Connections to Nature Workshop
B. Seminar Room,
Ground Floor,
Museum of Natural History
Connected Tales with JC Niala
C. South Aisle,
Ground Floor,
Museum of Natural History
7.20pm
Disability Heritage Workshop
F. Lecture Room, Ground Floor, Pitt Rivers Museum
7.30pm
Wandering in Other Worlds
G. Museum Court, Ground Floor, Pitt Rivers Museum
7.45pm
Birds and Feathers Tour (Starts in Museum of Natural History)
D. Starts in the ground floor of the Museum of Natural History, on the north side near the Adaptation case,
and moves up to the first floor of the Pitt Rivers Museum.
8pm
Live Performance by Rawz
K. Clore Balcony, First Floor (also viewable from the Museum Court), Pitt Rivers Museum
The Rutland Ichthyosaur
A. Westwood Room, First Floor, Museum of Natural History
Our Connections to Nature Workshop
B. Seminar Room, Ground Floor,
Museum of Natural History
Behind-the-Scenes Research Showcase: Tracing, Feeling, Connecting
I. Research Room, First Floor,
Pitt Rivers Museum
Unmasked: Exhibition Curator Tour
J. Special Exhibition and Long Galleries, Ground Floor,
Pitt Rivers Museum
8.10pm
Bird and Feathers Tour (Continues in Pitt Rivers Museum)
H. Clore Balcony, First Floor,
Pitt Rivers Museum
8.15pm
Connected Tales with JC Niala
C. South Aisle, Ground Floor, Museum of Natural History
8.20pm
Disability Heritage Workshop
F. Lecture Room, Ground Floor, Pitt Rivers Museum
8.30pm
Wandering in Other Worlds
G. Museum Court, Ground Floor, Pitt Rivers Museum
8.45pm
Birds and Feathers Tour (Starts in Museum of Natural History)
D. Starts in the ground floor of the Museum of Natural History, on the north side near the Adaptation case,
and moves up to the first floor of the Pitt Rivers Museum.
9pm
Behind-the-Scenes Research Showcase: Tracing, Feeling, Connecting
I. Research Room, First Floor,
Pitt Rivers Museum
Unmasked: Exhibition Curator Tour
J. Special Exhibition and Long Galleries, Ground Floor,
Pitt Rivers Museum
9.10pm
Bird and Feathers Tour (Continued in Pitt Rivers Museum)
H. Clore Balcony, First Floor, Pitt Rivers Museum
9.15pm
Connected Tales with JC Niala
C. South Aisle, Ground Floor, Museum of Natural History
9.30pm
Live Performance by Rawz
K. Clore Balcony, First Floor
(also viewable from the Museum Court), Pitt Rivers Museum
Drop-in Activities
South Aisle, Ground Floor,
Museum of Natural History
1 | Games Corner
Sit down with friends and play board games that connect you to the planet.
2 | Bee Connected
Become a Bee and find out why all pollen just isn’t the same in this dress up game with researcher Ellen Baker.
Central Aisle,
Museum of Natural History
3 | Hunting the Hunters
Connect with our Tarantula, Margo, and find out what she needs to be worried about in the wild.
4 | Mass Extinction: A Roll of the Dice
Roll the dice to see how chance has altered life on our planet.
5 | Volcanoes are why you're here!
Discover how the chemistry of earth and atmosphere have connected through out their histories to alter life on our planet.
6 | Connected to the Trees
Find out from staff from Harcourt Arboretum how our connections to trees matter.
North Aisle, Ground Floor
Museum of Natural History
7 | WildCru Wildlife Connections
Find out how to radio collar a cheetah and how understanding wildlife’s connections to people are critical in conserving big cats with WildCru.
8 | Zoonosis 'R' Us Reuben Researchers
Can you spot the source of the next pandemic? Guess the connections between people, wildlife and disease as researchers from Reuben College guide you through spotting the dangers.
9 | Mixing with Maggots
Race a maggot and find out how they help in medicine and nutrient recycling and why it pays to get to dinner first.
10 | Connecting with Superbugs
Find out how sequencing the DNA of flies could save lives with scientists from the Ineos Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance.
11 | Recycling Roaches and Friendly Flies
Connect with our cockroaches and find out why we need flies with Museum staff.
12 | Badger's Bar
Underground themed drinks.
First Floor,
Museum of Natural History
13 | Waste Innovation Station
Find out from the Cherwell Collective how what you wear connects you to ecosystems around the world.
14 | Sea Otter Paper Craft Connections
Find out about trophic cascades and make a connected sea otter paper chain.
15 | Connected Planet Handling Session
Handle specimens related to our ‘Connected Planet’ exhibition and find out all about natural connections across ecosystems.
Old Library, Ground Floor, Pitt Rivers Museum
16 | MultakaOxford Connected Crafts
Join us for variety of creative activities hosted by the MultakaOxford team including making peace doves, adding to our tree of connections, and make a pin badge inspired by the museum's collections.
17 | Old Library Bar
Refreshments on offer to help fuel your evening of creative connections.
Museum of Natural History
Timed Activities
7.15pm & 8pm
The Rutland Ichthyosaur
Handle the fossils and hear the story of the discovery of the Rutland Ichthyosaur with Collections Manager, Emma Nicholls.
A. Westwood Room, First Floor
7.15pm & 8pm
Our Connections to Nature Workshop
Forest themed mindfulness creative writing and drawing workshop with artist Holly Hewitt.
B. Seminar Room, Ground Floor
7.15pm, 8.15pm & 9.15pm
Connected Tales
Join storyteller JC Niala to hear old stories and help create new ones - that remind us of all the beautiful ways in which we are connected.
JC Niala is a collector of tales and a storyteller who has lived and worked on three continents. Over the years she has found that places may seem different yet usually have the same stories that help people to make sense of their lives. Characters might change, details may vary but the message remains the same. Join JC to hear old stories and help create new ones - that remind us of all the beautiful ways in which we are connected.
C. South Aisle, Ground Floor
7.45pm & 8.45pm
Birds and Feathers Tour
Discover human connections with birds across both the Museum of Natural History and Pitt Rivers with a fascinating tours of specimens and artefacts.
D. Starts in the ground floor of the Museum of Natural History, on the north side near the Adaptation case,
and moves up to the first floor of the Pitt Rivers Museum.
Drop in Activities
South Aisle, Ground Floor
1 | Games Corner
Sit down with friends and play board games that connect you to the planet.
2 | Bee Connected
Become a Bee and find out why all pollen just isn’t the same in this dress up game with researcher Ellen Baker.
Central Aisle
3 | Hunting the Hunters
Connect with our Tarantula, Margo, and find out what she needs to be worried about in the wild.
4 | Mass Extinction: A Roll of the Dice
Roll the dice to see how chance has altered life on our planet.
5 | Volcanoes are why you're here!
Discover how the chemistry of earth and atmosphere have connected through out their histories to alter life on our planet.
6 | Connected to the Trees
Find out from staff from Harcourt Arboretum how our connections to trees matter.
North Aisle
7 | WildCru Wildlife Connections
Find out how to radio collar a cheetah and how understanding wildlife’s connections to people are critical in conserving big cats with WildCru.
8 | Zoonosis 'R' Us Reuben Researchers
Can you spot the source of the next pandemic? Guess the connections between people, wildlife and disease as researchers from Reuben College guide you through spotting the dangers.
9 | Mixing with Maggots
Race a maggot and find out how they help in medicine and nutrient recycling and why it pays to get to dinner first.
10 | Connecting with Superbugs
Find out how sequencing the DNA of flies could save lives with scientists from the Ineos Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance.
11 | Recycling Roaches and Friendly Flies
Connect with our cockroaches and find out why we need flies with Museum staff.
12 | Badger's Bar
Underground themed drinks.
First Floor
13 | Waste Innovation Station
Find out from the Cherwell Collective how what you wear connects you to ecosystems around the world.
14 | Sea Otter Paper Craft Connections
Find out about trophic cascades and make a connected sea otter paper chain.
15 | Connected Planet Handling Session
Handle specimens related to our ‘Connected Planet’ exhibition and find out all about natural connections across ecosystems.
Pitt Rivers Museum
Timed Activities
7–9pm
Sign up for workshops and tours
Pop your name down for the timed workshops and tours at the Pitt Rivers Museum.
(Limited spaces available.)
E. Ground Floor
7.20pm & 8.20pm
Disability Heritage Workshop
Join our Curating for Change curatorial fellow, Kyle Jordan, and a GLAM Connector, Mara Gold, to learn more about disability history in our museum and workshop ways to interpret museum objects to tell stories of disability. There will also be a chance to provide accessibility feedback to us.
We will have objects for handling and opportunities to help shape the representation of disability at the Pitt Rivers.
Each session will run for approximately 20 minutes.
F. Lecture Room, Ground Floor
7.30pm & 8.30pm
Wandering in Other Worlds
We invite you to journey into Evenki cosmology through digital experiences and through finding out more about the collections relating to the recent co-curated display and artist residency from last autumn.
G. Museum Court, Ground Floor
8pm & 9pm
Behind-the-Scenes Research Showcase: Tracing, Feeling, Connecting
Join the Pitt Rivers Museum's research team as we highlight diverse areas of inquiry around the collections through music, photography, and objects.
I. Research Room, First Floor (Wait by the Archive Case on the First Floor atrium just before session)
8pm & 9pm
Unmasked: Exhibition Curator Tour
Find out more about how the museum's collections connect with the world of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, the worlds of masquerade, and the installation of Bad Boys and Broken Hearts by artist Zina Saro-Wiwa, through this introduction to our special exhibition Unmasked: Spirit in the City with curator Dr. David Pratten.
J. Special Exhibition and Long Galleries, Ground Floor
8pm & 9.30pm
Live Performance by Rawz
Join us for a live set by Oxford Hip Hop and Spoken Word artist Rawz, sharing a collection of his latest works, specially curated for this evening.
K. Clore Balcony, First Floor (also viewable from the Museum Court)
8.10pm & 9.10pm
Bird and Feathers Tour
(Continued from Museum of Natural History)
Following discussions of the lives of toucans, parrots and hummingbirds in the Natural History Museum, continue the tour of bird worlds by “flying” up to the first floor of the Pitt Rivers Museum to see how these birds’ feathers have been used by Indigenous communities to create vibrant and symbolically powerful feathered objects. We will think about how the objects are made, what it means for them to be in the museum, and what other stories they can tell us about bird lives, Indigenous resistance and environmental change in the Amazon. Led by PhD researcher Rosa Dyer.
The 30-minute tour starts in Museum of Natural History at 7.45pm and 8.45pm arriving in Pitt Rivers at 8pm and 9pm with opportunity to join halfway through.
H. Clore Balcony, First Floor
Drop in activities
Old Library, Ground Floor
16 | MultakaOxford Connected Crafts
Join us for variety of creative activities hosted by the MultakaOxford team including making peace doves, adding to our tree of connections, and make a pin badge inspired by the museum's collections.
17 | Old Library Bar
Refreshments on offer to help fuel your evening of creative connections.
