Eastside Archives - Page 7 of 14

It’s hard to believe but we’re already approaching the end of August! That means one thing, another bank holiday to enjoy. With the country now fully reopen we have put together four activities you can do locally with the whole family.

Dudley Zoo

Dudley Zoo is home to more than 1300 animals and has around 200 species, including some of the rarest creatures on planet earth. The zoo is built on the grounds of Dudley Castle, originally the brainchild of the third Earl of Dudley.

It’s instrumental to international conservation and breeding programmes. Endangered species include Asiatic lions, Sumatran tigers, Bornean orangutans, Tibetan red pandas, Rothschild giraffes, Madagascan lemurs and Humboldt penguins.

Dudley Zoo recommend that you pre-book your tickets via their online booking system. There may be a number of tickets available on the gate subject to availability but to avoid disappointment it’s recommended to book before hand.

National Sea Life Birmingham

Does the UK’s only 360 ocean tunnel sound fun to you? Why not plan a day trip to Birmingham’s National Sea Life Centre this Bank Holiday. There is so much to explore at the Sea Life Centre, making it the perfect day out for the whole family. Not only does it feature the 360 ocean tunnel, but you’ll also get the opportunity to see the UK’s first sea otters and the penguin ice adventure.

Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, you are asked to book all tickets online in order to guarantee entry. All bookings come with flexibility, meaning you can reschedule your arrive time for free, up to 24 hours before your arrival time.

Lickey Hills Country Park

Our third recommended day out takes us to the pretty Lickey Hills Country Park which includes a range of fun activities and stunning viewpoints. The Country Park has a number of marked walking trails of varying lengths and difficulty, suitable for all abilities. A “great walks” guide can be purchased at the visitor centre to give you detailed routes and information.

Other activities include horse riding, cycling and a crazy golf course, giving you plenty of choice for the whole family. The best access car park for families is on Warren Lane, which is the closest to the visitor centre and playground.

For more information please click here.

Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum

Located at Millennium Point Birmingham, Thinktank is an award-winning science museum perfect for a fun family day out. The museum features “MiniBrum”, Thinktank’s very own mini city which is aimed at under 8s, featuring several different play zones including a transport area, shops, park and construction site with slide. There are also specifically designed sensory areas for babies.

As you move further around the main museum, you are greeted by a science and industry area, spitfire gallery, marine worlds gallery, an all new changing planet feature and scientific facts and viewings from the past, present and future.

Outdoor fun for the kids

Located outside Thinktank is The Science Garden, which is packed with surprises and fun activities for the whole family. It offers an adventurous and entertaining day out, bringing themes of engineering, mechanics and transportation to life through over 30 hands-on exhibits.

Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint. Millennium Point is a landmark public building and multi-award-winning events venue in the Eastside of Birmingham City centre. Profits from our commercial activity are invested by the Millennium Point Charitable Trust into projects, events and initiatives which support the growth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in the West Midlands.

You’ve got just over two weeks left to book tickets for our Top Gun + Cocktails night at Millennium Point.

Watch the blockbuster classic Top Gun on our giant screen while enjoying four free themed cocktails. This event takes place on Saturday 11th September at 7.30pm (doors open at 6:30pm). We’ve teamed up with movie geeks, The Wine Events Company, who will be serving up Top Gun trivia alongside your themed cocktails throughout the screening. Tickets are at a limited availability so if you want to feel the need for speed then hurry up and book your place!

About the film

Code-named “Maverick”, Pete Mitchell (Tom Cruise), the impetuous daredevil Navy-pilot ace, is accepted into Miramar’s elite Fighter School, also known as “Top Gun”. There, as the impulsive pilot competes with the best of the best, not only will he meet Charlie (Kelly McGillis), the flying school’s curvaceous astrophysics instructor, but also the brilliant and highly competitive fellow student, “Iceman” (Val Kilmer), with whom right from the start, he will engage in a reckless contest. As Maverick is haunted by his father’s mysterious death, will he be able to suppress his wild nature to win the prestigious Top Gun Trophy?

Featuring: Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Tim Robbins, Val Kilmer and many more.

Certificate: 15 | Running Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

What do you get with your ticket?

Tickets are priced at £35.95 per person (plus Eventbrite fees) and you’ll get more than just a film screening!

Top Gun on the big screen: Admission to the film screening in our new and improved Auditorium with entertainment throughout by the film geeks at The Wine & Events Company

Four themed Cocktails: Each attendee will get four themed cocktails including:

Aviation: A welcome drink to get your aeronautic boots on, flying you high above the rest with a mix of gin, lemon juice, creme de violette and de maraschino, sugar syrup and a cherry.
Harvey Wallbanger: Don’t lose that loving feeling with a Harvey special, containing vodka, orange juice and Galliano.
Sea Breeze: September is the new summer with this refreshing cocktail mixed with vodka, cranberry and grapefruit juice.
Pina Colada: Feel the need for speed with a classic Pina Colada in hand.

Dirty Dancing revellers have the time of their lives

Our movie + drinks nights are not to be missed. Check out our last one of the eighties classic Dirty Dancing below. Guests had the time of their lives with a live band, themed cocktails and movie trivia from the film geeks at The Wine Events Company. To keep up to date with all our event offerings please click here.

Getting to Millennium Point

Millennium Point is in the Eastside of Birmingham City Centre just 5-minutes walk from Moor Street and 15-minutes from Grand Central and the tram. There is also limited parking on-site which means we’re easy to find regardless of how you travel. For more information please click here.

Every year, the Millennium Point Charitable Trust Small Grants programme gives out grants of up to £20,000 to support science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education projects in the West Midlands. We have funded many different projects across all areas of STEM, supporting learning development for young students.

Here is another great example of the type of work we do, this project was funded in 2019 and shows the power of what the grants funding can achieve for STEM organisations.

Who are Wolves Play Café?

Wolves Play Café are a not-for-profit organisation, that support young children and their parents and caregivers in Wolverhampton.

Why did they apply for a Millennium Point Grant?

A major challenge facing many families in the Whitmore Reans, St Peter’s Ward in inner-city Wolverhampton area, is having few opportunities to explore local attractions or paid experiences. There is a lack of accessible science activities for 0-5 children in this area of the city outside of school and pre-school for parents and caregivers, to interact with their children without price, time and location barriers.

Wolves Play Café reached out to the Millennium Point Charitable Trust to fund a project called “The World Around Us”, which aims to deliver ten 2 hour science play sessions in term-time from September 2019 to July 2020 for under 5s and their caregivers in Wolverhampton.

What impact has the project made?

With the help of the grant, the project has gone from strength to strength, impacting over 80 children and 50 parents/caregivers in Wolverhampton. The turnout for each session was overwhelmingly positive with each one fully booked. Over 70% of attendees also made a request to return for additional sessions.

Feedback from the project revealed that parents saw an increase in interest from children in STEM related subjects following the sessions. This long term investment has allowed for many young children to kickstart their future, learning key skills that will be pivotal for many years to come.

The Play Café were “thrilled”

Wolves Play Café couldn’t hide their delight at the results of the play sessions and said: “We are thrilled to receive our grant from Millennium Point Charitable Trust. This has enabled Wolves Play Café to access and engage with 100 under 5s across 10 and 75 caregivers across 10 ‘The World Around Us’ play sessions.”

“The project, with the help of this grant, has created opportunities for very young children to develop their STEM learning from an early age, by delivering ten sessions across 10 months but the resources and planning used to deliver them will be a long-term investment in STEM in the region as it provides the organisation with the opportunity to repeat the sessions and their proposed impacts following the initial programme.”

“Under 5s will have opportunities to develop curiosity in the world around us’, to develop basic problem-solving and experiment skills and develop a basic knowledge of natural science. Furthermore, parents and caregivers of under 5s will have an opportunity to reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness, increasing their wellbeing. By parents and caregivers also being part of the sessions, there will be an opportunity to build science capital in both children and adult audiences, again supporting the regional STEM provision in the West Midlands.”

Want to play?

Wolves Play Café believe that children develop and learn best through play and first-hand experiences. If your interested in getting your child involved you can book by clicking the button below. All sessions are planned with Covid-19 guidelines in mind to help keep everyone safe.

About educational grant funding from Millennium Point

Educators, Charities and Not-for-Profits within the West Midlands Combined Authority can apply for up to £20,000 from Millennium Point to fund their STEM activity. For more information on how to access this funding please visit www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/grants

Rediscover our landmark Birmingham city centre events venue by attending this exclusive open day at the award winning Millennium Point.

With events now reopen, why not join us for a tour of our multi-award-winning venue in the Eastside of Birmingham city centre. Millennium Point is home to 17 versatile event spaces which comprise a mix of outdoor and indoor spaces, public and private, and high footfall areas.

You will get to see our amazing spaces dressed to impress, chat with our experienced team to see how we can make your event plans a reality, plus you’ll get access to exclusive rates and a chance to win special prizes.

To register your place simply click “Book Your Place” below.

When: Friday 24th September 2021
Time: Choose between a morning slot (10 am – 12 pm) or an afternoon slot (2 pm – 4 pm).
Where: Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7XG

Receive exclusive discounted rates!

For a limited time only, you will get access to brand new exclusive rates by simply attending one of our free tours. Whatever event you’re looking to host, we have the perfect space for it, at a discounted price. To explore all of our spaces further please click here.

New and improved Auditorium

Our 354 seat Auditorium is equipped with a 16m x 10m giant screen, which boasts one of the largest screens in the West Midlands. We have also recently invested £350,000 to improve the space further, installing a new 10m x 3m participant stage area, upgraded AV equipment, intelligent LED lighting systems and mounted Panasonic PTC-280 cameras controlled remotely for high quality live streaming.

Why choose Millennium Point for events?

Central location in Birmingham’s Eastside, that’s easy to get to regardless of how you travel.
Award-Winning, fully accredited service delivered by a high-level professional events team with over 40 years hospitality experience combined.
We’re covid-secure with a protection plan that ensures your events are protected against the uncertainties of coronavirus.
We’re affordable and flexible, building your event package around you, your aims, and your budget.
Every penny you spend with us supports the Millennium Point Charitable Trust who fund education and local communities. This means you widen your CSR and support the local region just by booking with us.

Today is International Youth Day, learn about what this awareness day is all about, and what we do to support young people.

What is International Youth Day all about?

Launching in 2000, International Youth Day is an annual awareness day held on the 12^th August. The purpose of the day is to celebrate the qualities of young people and recognise the challenges that young people face in today’s world. Each year the day runs a theme which previously has covered a number of areas including education, employment and the environment. This years theme will be on “Transforming Food Systems”, with the day highlighting how this global effort could not be achieved without the support of young people.

For more information on this years event please click here.

How does Millennium Point support young people?

The Millennium Point Charitable Trust is passionate about supporting young people and contributes more than 5 million back into the West Midlands region through STEM related projects and events. One major issue in today’s world is a skills gap across a number of industries, where young people in deprived areas miss out on the learning needed to boost their career prospects.

To support this issue, the Millennium Point Charitable Trust launched a Small Grants programme, which gives out grants of up to £20,000 to support science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education projects in the West Midlands. We’ve seen an incredible transformation in young people’s learning environments, with many schools using the grant funding to further enhance subject areas, resulting in more skill gabs being filled by students. Below shows an example of the type of work we do and how powerful our grant funding is on young peoples education.

Read more about those who have already benefitted from our charitable work here.

About educational grant funding from Millennium Point

Shaping their future with a free degree

We don’t stop there! Each year, the Millennium Point Charitable Trust jointly funds an undergraduate degree in partnership with Birmingham City University at their Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, which covers over 20 different courses across computing, digital technology, engineering and the built environment. We’re helping people across the region unlock their future in STEM. Now approaching it’s ninth year, the Millennium Point Trust Scholarship has already changed the lives of eight people from the region through their degrees, including 2017 Sagal Qodah, who has since gone on to graduate with a First Class Honours degree in Civil Engineering.

Below shows the story of Asima Adnan, the winner of this years Scholarship program. Asima will begin her fully funded degree this September.

Apply for the 2022 Scholarship

For more information on how to apply or get involved in the 2022 Scholarship program please, visit www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/scholarship.

Here is another great example of the type of work we do, this project was funded in 2019 and shows the power of what the grants funding can achieve for STEM organisations.

Who are Great Bridge Primary?

Great Bridge Primary is a large primary school with over 500 students. The school sits in an area of known deprivation within the region. Like many of its kind, the school suffers from limited funding which means a restricted programme to engage pupils in the opportunities of STEM learning.

What’s the project all about?

In 2019, Great Bridge Primary reached out to the Millennium Point Charitable Trust by applying for one of our grant schemes to fund a project called “LEGO WeDo“. The project was set out to enhance the students learning within computing and coding, which would expand their currently limited curriculum. The grant-funded 17 LEGO WeDo sets, for coding lessons at the school alongside resources to help train staff in how to use the equipment. The students also used Lego WeDo software on an iPad, where they combined the two to build physical LEGO models including tilt and movement sensors and motors, which was controlled by code.

What impact has the project made?

The project has contributed to a significant impact on the students learning development and advancing their skillset within computing and coding. Off the back of the project, Great Bridge Primary have been able to deliver an enhanced curriculum with the resources purchased via the grant becoming a staple of their education. Student engagement has also seen a positive reaction within computer science, with many students picking it as their favourite lesson and showing stronger enthusiasm for STEM subjects.

The project has also benefitted many staff members at Great Bridge, improving their confidence within computing and coding, allowing them to set more engaging and “outside-of-the-box” tasks for the pupils.

Great Bridge Primary were delighted with the impact the project made and said: “Enhancing the computing curriculum for upper Key Stage 2 at Great Bridge has had an immediate impact. The children who have taken part in the initial part of the project have had the opportunity to see how coding can be used to control a range of physical mechanisms and relate this to developing knowledge of coding in real-life scenarios. As a school, we will not look back on our Computing curriculum but instead, this project has made us look to the future and consider how we can inspire children to engage with STEM.”

About educational grant funding from Millennium Point

Calling all film enthusiasts! We have a summer of cinema that you won’t want to miss.

As normality begins to return, we are super excited to announce a new partnership with our friends at Mockingbird Cinema. After viewing our newly refurbished Auditorium, Mockingbird were keen to get on board with Millennium Point, to use our giant screen for “Big Screen Film Season”.

Who are the Mockingbird?

Since 2015, the fully-independent Mockingbird Cinema has been entertaining cinema fans with its mix of new and classic film screenings at its nearby Digbeth venue – a restored Victorian Factory. They have recently announced its intention to expand with a second screen opening later in the year. More information can be found here.

What films are being shown?

Film enthusiasts you will not be disappointed, with a collection of the newest blockbusters and a collection of much-loved classics, hitting the big screen in Eastside this summer.

To make things better you haven’t got long to wait, with the first screening taking place on Thursday 29^th July. Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller Black Widow, one of 2021’s biggest cinema releases is the first movie to be shown, featuring Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh. To conclude the opening day, we also have the 1980s classic The Lost Boys, a teen comedy horror film starring Corey Haim and Keifer Sutherland.

As we continue throughout the summer we have some great screenings you won’t want to miss including the newly released In The Heights, the award winning The greatest Showman, 1970s horror Jaws and the original Jurassic Park.

For a full list of the movies showing this summer or to book please click below.

Up for a movie marathon?

On Saturday 14^th August join us for a day of Hobbits and Wizards as we celebrate J.R.R Tolkien’s birthday by showing the Oscar winning fantasy epic, Lord of the Rings series back-to-back. The series will be screened with interval breaks between each film, where you can purchase refreshments from our fully licensed bar.

Reaction from the new partnership

Mockingbird owners, James Brown, Alper Dervish and Lee Nabbs said: “It has been a long-time ambition to screen films at Millennium Point as we all have fond memories of the original IMAX cinema. It has been a challenging year for the industry and as we reopen we are very excited to bring cinema back to this venue and with our diverse programming, we look forward to sharing the big screen with both new and existing customers”.

Rebecca Delmore, Commercial Director at Millennium Point, added: “We’re delighted to announce this brand-new film season in partnership with Mockingbird Cinema. It’s a brilliant opportunity for movie-lovers to experience some of this year’s biggest new releases on our giant screen, as well as some much-loved classics. We look forward to working with the Mockingbird team to bring their signature style to our newly-launched auditorium space and create an unforgettable cinema experience this summer.”

About us

Millennium Point is a landmark public building and conference and events venue in the Eastside of Birmingham City Centre, opposite the future site of HS2’s Curzon Railway. Profits from our commercial activity are invested back into the region through the Millennium Point Charitable Trust to support the growth of STEM education. In January, some of our spaces were taken over as the first mass vaccination centre in the West Midlands for coronavirus. With the lifting of lockdown restrictions we are now able to welcome you back with exciting events and activities.

Safe and secure venue

Our award winning events venue has introduced several hygiene and safety measures to ensure that all screenings are safe for you to enjoy. Some of the measures that we’ve put in place include hand sanitising stations throughout the venue, a cashless and contactless experience, and an enhanced deep clean regime. All staff also test twice a week and will still be wearing facemasks when serving customers.

Maximise the reach and impact of your next event with a hybrid or virtual package, now available from our multi-award-winning venue.

With four available to choose from, our hybrid and virtual event packages give you and your event greater flexibility and impact – making them an ideal choice for your event.

Packages available are:

Package 1: HD Video Conferencing from £250
Package 2: Studio Package (On Demand Recording) from £1200
Package 3: Studio Package (Live Stream) from £1500
Package 4: Auditorium Hybrid Conference (Live Stream) from £1750

Further details and demonstrations can be found on our dedicated page.

What’s a virtual event?

Virtual events are 100% online with no physical presence at the event. For example, this could be an online conference, presentation or webinar, where attendees watch via an online platform such as YouTube or Vimeo. An example of this type of event is demonstrated below.

What’s a hybrid event?

Hybrid events are slightly different to Virtual events, they combine physical attendance with an online presence. This allows for greater audience numbers as additional attendees can join virtually and enjoy the same content as the physical attendees. Hybrid events allow the same interaction within an event such as Q&A, whether your watching in person or virtually. An example of this type of event is demonstrated below.

Why choose one of these packages?

Virtual and Hybrid conference solutions are incredibly attractive in 2021. Pandemic aside, they offer greater flexibility to your event by minimising issues such as travel and accessibility due to being available remotely. They’re also less affected by local or global events, so less risk of postponing or cancelling your event.

You will reach a wider online audience. This not only gives your event more gravitas but gives you access to more data and insights, which helps grow your business and keep stakeholders happy. Lastly, this makes sponsorship more lucrative and therefore your event more attractive to sponsors or investors.

Explore our hybrid and virtual conference solutions today and see how we can help you make a big come back to events.

You’ve got just over one week left to book your tickets and have the ’Time of your Life’ this Summer at ‘Dirty Dancing with Cocktails’.

Don’t miss out on cocktails and a good sing along, as we team up with the innovative event specialists, The Wine Events Company to bring you the eighties classic Dirty Dancing on the big screen. This event takes place on Saturday 17th July at 7.30pm (doors open at 6:30pm), tickets are at a limited availability so act quickly and book your place!

About the film

Baby (Jennifer Grey) is disappointed when her summer plans deposit her at a sleepy resort in the Catskills with her parents. Her luck turns around, however, when the resort’s dance instructor, Johnny (Patrick Swayze), enlists Baby as his new partner, and the two fall in love. Baby’s father forbids her from seeing Johnny, but she’s determined to help him perform the last big dance of the summer.

Featuring: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes, Jack Weston and many more.

Certificate: 15 | Running Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

What do you get with your ticket?

Tickets are priced at £35.95 per person (plus Eventbrite fees) and you’ll get more than just a film screening!

Live Band: Each attendee will get access to watch our live band that will be performing hits from Dirty Dancing along with some iconic songs from 60s – 80s before the screening.

Dirty Dancing on the big screen: Admission to the film screening in our new and improved Auditorium with entertainment throughout by the film geeks at The Wine & Events Company

Four themed Cocktails: Each attendee will get four themed cocktails including:

Kellerman Cooler: A welcome drink inspired by everybody’s favourite resort. Refreshing in taste and bursting in flavour.
‘I Carried a Watermelon’: An essential cocktail at any secret “dirty” dancing party, made with real watermelon that was 100% carried here.
Nobody puts Baby in the Corn(er)-star Martini: A classic cocktail packed full of passion and sparkle that refuses to sit in the corner.
‘Thyme of my Life’: This cocktail stands out, dances to its own kind of rhythm and lifts you up high above the rest.

Getting to Millennium Point

Want to find out more about this event?

If you require further information on this event then please head over to our dedicated landing page by clicking here.

Looking to host a film screening event? Look no further than our multi-award-winning landmark venue in the heart of Birmingham city centre.

Newly Refurbished Auditorium

Our 354 seat Auditorium is the perfect location to host a screening event, originally opening as the first IMAX cinema in Birmingham, this event space is equipped with a 16m x 10m giant screen to give your event the “wow factor”.

We recently invested £350,000 to improve the space further, installing a new 10m x 3m participant stage area beneath the giant screen. To coincide with this, we’ve also upgraded our AV equipment which includes an M32R digital mixing desk, an intelligent LED lighting system and mounted Panasonic PTC-280 cameras controlled remotely for high quality live streaming.

Begin your event in Platform

Directly below the Auditorium and ideal for welcoming guests, our Platform space features a fully licensed bar, AV equipment, catering and an open plan space. This location is a perfect spot to begin the event before your guests head up to the Auditorium for the screening itself. Platform can also be branded to match your companies look and feel, making the event feel unique to you.

Why choose Millennium Point?

Screenings are our bag. That’s why we’re the proud home of the annual Birmingham Film Festival and a favourite among film industry clients like Birmingham Indian Film Festival.
Central location in Birmingham’s Eastside, that’s easy to get to regardless of how you travel.
Award-Winning Service delivered by a high-level professional events team with over 40 years hospitality experience combined. Our team is accredited by HBAA, MIA’s Aim and we are a member of venues of excellence.
We’re COVID secure. You can read our highly praised Client Protection Plan written in-line with the latest UK Government guidelines and Event industry advice here.
We’re affordable and flexible, building your event package around you, your aims, and your budget. Hybrid and virtual packages are now available, offering you even more flexible and a platform to maximise the reach and engagement of your event.
You widen your CSR and support the local region just by booking with us. Commercial profits from our events business and landmark public building go towards our award-winning charitable trust who have invested more than £25m over the past 6 years back into the region through projects which support the growth of science, technology, engineering, maths (STEM) and education.

Book a free tour

Book a free tour of our new and improved Auditorium today and experience your event on our upgraded stage and giant screen. Get in touch by calling 0121 202 2200 or emailing [email protected].

Cocktails and Dirty Dancing hits the big screen

Why not get a feel for our venue and join us for our next film screening event! Get ready to drink cocktails and have a good sing along on Saturday 17^th July as Dirty Dancing hits our big screen. This event is more than just a screening as Wine Events Company guru’s Tony and Ryan, provide movie trivia throughout the event and demonstrate how to make each of the four themed cocktails on our newly refurbished stage. Prior to the screening, there will also be a live band performing hits from Dirty Dancing along with other iconic 80s classics.

There’s only a limited amount of tickets left, priced at £35.95 per person (plus Eventbrite fees), and include four tasty themed cocktails. Due to current government guidelines, tickets can only be booked in blocks of two, three or four. You can find out more about this event by clicking here.