Here is a sampling of places participating in U.K.’s annual Museums at Night celebration.

• Alcester, Warwickshire: Coughton Court, As Darkness Falls at the Court, May 14-15. Step into a candle-lit, atmospheric historic house for a self-led journey into the shadows.

• Bath, Somerset: Roman Baths Late, May 13. Explore Bath’s world-famous Roman Baths by torchlight.

• Birmingham: Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Art Bus!, May 13. Hop on the bus and see Birmingham’s artsy treats, including the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, RBSA Gallery, the Ikon and mac arts center.

• Bradford, West Yorkshire: 1950s Late Night Opening, National Media Museum, May 13. A 1950s-inspired event with fashion show, swing music, jive dancing lessons, make-up artists and more.

• Brighton & Hove, East Sussex: Preston Manor, Daisy and Maisy’s Haunted House Tour, May 14. Preston Manor maids Daisy and Maisy lead lighthearted tours of this Edwardian house, explaining its history and ghostly goings-on.

• Bristol, Clifton Suspension Visitor Centre: Clifton Suspension Bridge illuminations tour, May 13: Free guided tour of the bridge focusing on its state-of-the-art illuminations and their operation.

• Chatham, Kent: Spooky sleepover at Historic Dockyard Chatham, No. 1 Smithery building, May 14-15.

• Chatham: A Murder in the Mast House at Historic Dockyard Chatham, May 13-14. Nighttime ghost investigation.

• Chertsey, Surrey: Chertsey Museum at Night: Solve a Mystery! May 13. Visitors are invited to identify the objects that shouldn’t be on display and use them to uncover the identity of a mystery person.

• Chester, Cheshire: Abbey to Cathedral, Chester Cathedral, tours, May 13.

• Dorchester, Dorset: Teddy Bear Museum, Explore Dorchester’s Teddy Bear Museum, a unique museum featuring examples from throughout the last century, May 14.

• Dorchester: Terracotta Warriors Museum, view the warriors after dark, May 14. This is only museum devoted to the terracotta warriors outside of China.

• Dorchester: The Roman Town House, May 14. A nighttime look at a Roman dwelling dating to the fourth century.

• Dorchester: Tutankhamun Exhibition, May 14. Features meticulous re-creations of major treasures.

• Ellesmere Port, Cheshire: National Waterways Port, Canal Twilight at National Waterways Museum, May 14. Explore atmospheric buildings and docks of the museum at twilight and take in a performance by a young people’s drama group.

• Gosport, Hampshire: The Museum of Naval Firepower, Explosion! Sleepover, May 14-15. For children and families.

• Grasmere, Cumbria: May 13-14, An Evening in Dove Cottage, the Wordsworth Museum and Art Gallery. Readings from the poetry of William Wordsworth and his contemporaries, extracts from his sister Dorothy’s journal, and more.

• Harrogate, North Yorkshire: Mercer Art Gallery, Atkinson Grimshaw — Painter of Moonlight, May 14. Exhibition by moonlight of this celebrated painter of moonlight.

• Herstmonceux, Hailsham, East Sussex: An Evening With Saturn, The Observatory Science Centre, May 14-15.

• Leeds: Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds, Dark Scavengers: Science Fiction Scavenger Hunt in the Dark, May 14. Discover the current science fiction display “Visions of the Future: The Art of Science Fiction” in total darkness for a scavenger hunt.

• Letchworth, Hertfordshire: A Make Extravaganza, Letchworth Museum & Art Gallery, May 13. Expert textile makers and artists from the Eastern Region Textile Forum demonstrate a variety of textile techniques in the Make Lounge.

• Lincoln, Lincolnshire: A Cottage Winter Evening in 1931, Mrs. Smith’s Cottage Museum, May 13-15. Storytelling by the glowing fire.

• Liverpool: Brew Tea Co., Book and a Brew, May 13. Join in a chain reading of Frank Cottrell Boyce’s “The Unforgotten Coat.”

• Liverpool: Collage Collectables and Fine Art, Collage Collectables, May 13. A range of locally created and affordable artworks on display.

• Liverpool: Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, An Evening with Sense of Sound, May 13. Witness Liverpool’s choral ensemble Sense of Sound as it films a new performance for YouTube, and make own recording.

• Liverpool: Liverpool Town Hall, City of Radicals Light Night, May 13. Stand in footsteps of the Beatles and the queen on a world-famous balcony and enjoy live entertainment.

• Liverpool: Novas Contemporary Urban Centre – North West, Darkness in Light: A Very Superstitious After Party, May 13-14. Hosted by Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde) from inside the laboratory. With DJs and the music project ‘”The Science of the Lamps.”

• Liverpool: St. George’s Hall, May 13. A Mystery of History promenade theater, presented by Halewood Youth Theatre.

• Liverpool: The Performance Space, BBC Radio Merseyside, Create a Masterpiece: Drop in Art Workshops, May 13. Try your hand at creating an artistic masterpiece, all materials provided and no experience necessary. Professional artists on hand to offer advice and live demonstrations.

• Liverpool: The Royal Standard, Behind the Scenes Tour, May 13. A peek into a vibrant and dynamic professional artist studio.

• Liverpool: Wolstenholme Creative Space, May 13: Photography and moving image that document Liverpool’s creative music scene, featuring live performances.

• London (central London): National Gallery, Family Storytelling session — Mystery Magic Stories, May 13. For children 7 and older with adults to come dressed in a favorite costume or even pajamas to hear performance storyteller Sally Pomme Clayton talk about the magic and mystery of Renaissance paintings.

• London-City of London: Bank of England Museum, “Banknotes and Bullion,” May 13: Presentations on banknotes in the museum cinema. Ask the staff questions about gold.

• London-Covent Garden: London Transport Museum, sneak viewing of the New Bus for London, May 13.

• London-Forest Hill (South London): Horniman Museum & Gardens, Bali — Dancing for the Gods, May 13. Exhibition and demonstrations of the masked Topeng Kerras and Panyembrama welcome dances and a Topeng Kerras workshop.

• London: Government Art Collection, Bedtime Stories at the Government Art Collection, May 13-14. Guided tours and storytelling including innovative interpretations of artworks. Contact gac@culture.gov.uk for location.

• London-Greenwich: The O2, British Music Experience, Museums at Night for Adults Only, May 14-15. Includes live music, DJs, guitar lessons in the Gibson interactive studio, magical mystery tours, glam rock makeovers, karaoke, film screenings and more.

• London-Greenwich, National Maritime Museum: Cosmic family fun night at the Royal Observatory, May 14. Activities, family workshops and special planetarium shows.

• London-Hyde Park Corner: Apsley After Dark, May 14. Tours of home of the first Duke of Wellington, Apsley House (also known as Number One, London), and nearby Wellington Arch.

• London-Kensington: An Enchanted Evening at Kensington Palace, May 13. Experience the fashion, performance and spectacle of the magical Enchanted Palace exhibition after dark.

• London-King’s Cross: London Canal Museum, May 14: Evening of candle-lit tours, atmospheric lighting and exhibits of art and film in dark places.

• London-London Bridge: Old Operating Theatre Museum, Surgery by Gaslight & Other Medical Tales, May 13. Experience the fear and the emotion of a patient in the 19th century; have your leg "amputated" in the oldest surviving operating theater in England.

• London: Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, University College London, Double Bill Horror at the Museum, May 14: Showing “The Gorgon” and “The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb.”

• London-Rotherhithe (South East London): Brunel Museum Fancy Fair in the Grand Entrance Hall, May 14: Underground entertainment including the floating woman of Clifton Suspension Bridge, the engineer puppet master and a performance poet.

• London-Tottenham: Bruce Castle Museum, Chill with Us: Bruce Castle Museum at Night, May 13. Includes a screening of the 1961 chiller, “The Innocents.”

• London-Trafalgar Square: National Portrait Gallery, Late Shift Extra — Capturing the Capital, May 13. Photography exhibitions including Hoppe Portraits and Ida Kar.

• London-Walthamstow: Vestry House Museum, Explore the Victorians at Vestry House Museum, May 13. Late-night viewing of an exhibition on Victorian childhood.

• London-Whitehall: Churchill War Rooms, May 13. Visit Churchill’s atmospheric World War II shelter beneath the streets of Whitehall.

• Lullingstone, near Swanley, Kent: Lullingstone Roman Villa, May 13. Meet experts in Roman artifacts at the ruins of this Roman villa as dusk falls.

• Lyndhurst, Hampshire: New Forest Centre, Batty about Bats, May 14. Become a bat detective in the local church yard and enjoy more activities at the museum.

• Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire: Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, May 13. Unlimited Day for Museums at Night. Celebrate Adult Learners Week with workshops including jewelry making, drawing and more.

• Northallerton, North Yorkshire: North Yorkshire County Record Office, Archives at Dusk, May 13. An evening of archive entertainment at the home of millions of documents dating from the 12th century.

• Norwich, Norfolk: Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, From dungeons to battlements — explore Norwich Castle, May 14. Variety of events ranging from chilling tales in the dungeons to twilight tours of the battlements.

• Penrith, Cumbria: BlueJam’s 1940s Swing Band Evening at Penrith and Eden Museum, May 14.

• Penzance, Cornwall: Porthcurno Telegraph Museum, family sleepover in World War II tunnels, May 14-15. Hear the original air-raid siren and gas rattle, practice drills, dance and sing to 1940s music.

• Penzance, Cornwall: Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange, A Book of the Night, May 14-15. Printmakers, artists and writers work together to create a collection of illustrated pages on the theme of time in an event inspired by The Exchange’s exhibition PRINT!

• Rawtenstall-Rossendale, Lancashire: Rossendale Museum, Dead Good Stuffed Stuff — an evening of story making, May 14. Inspired by a recent research project that X-rayed many of the museum’s taxidermy displays.

• Reading, Berkshire: 1950s Night at the Museum of English Rural Life, May 14. A special night with music and dance.

• Saltash, Cornwall: Cotehele House, CSI Friday, May 13. By flashlight, participate in a self-guided mission to investigate conservation scenarios that challenge Cotehele’s housekeeping team.

• Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire: Shakespeare’s Birthplace and the Shakespeare Centre, Late Night Opening at Shakespeare’s Birthplace, May 13-14.

• Wakefield, West Yorkshire: After Hours at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 500-acre open air gallery with tours and talks, May 13.

• Weston-super-Mare, Somerset: Helicopter Museum, Vietnam War Flight Simulator Event, May 14-15. Climb into a UH-1 helicopter, dance the night away at the Helicopter Disco to sounds of the ’60s and ’70s.

• Wigan, Lancashire: Museum of Wigan Life, Creatures of the Night, May 14. A trail through the museum to find hidden animals in the collection. Take a flashlight and learn about bats and bat habitats.

-- DeeDee Doke, Special to Stars and Stripes

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