Category: Events

Dates: Saturday 10 February – Sunday 18 February.

‘ This February half term, embark on a journey through time to explore the evolution of health and wellbeing at Black Country Living Museum!’

From Saturday 10th to Sunday 18th February, delve into the realm of historical home remedies, fitness routines, prevalent illnesses, and early medical practices in the Black Country.

Engage with our historic characters and learn how individuals navigated their health and hygiene challenges. Immerse yourself in historic fitness routines, uncover the impact of diet on health, and gain insights into the living conditions of bygone eras, including the ingenious ways people coped without modern plumbing! Discover tips and tricks to maintain fitness and health, ranging from historic first aid techniques to traditional home remedies and unearth the mysteries of potions, tonics, and curious cures from times long past.

Internal information:

This year’s programme is an informative, fun, family-friendly daytime offer for February Half Term, exploring what people have done to look after their health throughout history in the Black Country!

The programme will be looking at common home remedies, healthy eating, living conditions (including how they got rid of toilet waste), fitness and wellbeing activities. Visitors will be able to use the trail to learn about fitness routines, the importance of vaccinations in the 1960s, The Mary Macarthur holiday fun and even what the ‘Night Soil Man’ does for a living.

Download the trail map.

Download the programme information sheet.

Programming lead: [email protected]

Thank you to all teams and colleagues who worked so hard to make the Unwrapping Christmas programme a success over the Christmas period. We’d really appreciate your thoughts on the programme, but first here are some general trends we have noted from visitor feedback:

• 85% of visitors rated their visit as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’
• A hyperlocal programme with all postcodes being DY, WV, WS or Birmingham
• 25% of visitors said they had not attended an ‘event’ before at BCLM
• Higher use than usual of the trail/map (35%) with 80% saying they rated it as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’
• Food and drink scored 76% ‘excellent’ or ‘good’
• 50% of visitors found out about the programme via our website

Share your opinion online.

We’re getting ready for our annual January Reset training (previously known as January Shutdown). This year, we’ve made a few changes that we’d like to make you aware of.

When you arrive at Hall 2 for one of the All Staff Briefing Sessions, head to one of the two check-in points. There, you’ll be signed in and given access to our new delegate brochure. To save time on the day, you can scan the QR code at the bottom of this message to preview the brochure now!

One of the highlights of the event is our Team Exhibitions (Hall 1). This is a chance for everyone to see the work each team has been doing. It’s also an opportunity to connect and network with colleagues you might not typically interact with.

Refreshments will be available throughout the day but please remember to bring a packed lunch. We’re excited to see everyone and hope this event allows us all to learn, connect, and reset.

Scan the QR code to view our delegate brochure:

Don’t forget to sign up for our charity bikeathon, ‘Pedal for Purpose’.

Thank you to everyone who worked as part of our Santa Hunts this year! We’ve had some really great feedback from visitors:

• 96% rated the experience as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ (which is the same rating as last year – but we had a slightly higher excellent rating of 86% compared to last year’s 84%)
• 94% felt that it was an immersive experience
• 97% felt they had an opportunity to participate

A sample of what visitors said – both positive and constructive:

• “The amazing staff, the accessibility of the venue, we were very impressed.”
• “Santa, he was absolutely amazing, he was engaging for the children and really approachable.”
• “The magic and the story, the characters and actors each played a different role in the Santa Hunt, but they each added something special. It was fun and entertaining. We also loved the bus and the extra treats, the reindeer shoe and chocolate coin.”
• “Staff/characters were brilliant really enthusiastic and friendly played the part fabulously made it really magical for the children.”
• “The chance to have a family picture with Santa would be nice, and another way of you getting extra money.”
• “A smaller group so that the smaller children could experience it more fully. Drinks in the cafe were expensive.”
• “It was very rushed. Kids (4 and 2) struggled to keep up. Felt very obvious you had lots of people to get through. Was offered a red slip and told it entitled us to free drink. However, it was just 20% off.”

As always, we really value your feedback, so please take a couple of minutes to fill in our staff survey with your responses to the programme.

Thank you!

Thank you to those of you who contributed to, worked or attended Glad Tidings so far (Christmas Evening Events).

Prior to the last weekend of events, below are some headlines from our visitor feedback so far:

What is going well?

• 76% Excellent & Good Overall Ratings
• We are drawing in hyper local audiences, including people who living in Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall and Birmingham.
• Visitors listed “atmosphere” “live music”, and “entertainment” as the best parts of the event
• 74% said they learnt something new about Black Country heritage
• 80% said they felt that the Museum represented their heritage
• 64% said they had a greater understanding of migration into the Black Country
• 76% said they learned something new about the 1950’s/60’s.

Where can we improve?

• Queues – visitors are experiencing queues at the car park, admissions and food & drink outlets
• Visitor numbers Vs. Number of staff (food outlets especially)
• Additional lighting

In addition, 67% of visitors have been using the Glad Tidings Map and 60% of those visitors have rated the map as Excellent or Good.

90% of visitors are purchasing Food & Drink during Glad Tidings and 54% of those visitors rated Food & Drink as Excellent or Good.

Help us improve by providing some feedback!

Glad Tidings Staff Survey

Dates:   Friday 8^th & Saturday 9^th December

Friday 15^th & Saturday 16^th December

Friday 22^nd & Saturday 23^rd December

Time: 6.30pm – 10.00pm

Event Copy: Time spent together in good company, with live music, a warm and lively village/canal dock with characters, braziers, outdoor seating, street vendors and a small market with quality local goods. Opportunities for visitors to join in with Christmas decoration making and sing along Carollers. Explore how different communities have celebrated Christmas including the origins of a traditional Victorian Christmas, the lively church and leisure music of people who moved to the Black Country from the Caribbean to work, to the Christmas crooners of the 1950s/60s along with the start of the Christmas TV specials we know and love.

Key Characters:

Santa & Mrs Claus – will be cruising through the museum in the 1920’s Bean Car throughout the evening!

WWI Soldier (Roland Hodgetts) – will be home for Christmas from the front! And will be paying a visit to his sweetheart at the Anchor Makers house for a romantic gesture.

Please see the attached map & flyer for information on entertainment & festive food offers!

Programme Lead: Izzy Taylor

Unwrapping Christmas

Date(s): 25^th November – 7^th January (daytime)

Event Copy: The whole of the Black Country are getting ready for Christmas! As the festive season is finally upon us, meet characters preparing for the “big day” through the ages. We have stories ranging from the Edwardian era to the Swinging 60s and don’t miss our festive decorations from decades past!

Unwrapping Plus (Internal name only)

Date(s): Every weekend & school holiday Daytime

Copy: Meet more characters, join in with the Carols at Providence Chapel and have a go at making your own mini-wreath in Hut 14. Sing your heart out with our festive roaming musician in the village! There’s even a trail to guide you through the ages! Don’t forget to grab a bag of chestnuts and settle down for a battered pig in blanket from our very own Hobbs.

Internal Information:

• The only difference between Unwrapping and Unwrapping plus is that there is a wider food offer, more characters on site, carol activity, a roaming musician and crafts
• All props for Historic Characters remain the same throughout both programmes – please keep them on display, they do not need to be put away
• Admissions team are to only hand out the trail on Unwrapping Plus days – there is no need to hand out an additional map as this is contained within the trail. Trails are not to be given out on Unwrapping Day times, just Unwrapping Plus.

Campaign Lead: Izzy Taylor