Animals don’t do sexual identity; they just do sex.

From same-sex sexual behaviour in giraffes and penguins to the scientists working in the field of zoology. How do the labels and categories we give animals affect the way we interact with the natural world?

Our volunteer guides share their personal selection of fascinating stories about gender and sex in the animal world at the Museum of Zoology.

Please book your FREE ticket in advance - as numbers are limited.   

In her 1925 review of Lady Mursaki’s 11th Century novel Tale of Genji, Virginia Woolf admires the technique adopted to draw a clear vision of the male hero: he is conveyed through a method that decenters him and celebrates female intersubjectivity, ‘through the medium of other women’s minds’. Her encounter with the book clearly struck a chord, as a few years later, in an essay about women and fiction, Woolf returns to the Tale of Genji as a vital moment in the history of women’s creativity.

MUSE, our series of practical art workshops for adults has returned to the Museum in person!

These workshops will take place in the gallery spaces, and in our Education studio making use of materials and techniques that can be safely used in these areas. Art supplies will be provided. Each workshop is 2 hours long.

Hockney often investigates the passing of time, thorough his videos, joiner pieces, photography and painting. Registering subtle changes through time and space, through slightly shifting viewpoints.

Join True to Nature exhibition collaborators Jane Munro, Ger Luijten and Mary Morton for a panel discussion as they share the thinking behind the exhibition and the curatorial challenges and opportunities afforded by exploring the theme in different ways across three venues.

Drawing on new scholarship, this exhibition of some 100 oil sketches made across Europe, mainly during the nineteenth century, explores the variety of inventive ways in which artists recorded fleeting moments in nature, experienced at first-hand.

Ai Weiwei: The Liberty of Doubt explores truth, authenticity and value, as well as globalisation, the coronavirus pandemic and current geopolitical crises.

In the ground floor galleries there is a single installation devised by Ai Weiwei. This is the first time the artist has juxtaposed historic Chinese objects with his own artworks. The antiquities on display were acquired by Ai Weiwei at an auction in Cambridge in 2020. He has identified some as original, including from the Northern Wei (386 – 534CE) dynasty, and others as counterfeits, later copies of original works.

Volunteering is a great way to give back to your community, learn new skills, make friends and professional contacts, and get more involved with a unique art gallery. Kettle’s Yard hugely values its team of volunteers, who have a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. Everyone aged 16 and over is welcome to volunteer, and we encourage interest from new voices and perspectives.

Volunteering is a great way to give back to your community, learn new skills, make friends and professional contacts, and get more involved with a unique art gallery. Kettle’s Yard hugely values its team of volunteers, who have a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. Everyone aged 16 and over is welcome to volunteer, and we encourage interest from new voices and perspectives.

Join us for our new wellbeing and making workshops for adults at the Polar Museum! Meet and Make at the Museum sessions are all about giving you a supportive and social space to be creative. Making new crafts, making space for yourself, and making new connections. A chance for you to explore working with different materials and learn new skills with others.

For ages 16+

Monday 25 July: Exploration

Join us for our new wellbeing and making workshops for adults at the Polar Museum! Meet and Make at the Museum sessions are all about giving you a supportive and social space to be creative. Making new crafts, making space for yourself, and making new connections. A chance for you to explore working with different materials and learn new skills with others.

Monday 26 September: Art of the North

Join us for our new wellbeing and making workshops for adults at the Polar Museum! Meet and Make at the Museum sessions are all about giving you a supportive and social space to be creative. Making new crafts, making space for yourself, and making new connections. A chance for you to explore working with different materials and learn new skills with others.

For ages 16+

Tuesday 30 August: Where in the World