Birmingham Museums seasonal programme: Neverland from 23 October

Arts & Entertainment Desk 2026-10-06 13:54 3 min read

Vintage painting of two girls and a dog playing in a forest setting.

Neverland is coming to Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery’s Gas Hall from 23 October 2026 to 3 January 2027, placing an immersive Peter Pan experience at the centre of Birmingham Museums’ autumn and winter programme. Around it, visitors can choose Halloween tours, cinema, comedy and Christmas activities across five museum sites.

The Birmingham Museums Seasonal Programme runs from 2 October 2026 to 3 January 2027, with events at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Thinktank, Aston Hall, the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and Blakesley Hall. Birmingham Museums Trust’s announcement includes experiences for all ages, alongside individual films and performances whose suitability will depend on the event. Prices, booking arrangements, start times, transport and accessibility details are not supplied in the announcement; consult the individual event information before making plans.

Peter Pan takes over Gas Hall from 23 October

The immersive Neverland experience is the programme’s centrepiece, transforming Gas Hall into a setting inspired by the children’s classic. Its run stretches from late October through Christmas to the first days of January, giving families several weeks in which to plan a visit.

It also provides a different option from the programme’s shorter Halloween and comedy dates. Visitors interested primarily in Peter Pan should use the attraction’s own opening date, rather than the wider programme’s 2 October start.

Halloween brings haunted halls and cinema

Aston Hall’s Halloween-themed LED candlelit tours take place on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October. The tours tell stories of people who lived and died in the mansion and the ghosts reputed to remain there. Those hauntings are presented as part of the building’s storytelling, rather than established fact.

On Saturday 31 October, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery hosts a murder mystery gallery tour led by Tat Vision, described in the programme as an eccentric and deeply unreliable guide.

Thinktank’s spooky cinema selection includes Hocus Pocus, Blade Runner: The Final Cut, ET the Extra-Terrestrial and Alien. That range gives filmgoers distinct choices, from family favourites to science-fiction horror, rather than a single Halloween experience for every audience.

Earlier in the month, the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter marks UK Fungus Day on 10 October. Natural sciences curator Lukas Large will lead a Fungi Foray through Birmingham’s historic cemeteries.

Comedy, poetry and live-coded music

Birmingham’s museums are hosting events for the Birmingham Comedy Festival between 2 and 11 October. The line-up includes Tatty Tours of Joe Lycett’s EVERY THING MUST GO, Coco’s art history comedy gallery tour, comedy at Craft & Culture at the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, and Comedy at the Museum featuring Shazia Mirza and others.

At Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, the spoken-word night Piece of Work combines acclaimed artists with an open mic, making space for established and emerging performers.

The seasonal programme also includes Pride in STEM day, celebrating diversity and science, and Algorave, an experimental music event bringing together coding, technology and live electronic music.

Santa visits and Tudor Christmas traditions

Families can attend Breakfast with Santa or Santa’s Workshop at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and Thinktank. In the workshop, children meet Father Christmas, make a Christmas craft with the elves and receive a gift.

Thinktank’s festive film programme includes The Muppet Christmas Carol, Elf and Love Actually. During the Christmas holidays, its interactive Lights, Science, Action! show explores the science of light.

Elsewhere, the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter offers a Christmas wreath workshop, Blakesley Hall hosts Tudor Christmas tours exploring traditions from centuries ago, and Aston Hall has further candlelight tours.

For families considering Breakfast with Santa at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, the ticket includes same-day admission to Thinktank, allowing both museum visits to form part of one festive day out.

Source: Birmingham Museums Trust Stories

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