Museums & Attractions

After Hours Jazz

Recommended

Thu May 14, Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms

Live jazz, a glass of wine and dancing (with instruction) are on offer at this late opening of the museum and War Rooms. There's a prize for the best 1940s outfit. Read more

Battleship Boogie

Sat May 16, HMS Belfast

The Stage Door Canteen band lead a 1940s-themed evening with music on the quarterdeck of HMS Belfast, Europe’s largest cruiser from WWII and now a floating naval museum. There’s a chance to learn some of the dance steps of the era. Period outfits, though not obligatory, will help you get into the mood. Read more

Candlelit Evening at Sir John Soane's Museum

Recommended

Fri May 15, 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3BP

After a glass of bubbly, a curator will lead visitors around the atmospheric museum designed by architect Sir John Soane to house his own collection of paintings and architectural salvage, taking in parts of the building not normally open to the public. Advance booking is essential. Read more

Events at Benjamin Franklin House

May 15-16, 36 Craven St, London, WC2N 5NF

Late Night Historical Experience tours (6.15pm, 7.15pm, May 15; £7, concessions £5) explore by candlelight the Grade I-listed house where Benjamin Franklin – scientist, diplomat, philosopher, inventor and Founding Father of the United States – lived for nearly 16 years between 1757 and 1775. The Craven Street Bones (8pm, 9pm, May 16; £10, concessions £8) tours are also candlelit but focus on the building’s former use as an anatomy school and the human bones that were found in the foundations during conservation work. Numbers are limited, so early booking is advised. Read more

Florence Nightingale Museum lamplit tour

Until Sun May 17, Florence Nightingale Museum

Early-evening openings offering an opportunity to see a life-size reconstruction of a scene from the Crimean War, plus costumes, personal possessions, period rooms and an audiovisual centre illustrating the life and career of Florence Nightingale. On Saturday evening, Flo herself leads a lamplit tour. Read more

Horror at the Museum

Fri May 15, Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology

Screenings of horror films in the spooky surroundings of the museum at night. Booking essential. Read more

Italian Night

Thu May 14, Islington Museum

This late opening celebrates London's Little Italy, which sprang up in nineteenth-century Clerkenwell, with a guided walk around the area (5-6pm; £4, accompanied children free, booking advised), a talk by Italian history specialist Tudor Allen (6.30-7.30pm; free, booking advised), Italian food and music. Read more

London on Sea

Fri May 15, London Transport Museum

Screenings of vintage films evoking a seaside atmosphere, surf/rockabilly music by The Squadron Leaders, readings by Karen McLeod and Nick Parker, and a Punch and Judy show. Read more

National Gallery Late

Fri May 15, National Gallery

The ‘Picasso: Challenging the Past’ exhibition is open until midnight (£12, seniors £11, students and unemployed £6; advance tickets 0844 209 1778) and associated events run throughout the evening, including: live music by Belle Shenkman (6-7pm, free); wine, nibbles and a talk by Viyki Turnbull (6.45-8.15pm, £18); a screening of ‘Le Mystère Picasso’ (1956, directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot), which includes the famous footage of the artist creating paintings on transparent canvas placed in front of the camera (7.30pm; free); and Velvet Underground co-founder and Welsh representative at this year’s Venice Biennale John Cale on the connections between music and art as well as his specially created, mixed-media installation (10pm; free). Read more

A Night in Space

Recommended

Sat May 16, National Maritime Museum

A space-themed family evening at the Royal Observatory, which was founded in 1675 by Charles II, featuring the premiere of Planetarium show ‘Ice Worlds’, which explores the solar system and the frozen moons of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune. There’s late access to the Royal Observatory’s ‘Telescopes’ exhibition and the interactive Time and Astronomy galleries. Events include chart-making, ask-an-astronomer sessions and costumed interpreters on the Meridian Line. Read more

Victorian Surgery by Gaslight

Fri May 15, Old Operating Theatre Museum

The museum is rendered even more atmospheric than usual with low-lit demonstrations of the anaesthetic-free amputations that were performed in Victorian times. Talks and demos take place on the hour from 5pm to 8pm. Read more

V&A’s Sackler Centre open studios

Fri May 15, V&A

An opportunity to see what resident artists and designers, including print artist Mona Choo, have been researching and creating and how they are using and responding to the collections. Read more