Events, activities, and resources to connect you with PHM's unique collections and stories, exploring the development of democracy in Britain. Be inspired by the radicals of the past and present to become the radicals of our future.
Whether you’re looking to explore PHM’s collections, connect with others online, create something at home, or learn about the people who changed the world, there are always ideas worth exploring.
Explore ideas worth fighting for throughout two Family Friendly galleries at the national museum of democracy. Meet the revolutionaries, reformers, workers, voters, and citizens who believed in and continue to inspire ideas such as equality, social justice, co-operation, and a fair world for all.
Suitable for all ages.
Take a 3D tour
Discover ideas worth fighting for past, present and future in this online conversation and tour of PHM’s main galleries, with actor Alfred Enoch and PHM’s Head of Collections & Engagement Jenny Mabbott. Part of Google Arts & Culture’s Art for Two series.
Suitable for all ages.
Watch and listen
History is being made. Explore one of PHM’s most recent acquisitions through Google Arts & Culture; photographs of 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Manchester through the lens of photographer Jake Hardy.
Suitable for age 11 to adults.
Explore
September 2020’s Radical Late was part of Heritage Open Days festival 2020. Take a virtual tour on PHM’s YouTube channel to discover stories about those who have campaigned for nature and the environment over the last 200 years.
Suitable for age 11 to adults.
Watch and listen
The artist Cliff Rowe donated over 1,600 paintings, prints and drawings to PHM in 1985. A lifelong socialist, Rowe focused a lot of his work on industry, working life, and people. In July 2020, members of PHM’s staff looked at the collection in the context of Covid-19 and picked paintings that resonated with them.
Suitable for all ages.
Find out more on artuk.org
Online orders are available from PHM shop; a unique gift shop in Manchester inspired by the museum’s collection, full of books, cards, homeware, souvenirs and great presents for kids and grown ups! All purchases support the museum, helping us continue to champion ideas worth fighting for.
Find out more
Steven Fielding, Professor of Political History at the University of Nottingham discusses five highlights from PHM’s collection for a series of films available on the museum’s YouTube channel.
Suitable for all ages.
Watch and listen
Discover ten treasures chosen by the PHM team that capture the ethos, spirit and importance of the museum’s collection.
Suitable for all ages.
Explore PHM's collection
Explore PHM’s collection through 15 short films made as part of the Citizens project, charting the history of liberty, protest, rebellion and reform.
Suitable for all ages.
Watch and listen
Join singer-songwriter Matt Hill to make some noise and sing some songs in this popular PHM session for babies and tots, an interactive online performance full of toe tapping tunes from times of change.
Suitable for babies, tots and grown ups.
Join in and make some noise!
Get ready for bed and settle in for a live streamed, multi-sensory story session.
Follow the adventures of Little Bee and find out how they become the hero of Victorian Manchester, or meet Mr Ordinary and his friends in our story of Manchester’s Coat of Arms.
Family Friendly event, suitable for under 5s and their grown ups.
PHM is currently exploring migration through a programme of events and exhibitions, co-created by a Community Programme Team made up of people whose lives have been shaped by migration.
Suitable for a range of ages, see individual event and exhibition information.
What's on exploring migration
Every second Thursday each month, explore ideas worth fighting for through a regular programme of unique online events after hours.
Suitable for a range of ages, see individual event information.
Find out more
On Thursday 8 April 2021, 7.30pm – 9.00pm, join a Radical Late evening with Modus Arts as they present a series of deep listening sound videos developed from testimonies collected during their groundbreaking Tape Letters project, from Pakistani immigrants who settled in Britain between 1960 and 1980.
The videos will be followed with a live Q&A session.
Suitable for age 11 to adults (under 18s must have an accompanying adult present during event).
Book your tickets
February 2021’s Radical Late was an evening of talks focusing on how migration has influenced LGBT+ history and the fight for LGBT+ rights.
Part of OUTing the Past Festival, an international celebration of LGBT+ history.
Suitable for ages 18+
Watch and listen
On 20 November 2020, 100 years of discoveries, disposals and debates were explored through a live streamed online presentation and discussion about the archive of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) on the centenary of the party’s formation.
Suitable for ages 16+
Watch and listen
November 2020’s Radical Late was an online artistically performed story and accompanying discussion exploring the ways in which colonialism, conflict, race and migration connect with climate change, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and people arriving from there to the UK.
Suitable for age 12 to adults.
Watch and listen
PHM’s Have Your Say event is an open conversation about a current talking point.
July 2020’s Have Your Say was a discussion on Covid-19 and independent living, including insight from disabled people sharing their experiences of independent living and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Suitable for ages 16+
Watch and listen
July 2020’s Radical Late was hosted by PechaKucha Night Manchester, presenting a virtual evening of speedy talks and workshops on the theme of migration.
Hear from an eclectic mix of speakers from the worlds of design, art and social action.
Suitable for ages 16+
Watch and listen
June 2020’s Radical Late saw an hour of conversation and cooking with PHM and Heart & Parcel, a Manchester based food and women’s project focused on developing English language skills whilst cooking. Enjoy a cooking demonstration of pierogi and salad from Heart & Parcel’s cookbook, which includes recipes from some of the women they have supported.
Suitable for ages 16+
Watch and listen
Make your own Doodle Den at home, pick up a pencil and explore PHM’s collections through sketching, scribbling and silliness.
Suitable for age 5 to adults.
Get doodling!
Once a month join this informal creative workshop with artist Helen Mather for some stitching, chatting and sharing, inspired by the museum’s collections. Accompanying resources provide inspiration and ideas for creativity online and at home.
Suitable for age 11 to adults.
Get creative
As the Vital Voters of the future, PHM invites young people to take a three minute film challenge to let the world know what matters to them.
Suitable for ages 10 to 17.
Get involved
Learn about, be inspired by and get involved in ideas worth fighting for; ideas such as equality, social justice, co-operation, and a fair world for all.
PHM offers online learning sessions for all ages and families of all shapes and sizes.
Learn more
Watch an animation and explore a series of learning resources for all ages to find out about what happened at St Peter’s Field in Manchester on 16 August 1819.
Learn more
Listen to a series of PHM’s podcasts, sign up to an online course and use lesson plans to find out more about the campaign for women to have the vote in Britain.
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Find out more about the development of trade union activity and the campaign for better working conditions in Britain.
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Voting is vital. Want to know why? PHM’s Vital Voters vloggers have explored 200 years of democracy in Britain to discover why we all need the right to have our say.
Suitable for ages 10 to 17.
Learn more
Want to know how voting works and what parliament does? UK Parliament has come up with a series of short, snappy animations to explain everything.
Suitable for ages 10 to 17.
Learn more
Sign up to take part in this free online course that uncovers a century long struggle for rights and representation, from the Peterloo Massacre in 1819 to the first women winning the right to vote in Britain in 1918.
Suitable for ages 16+
Learn more
Read posts from the PHM team and other experts, with behind the scenes stories, coverage of the museum’s exhibitions, events, and Learning Programme, and highlights from PHM’s unique collection.
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Join PHM’s free museum membership by taking this fast and fun quiz! Find out which radical you are and help us match your interests to what’s on offer from PHM.
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PHM tells the stories of radical thinkers whose big ideas have shaped our society. Join the Radicals and help us continue to champion ideas worth fighting for.
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