University of Cambridge Museums

A young woman wearing a museum t-shirt sits at a table and helps children stood around her with a craft activity at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Applications are now OPEN for our Museum Experience Internship.

Sitting your A-levels/ equivalent and looking for a paid summer job? This unique role gives you the opportunity to experience a range of museum jobs @maacambridge.bsky.social.

➡️ www.museums.cam.ac.uk/new-internships
🗓️ 8am, 11 May 2026

A night-time scene at Cambridge University Botanic Garden features illuminated fountains with vibrant colours. In the background, the Glasshouse is lit in purple hues, and silhouetted figures are visible near the fountains.

Illuminated lantern sculptures on water depict a figure in a boat accompanied by a dog. The scene is set in a serene night environment with blue and purple lighting, surrounded by lush foliage.

Winter may be nearly over, but we’re taking a last look back ✨
Winners of our Cambridge Botanic Lights Photography Competition are here! Congrats to everyone featured and thanks to all who entered!

https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/winners-announced-for-cambridge-botanic-lights-photography-competition/

A person is interacting with an exhibit at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences in Cambridge. The exhibit features a framed disc labelled with different words. The person's hand is on the disc, surrounded by a warm, indoor setting.

Researchers and curators Dr Carrie Soderman, Professor Owen Weller-Gibbs and Dr Corinne Frigo at the 'From Magma to Magnets' exhibition, held at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences.

Professor Owen Weller-Gibbs holding a rock, while Dr Corrine Frigo is pointing at it. They are engaged in conversation. Display cases and informational posters are visible in the background.

Two textured rocks are displayed in front of two vibrant abstract paintings. The left painting features a yellow background with green and red splatters. The right painting has a pink background with blue and red shapes.

Test your strength against a rare-earth magnet at @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social! 💪

Come along for a first-of-its-kind Cambridge exhibition, and experience the power of Greenland’s rare-earth elements.

'From Magma to Magnets' opens from Friday 27 February. Preview it here 👇
https://bit.ly/4aBVQsO

A child sits at a craft table creating a mask from a paper plate. The design of the eyes and mouth have a Spiderman/Venom vibe.

In our latest blog post Charlotte, one of our @camunivmuseums.bsky.social Museum Experience interns, reflects on how hands-on research, visitor engagement, and leading creative activities, have helped her build confidence, skills, and meaningful connections: www.maadigitallab.org/blog/2026/02...

How does Talking Plants work?🪴

Our helpful guide will show you how to spark up conversations with the 20 plants featured in our experimental exhibition, Talking Plants.

🌿Watch the video and start chatting!

More info: www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/talking-plan...

#TalkingPlants #CUBG

The Museum will be CLOSED on Tues 3 March, Wed 4 March & Thurs 5 March for essential maintenance. We're really sorry if you were hoping to visit on those days. The shop & café will be open. PLUS - you can still see our 21 metre long fin whale in the Whale Hall!🐳University of Cambridge Museums

A woven hamper filled with museum shop goodies, including torch, colouring book, card games, dinosaur egg, magnets, books, and a Love Cambridge gift card.

A label with the Twilight at the Museums 2026 logo, QR code and text reading 'Share this object to enter our 20 Years of Twilight Competition'. Find out more.

Have you spotted the #TwilightAtTheMuseums labels hidden in our Museums and Garden this half term?

Tell us where to enter our 20 Years of Twilight Competition and have the chance to win a fantastic family hamper of museum shop goodies.

Find out more: www.museums.cam.ac.uk/theme/twilight

Colourful poster promoting "Twilight at the Museums." Features playful illustrations of a camera, binoculars, moon, and star. Text invites viewers to explore Cambridge museums after hours during half term.

Twilight at the Museums is back this half-term 🌙

Museums across Cambridge are opening after hours with evening activities for families and curious minds.

Full programme: https://www.museums.cam.ac.uk/theme/twilight

@camunivmuseums.bsky.social

#TwilightAtTheMuseums #HalfTerm #CUBG

A member of the museum's staff stands beside a plaster cast of a Maya monument whilst a child and a teenager stand in front of it. The child shines a torch onto the face of one of the figures depicted on the cast.

Are you counting down the days to #TwilightAtTheMuseums? 🎉🌟

Bring a torch, grab a trail, and join us on an after-hours museum adventure with your family on 18/02/2026, 4:30-7:30pm.

Find out more on the @camunivmuseums.bsky.social website:
museums.cam.ac.uk/events/twilight-maa-all-glistens-not-gold

A person kneels on a paved path in a lush indoor garden filled with various tropical plants. They are holding a smartphone, pointing it towards the plants. The surroundings are vibrant and green, creating a serene botanical setting.

A group of eight people standing in a greenhouse surrounded by lush green plants. One person holds a potted plant. The scene appears vibrant and natural, with sunlight streaming through the greenhouse roof.

This image features an excerpt from an article about the tropical greenhouse at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, highlighting a plant named Ebony and a Mymarodendron tree. It discusses interactions with plant life and quotes Professor Sarah Rios. The right side mentions the '20 plants you can't live without' event and provides a website link for more information.

🌿 When was the last time you stopped to listen to a plant?

Our new exhibition Talking Plants gives AI voices to plants - and it’s featured in today’s Sunday Times.

🗓 11 Feb–12 Apr | Glasshouse Range
🔗 https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/talking-plants/

#TalkingPlants #CambridgeUniversityBotanicGarden

A bronze head wearing a beaded headdress with sections hanging down beside the face alongside braided hair. Circular necklaces cover the neck all the way up to the chin.

Legal ownership of 116 Benin artefacts cared for at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has been transferred to Nigeria's National commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM). 1/3

📸 Uhunmwun Elao, Benin City, Nigeria. Image credit: Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Two people are standing in a lush greenhouse, each holding a potted plant. One holds pink circular signs. There are various green plants in the background, and the ground is paved.

A greenhouse door features a colourful poster for "Talking Plants" at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, running from 11 February to 12 April in the Glasshouse Range. The poster includes colourful plant illustrations, a QR code, and a note about free entry with garden admission.

An individual stands in a greenhouse, holding a phone and looking at lush green plants and ferns. There's a sign in the background reading "Life Before Flowers." The setting is serene with natural lighting.

🌱One week to go until Talking Plants opens!

📱Scan a QR code and strike up a conversation!

🪴Our team is busy preparing the plants and testing conversations before the exhibition opens on 11 February.

📍Find out more: https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/talking-plants/

#CambridgeUniversityBotanicGarden

Can you make a fake? 🕵️‍♂️ 🔍

Looking for a half-term activity? Put your detective skills to the test in our new exhibition The Art of Deception, all about the curious world of fake scientific instruments.

📅 Monday 16 February
⏰ 1–4pm (drop-in)
📍 Meet in the Learning Gallery

🐝How does some relaxing Museum inspired crafting sound? A great way to spend a Saturday! Come along & make some zines with us on 7 Feb, 11am to 3.30pm. Tickets £7 or £5 for students, includes lunch and snacks! Book ahead, spaces limited😊https://ow.ly/EX1l50Y4rvA

"Getting to spend my last summer before university doing something I love while also preparing for my future was amazing."

Great to read the experiences of one of our Museum Experience Interns based at @maacambridge.bsky.social last summer. Applications for our next internship will open in March.

Image of a Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum), in a lush greenhouse environment. The plant features a large, tree-like structure and a prominent, elongated yellowish spadix surrounded by a dark, ruffled spathe.

🌱This is Titus Jr. the Titan Arum – one of the plants you can talk to in our #TalkingPlants exhibition from 11 Feb – 12 Apr.

🌿Scan a QR code in the Glasshouses to ask questions and learn about its origins, adaptations and why it matters.

📍Find out more through the link on our profile.

An image of the Barrington Hippo skeleton from behind showing off the discrepancy in hip size. The left hip is much larger than the right.

Notice anything strange? 🦛

You may have spotted a difference in the size of its hip bones. This is because the Barrington Hippo is a composite skeleton. One hip bone is from a female individual and the other comes from a male! The larger hip bone is from a female. 

#FossilFriday #BarringtonHippo

A statue of a seated Buddha in a red and gold robe in one of the museum galleries. Text reads "Sound bath: Meditation at the Museum, 3 February 2026, 5:45pm".

Find quiet as you slow down towards the end of your busy day and focus on your positive wellbeing through sound healing and guided meditation in the galleries.

🗓️ 03/02/2026, 5:45pm (other dates available)

🎟️ £15 pp

🔗 eventbrite.co.uk/e/1977385323733

An audience sits in the museum galleries, watching and listening to a musical performance. Text reads 'MAA Voices: Nahoft Ensemble, 29 January 2026, 7pm'.

We're delighted to be welcoming Nahoft Ensemble for a special performance celebrating the timeless beauty of Persian classical music.

🗓️ 29/01/2026, 7pm
🎟️ Pay as you wish - suggested donation £25 or £12 for students/MAA Friends
🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1660331739929

📸 Image credit: My Linh Le, 2025

🏳️‍🌈Book your FREE place on our Pride in Nature LGBTQ+ tours this February as we celebrate #LGBTQ+ History Month. Expert volunteers will share stories of the natural world that are often left untold. Tours: 1st & 22nd Feb. https://ow.ly/mf9T50Y0xg4

Close-up of a vibrant jade vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) with its distinctive turquoise, claw-shaped flowers hanging in a cascade.

Close-up image of a passion flower in bloom, showing detailed yellow filaments and green petals, against a blurred natural background.

🪴From 11 Feb-12 Apr, Talking Plants invites you to the Glasshouse Range to scan QR codes, ask questions and get a unique response inspired by that plant’s story.

🌱An interactive exhibition using AI to explore the stories of living plants – included with Garden admission.

🌿So, what would you ask?

Join us this Saturday and be among the first to explore our new exhibition, The Art of Deception. ✨🔎

The Art of Deception reveals the hidden world of forged scientific instruments, showing how fake artefacts have fooled collectors and experts from the Middle Ages to today.

A brightly coloured illustration with central text reading Twilight at the Museums, come and explore Cambridge museums after hours this half term, surrounded by museum icons including a book, globe, torch, lantern, camear, flower and dinosaur head.

Join us to celebrate 20 years of #TwilightAtTheMuseums! 🎉🌟 Bring a torch, grab a trail, and go on an after-hours museum adventure with your family on 18 February 2026.

Find out more on the @camunivmuseums.bsky.social website: museums.cam.ac.uk/events/twilight-maa-all-glistens-not-gold

Promotional poster for 'Twilight at the Museums' event in Cambridge, featuring colourful cartoon-style illustrations of various museum objects like a plane, vase, and dinosaur, set against a dark blue background.

Join us as we celebrate 20 years of #TwilightAtTheMuseums 🌟
Enjoy a garden adventure after hours with your family this February half-term.
📅 17–21 February
🔗 Find out more & book: https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/whats-on/

@camunivmuseums.bsky.social

Illustrations by Seb & Charlie Design.

A brightly coloured illustration with central text reading Twilight at the Museums, come and explore Cambridge museums after hours this half term, surrounded by museum icons including a book, globe, torch, lantern, camear, flower and dinosaur head.

It’s time to get glowing! #TwilightAtTheMuseums is back 🌟

Explore Cambridge museums after hours this February half term and celebrate 20 years of Twilight.

See all events and book your visit from today: www.museums.cam.ac.uk/theme/twilight

Call now open for Visiting Fellowships in our Natural History Humanities programme! Building long-term collaborations with early career researchers on Cambridge GLAM collections.

@camunivmuseums.bsky.social @theul.bsky.social @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social
www.ccc.cam.ac.uk/initiatives/...

📢The Museum will be closed on Tuesday 13 Jan & Wednesday 14 Jan 2026 for maintenance & cleaning work. The Whale Café will remain open. Apologies if you were hoping to visit on those days. We are open as usual this week, if you are in Cambridge, do pop in! 🐳 University of Cambridge Museums

✨ Happy New Year! ✨ Welcome to a new year full of seasons ready to unfold in the Garden.
We’ll be open every day from tomorrow (2nd January), 10am–4pm — the perfect place to ease into 2026 surrounded by nature. We can’t wait to welcome you back.

A decorated Christmas tree surrounded by presents in a gallery at the Ftizwilliam Museum.

From all of us at the University of Cambridge Museums, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The UCM Team Office is now closed until 5 January.

In Cambridge over the holidays? Find full opening hours for our Museums and Garden on our website: bit.ly/UCMXmasHours