National Museums Liverpool launch new event series which bring their collections to life

Have you ever wondered what we can learn from x-raying a mummified cat from Ancient Egypt? Or if precious diamonds do really last forever? Feed your curiosity at NML’s Beyond the label series.

Our museums and galleries are a treasure trove of fascinating stories and world class collections. This March, National Museums Liverpool launches an exciting new series of Beyond the label talks, where you will get the opportunity to meet the experts who care for their vast collections and find out never-before-told stories of beloved objects.

The series of monthly talks, will take place across World Museum and Museum of Liverpool.

From railway history to Roman hoards, and disability history to digging at the docks – go beyond the museum labels and delve into the fascinating worlds of art, history, science, and community stories in this unmissable series of events.

Upcoming talks include:

Beyond the label: survivors of the greatest natural history collection ever lost, World Museum
Saturday 18 March, 2.00-3.00pm, World Museum
When the East Indiaman ship The Fame sank in 1824, Sir Stamford Raffles’ vast collections of natural history specimens and drawings from Sumatra and Singapore were lost forever. 

Discover the story of the British East India Company official who found fame as the ‘founder’ of modern Singapore and London Zoo and hear from Dr John James Wilson, Lead Curator Zoology how some of Raffles’ surviving collections ended up at World Museum. Dr John James Wilson delves into the natural history collections at World Museum.

Beyond the label: Manchester Dock and the Museum of Liverpool 
Saturday 8^th April, 8 April, 2-3pm, Museum of Liverpool.
In March 2007 the archaeology team from the Museum of Liverpool monitored the excavations of a Georgian Dock before the museum was built on the site. Join assistant curator Jeff Speakman as he shares images of the excavations and reveals some of the hidden stories behind the finds that were excavated.

Beyond the label: are diamonds forever?
Saturday 22 April, 2-3pm, World Museum.
Diamonds and other gemstones have been used for a variety of purposes for thousands of years. Shirley Bassey once told us that ‘Diamonds are forever’ but are they really? In this fascinating talk Wendy Simkiss, Curator of Geology and Science, will tell us how the World Museum cares for its collections of precious stones and reveal what goes on behind the scenes to prove Shirley Bassey right! Our diamonds really are forever!

For more information on National Museums Liverpool and to book tickets for Beyond the Label events click here.