The Gas Hall at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery is set to transform into a spellbinding Neverland between 23 October and 3 January, enchanting visitors of all ages with a festive experience inspired by the beloved children’s classic,

This season’s programme also has something on offer for film fans, comedy lovers, culture vultures and those looking for a different kind of night out.

Thinktank, Birmingham science museum, will host a season of spooky cinema, with screenings including Hocus Pocus, Blade Runner: The Final Cut, ET the Extra-Terrestrial and Alien.

The darker side of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery can be explored on Saturday 31 October with a murder mystery museum gallery tour by eccentric and deeply unreliable tour guide Tat Vision. 

Visitors can also experience a Halloween-themed LED candlelit tour of Aston Hall - said to be one of the most haunted buildings in the UK – on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October, with tales of those who lived and died there and the ghosts who reputedly still inhabit the grand old mansion.

The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter will be celebrating UK Fungus Day on 10 October, when visitors are invited to join natural sciences curator Lukas Large on a Fungi Foray through Birmingham’s historic cemeteries.

Away from the scares, the programme celebrates the city’s creative scene with Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery’s spoken word night Piece of Work. The evenings combine acclaimed spoken-word artists with an open mic element, creating an opportunity for established and emerging voices to take centre stage.

Birmingham’s museums will also become venues for this year’s Birmingham Comedy Festival between 2 and 11 October, with a line-up including Tatty Tours of Joe Lycett’s EVERY THING MUST GO, Coco’s art history comedy gallery tour, comedy at Craft & Culture at Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and Comedy at the Museum featuring Shazia Mirza and more.

There will also be a celebration of diversity and science with Pride in STEM day, alongside Algorave, an experimental music night bringing together technology, coding and live electronic music.

At Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, families can start their Christmas celebrations with Breakfast with Santa. Tickets also include same-day admission to Thinktank, allowing families to continue their festive day out at the science museum.

In Santa’s Workshop, children can meet Father Christmas, take part in a Christmas craft activity with the elves and receive a special gift.

Families can also enjoy Breakfast with Santa and Santa’s Workshop at Thinktank, while a programme of festive cinema includes Christmas favourites such as The Muppet Christmas Carol, Elf and Love Actually.

The Christmas holidays will also see Thinktank bring science to life with Lights, Science, Action!, an interactive show exploring the science of light.

Elsewhere across Birmingham Museums, visitors can enjoy a Christmas wreath workshop at the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Tudor Christmas tours at Blakesley Hall, exploring festive traditions from centuries ago and more Aston Hall by candlelight tours.

Zak Mensah and Sara Wajid, co-chief executives of Birmingham Museums Trust, said: “We’re especially delighted to be bringing the magic of Neverland to Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery this year.

“But there is much more to discover across our sites this season. From Halloween and poetry to comedy, cinema, science and a whole host of festive family experiences, our programme has been created to give people lots of reasons to come to our museums to celebrate the season in new and unexpected ways.”