Quiz Night
đ Â Thursday 30 April 2026
đ Elephant & Castle
đˇÂ ÂŁ2 per person entry
đ 6.30pm â 8pm
Join us for a Bostin evening of quizzing fun!
â¨Â Join as a team or come solo. Teams can be made on the night!
â¨Â Friends and family welcome.
â¨Â All entry fees go straight into the prize fund.
â¨Â Drinks available to purchase (card only).
Come along and put your thinking caps on.
Email [email protected] to sign up.
đ Â Thursday 9 April 2026
đ 4.30pm â 6.30pm
đ CafĂŠ Black Country
Join us for a fun, hands-on cookie making class!
â¨Â All ingredients and supplies provided.
â¨Â Take home your fresh bakes.
â¨Â Enjoy a free barista coffee on us.
⨠Friends & Family welcome!
No experience needed – just bring your enthusiasm (and sweet tooth!).
Spaces are limited – book early to avoid missing out! Email [email protected] to sign up.
Hi everyone,
Looking for a fun way to kick off your Thursday?
Dockworks are hosting their very first comedy night this week, and youâre invited!
Hereâs whatâs happening:
Theyâd love to welcome some friendly faces from the Black Country Living Museum, so itâd be great to see you there!
If youâd like to come along, just drop an email to [email protected] to secure your spot.
Bring your sense of humour!
See you there!
We would like to share our sincere thanks to every individual who has contributed to the successful launch of Woodside Library. This beautiful building forms the final piece of our 1940s-1960s development, the largest capital development that the Museum has ever embarked on. The project has been incredibly rewarding, challenging and transformative for the Museum and we’re so proud of every individual who has helped us bring this ambitious plan to life – thank you.
On Monday 16 March we hosted a press day, where members of the community who donated books and shared memories had the opportunity to enjoy a first look of the space. Guests included current librarians who donated books, former users of the community room including pupils of ballroom dancing classes and a former bride who enjoyed a wedding reception at the Library, and members of the community who were part of the campaign to save the library and kick-start the works to bring it here to the Museum.
From this, we have received significant coverage so far from Express & Star, BBC Birmingham & Black Country, Museum & Heritage Advisor and Black Country Radio.
On Wednesday 18 March we opened the Library for the first visitors. Our first ever visitor to Woodside Library was Simon, who arrived at the Museum extra early. His enthusiasm was rewarded with a “Weit’o” Dudley Library Circle Members badge!
This project has been supported by several key major investors. Woodside Library in particular has been specially supported by the FCC Communities Foundation, as well as our funders National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, Black Country LEP, Dudley Council, West Midlands Combined Authority and DCMS.
Did you know that, as the Museum is a member of the Heritage Railway Association, colleagues are eligible to apply for the HRA Privilege Rail Pass?
The pass provides free or reduced-price travel on many heritage railways and tramways across the UK. Itâs a great way to explore the countryâs historic railways, experience different heritage operations, and enjoy a day out while supporting the wider heritage railway community.
Eligibility and terms are set by the HRA, and individual railways may have their own conditions of use, so itâs worth checking the details before planning a visit.
For further info please see: HRA Privilege | Heritage Railway Association
If youâre interested in heritage railways, this could be a great benefit to make the most of as part of our museumâs HRA membership.
Some good news!
We are delighted to confirm that not only has the ticket swap returned, but we have also successfully added Bewilderwood, Bletchley Park, Severn Valley Railway, Wild Zoological Park and West Midlands Police Museum.
And what’s more, Cadbury’s World and West Midlands Safari Park are back!
For new colleagues, the ticket swap scheme is an annual ballot to obtain free tickets for one of the attractions listed below. Where possible, the maximum allocation will be 1 Family Ticket (2 Adults, 2 Children).
We have tickets available for:
How?
Ballot slips are available from Team Managers and from the People office.
You can also download and print (or return by email) ballot slips; Ticket Swap Ballot Slip 2026
Please return your ballot slip either in the black post box outside the People office (inside the Hartills door) or via email to [email protected] by close of business on Wednesday 18 March 2026.
Any ballot slips received after this time will not be included.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected]
Thank you.
We are once again taking part in National Lottery Open Week this year, with free entry to the Museum on Thursday 12 March 2026 for Lottery players.
To say thank you for the ÂŁ32 million raised for good causes every week by players, there is free entry and special offers at a range of National Lottery funded venues across the UK as part of National Lottery Open Week.
National Lottery Heritage Fund have made a significant investment in our brand new 1940s-60s development, which sees us bringing our historic storytelling into living memory once again. Set foot into the post-war era in our largest development yet, from a whole high street of shops to a fascinating industrial area.
As our way of saying a big thank you to you, the Lottery players, weâre giving National Lottery players the opportunity to visit the Museum for free on Thursday 12 March.
Tickets can be booked via the Museum website. To find out more about all of the venues and offers, visit the National Lottery Open Week webpage.
While preparations for the opening of Woodside Library are well underway, we are offering exclusive preview sessions for our colleagues. Led by our Interpretation & Research team, these sessions will provide a first hand look at the fascinating building.
The sessions will last 30 minutes and will be taking place on:
Details:
If youâre interested in joining us for a tour, please send an email to [email protected], indicating your preferred date and time slot.
Please note that the Hartills meeting rooms are currently unavailable while essential maintenance works are carried out.
We kindly ask colleagues not to book or use these rooms during this period. As meeting space is currently limited, please use office spaces that are appropriate to the size of your meeting wherever possible. The small office next to the People Team is also available for use.
We will let you know as soon as the rooms are ready to be used again. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Yesterday, we were honoured to be joined by His Excellency Hiroshi Suzuki, Japanese Ambassador to the UK, for a visit to the Museum. He was invited by Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, to spend a few hours exploring our region’s incredible heritage at our venue. The group were also joined by Sonia Kumar, MP for Dudley.
His Excellency enjoyed trying on some 1930s Peaky Blinders style clothing in Morrall’s Gentlemen’s Outfitters, saw a chain making demonstration, met our pony Charlie on “Charlie’s Yard”, and even sampled our famous fish and chips. We were thrilled that His Excellency agreed that it was “bostin fittle”!
You can watch His Excellency’s verdict on the fish and chips on our Instagram or TikTok.
We would like to extend a big, bostin’ thank you to everyone who helped to make the Ambassador’s visit a huge success. With particular thanks to historic characters for delivering our amazing story to the group, our wonderful horse handler team for introducing Charlie to the Ambassador, to Tim and Jordan for providing excellent transportation and our enterprise colleagues for providing an unforgettable lunch. It is a fantastic team effort to present the Museum at its very best for special visits like this, and we’re proud to have provided such a brilliant experience for His Excellency.
Special thanks has been passed on to everyone by Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, who thanks the Museum for hosting the Ambassador and describes the team as being magnificent.
The visit was also featured on BBC Midlands Today’s evening broadcast on Wednesday 18 February, which you can watch back through iPlayer.
Thank you!
