Category: Information Sharing

  • Calling all Archers fans!

    Archers fans – get your wellies on and join us on a trip to ‘Ambridge’!

    BBC Birmingham Tours at the Mailbox are launching a brand new Archers tour in the spring, but before going live to the public, the BBC are looking for Archers fans to help them give it a proper test run.

    All About The Archers pilot tours are free for BLCM Staff, friends and family; and are happening on:

    • Thursday 31st January at 10.30am and 1.30pm
    • Saturday 2nd February at 3pm
    • Thursday 14th February at 10.30am and 1.30pm
    • Saturday 16th February at 3pm

    Get an exclusive sneak peek around The Archers radio drama studio and the chance to record an iconic Archers scene. Plus find out if you really know your Grundy from your Aldridge, your Bridge from your Brookfield in our special Archers Quiz!

    Interested? Email [email protected] to find out more and to book a tour.

  • Car Park and Road Maintenance

    Pot hole repairs will commence on the morning of Mon 14 Jan. This will affect all roads within the museum to some extent.

    Work will begin on the roads on site, and then move to the main car park. This will include pot hole repairs and some remodelling to gain eight additional parking spaces and the installation of four more lighting columns to provide permanent lighting to the whole car park.

    We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause while we carry out this essential maintenance and improvement work.

  • Thank you to everyone involved in Christmas 2018

    During our Christmas Season between 24 Nov and 24 Dec, we welcomed almost 30,000 visitors across Christmas Evenings, Santa Hunts and our new Christmas daytime offer.

    Many of you will have worked on some or all of these activities to give our visitors a magical Christmas experience – thank you for your sustained enthusiasm and energy!

    We also hit the 350,000 visitor mark on Christmas Eve which is a real milestone for the Museum…watch this space for the full year attendance early in the New Year.

     

     

  • Merry Christmas!

    Merry Christmas!

    With great feedback from our visitors, some lovely examples of community engagement during our call-outs for stories, record-breaking attendance, and giving the Museum the opportunity to fulfil more of its potential with Forging Ahead, 2018 has been a remarkably good year for BCLM.  This kind of performance doesn’t happen by accident, and I sometimes talk about achieving our purpose on purpose.  That purpose is about being a great Museum + Charity + Visitor Attraction.  All in One.  It is a balancing act that requires customer focus and effective collaboration, and one which you are delivering.  We are one team, working together.

    So, as we approach the end of the year, I want to thank and pay tribute to you and the part you have played in our success this year.  It makes me very proud to have the privilege of leading the Museum, and I look forward to 2019, working with you and achieving even greater things for our audiences and the Black Country.  Thank you.

    Happy Christmas & Prosperous New Year.

    Andrew

     

  • Museums & Resilient Leadership (MRL) programme 19/20 – Applications now open

    Museums & Resilient Leadership (MRL) programme 19/20 – Applications now open

    The Museums & Resilient Leadership Programme (MRL) has been run by the Museum for the last 5 years, thanks to funding from Arts Council England.  It’s a year-long programme aimed at those working in the cultural sector who wish to develop their leadership ambitions, particularly (but not exclusively) to those at the mid-point of their career.  The Programme will help you become more resilient and work out how you can best make a contribution to our sector.

    A place is secured each year for a member of staff from BCLM.  Applications for the MRL 2019-2020 Programme are now open, & will be until 5pm on 31 January 2019.  You can apply via this link – http://www.museumresilience.com/application-mrl-2019-2020/.

    If you’re interested in applying but want to find out more, or discuss your eligibility, then please take a look at the website (http://www.museumresilience.com/), or you can contact Jo Turner to arrange a chat with Andrew or one of the MRL Directors.  You should also discuss your interest with your line manager.

  • Knit & Natter Group Celebrate 3 year anniversary

    The fantastic volunteers at the Knit & Natter group recently celebrated their 3 year anniversary with tea, cake and of course knitting! We’d like to say a big thank you to all of them for all of the contributions they have made to the Museum over the years. Many of us are kept warm in the winter by the garments that the group have made, and we hope that they continue to enjoy joining us in the future.

  • Staff Leavers

    Staff Leavers

    This week we say goodbye to two members of staff.

    Josefine Frank, Assistant Head of Learning, will be leaving the Museum to take up a role in Germany and Tessa Lovell, Head of Visitor Engagement, left the Museum this week to pursue new opportunities.

    Thank you to Josefine and Tessa for their work and commitment. We wish them every success in the future.

    Any interim arrangements felt to be necessary will be put in place and communicated in the coming weeks.

  • Vote for Rolfe Street Cafe name

    As you may have seen, we have had a makeover within the Rolfe Street Café to make a more comfortable café experience.

    We will be displaying some historical images and posters in the cafe that relate to the tubeworks history of the building that the cafe occupies.

    We would also like to rename the cafe to tie in the relationship with the tubeworks foundry and would welcome your support and vote on the suggested names.

    Please see the list below and submit your vote for your favourite:

    [ninja_form id=13]

    Please note: we have amended the list to avoid any future confusion. We have removed the suggested name of Crown Tube Works as this was the company that owned the building rather than a historical name of the building itself. Crown Tube Works was a different building in Wednesbury.

    Voting closes at midnight on Sunday 16 December.

  • HLF Round 2 Bid Submitted

    HLF Round 2 Bid Submitted

    On Monday 3 December, after a nineteen month Development Phase, we submitted, as planned, our Round Two application to the Heritage Lottery Fund.  At £9.4m, it is the same level when we received, against huge odds, our Round One pass in April 2017.  It represents the largest, but not the only remaining piece of the funding jigsaw, to get us to £22.2m and a fully-funded project.

    Work will carry on until March next year, when we expect to have a decision from the HLF on our application.  In the meantime, and at this hugely important milestone, I want to thank you all for the work you have done and the enthusiasm you have shown, to get us to this very positive position, and the opportunity you have helped create for the future of this museum.  It is a tremendous application and project and therefore, I am extremely optimistic about the outcome.