News Archives - Page 8 of 25 - Millennium Point

Our new and improved website is now live. With interactive features and easy booking systems in place it is sure to make any visit positive. Whether you need to book an event or want to learn more about our charity work, our website will have the information to help.

Welcomed on the home page, the menu is now on the top page for quick viewing and ready to take you anywhere on the website quickly.

The launch of a new website accompanies the reopening of the venue and public building following the pandemic and it’s work as the first NHS Mass Vaccination centre in the region.

Booking with Millennium Point has never been simpler

Looking for something to do? Have a look at our new ‘What’s On’ page where you can see the latest that the Millennium Point has to offer. With past events such as Top Gun with Cocktails or our November event, Rocketman with wine, there is always something for everyone.

If you have anything specific in mind you can filter our events through present type and date to help plan the perfect outing.

Have an event? We’re here to help

As Eastside’s largest event hub our new website shows our 17 versatile venues for you to choose from.

On the website there is a brand-new venue hire section with a smart search function, making it easier for you to find a space for your event. Users can now filter searches down by delegate numbers and event types ensuring no time is wasted when looking for the right venue.

For further info the enquiry form is quick to access at the bottom of the page to complete where one of our team members will always be happy to help.

Catch up on the latest news and stories from our charity

Everything Millennium Point does as a multi-award-winning venue goes back into our charitable trust. We’re incredibly proud of the work our trust can achieve that’s why we’ve showcased all our case studies in one place.

Or have a look at what Millennium Point is up to in our blog section to see more on our events, news and seasonal activity ideas for you and the family.

Want to book with Millennium Point?

For further information about events, charity or our venue please get in contact with our team.

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.

In October Millennium Point is set to hold the Business of Science Conference 2021, celebrating the commercialisation of science along with the BoS Innovation Awards for inspiring students. The event that has been running for four years and looks to discuss topics such as science, innovation, and sustainability. With a range of speakers including Millennium Point’s own Abbie Vlahakis, the day is sure to engage and inspire attendees.

What are the BoS Innovation awards?

Previously held in Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool it is now celebrating in the heart of Birmingham at the award-winning venue Millennium Point. The BoS Innovation Awards has the aim of encouraging students to create and dream big on ideas that could solve future problems.

Judged by a panel of five their idea will be tested on five qualities:

1. Quality
2. Aesthetic
3. Use and function
4. Why it deserves to win
5. Ambition

A Great Day for Science

2019’s primary school winners Maddison Gregory and Nayla Gazzal impressed previous judges with their idea ‘Scan-Tastic – We scan your plastic’ and with this year more innovative submissions are due to be seen.

With the judging date closing on the 7th September the finalists will be invited to the Business of Science Conference at Millennium Point where their project poster will be displayed throughout the day and where a winner will be chosen. Along with an award, the 1st and 2nd winners get a financial prize to be spent in their school for resources to further support their STEM education.

There are three categories that innovative students can enter in, Primary, Secondary & 18+ ensuring everyone can get involved to create ideas to help for the future.

As a strong supporter of STEM, Millennium Point are excited to get involved

At Millennium Point we believe that STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is important for the future of the region and as a multi-award-winning venue with multiple event rooms, it will be a great space to hold the BoS Conference 2021.

Abbie Vlahakis, CEO of Millennium Point said:

“The industries of the future are either STEM focused or underpinned by STEM as demonstrated by the UK Government’s industrial strategy in 2017 which set out 4 key industries: AI and Data Economy, Future of Mobility, Clean Growth, and Ageing Society, all of which embody STEM skills.

In the UK we are currently facing a skills shortage in STEM which is only set to increase as UK job opportunities in STEM are set to double over the next 10 years. At MPT we do not see this as a problem but as an opportunity, not just for the UK economy but also the opportunities it presents to positively change the lives of many of the UK’s most deprived communities. For our young people and their families, the results could be life changing.

It is for this reason that we are delighted to host the Business of Science Conference 2021 at Millennium Point which highlights the amazing opportunities in STEM and the remarkable ways in which UK STEM leaders are solving many of the World’s problems. These are the role models for the next generation.”

All profits made from commercial activities that take place at the landmark building are donated by the Millennium Point Charitable Trust to invest in STEM projects and organisations to help Birmingham and the wider regions. Yearly we invest more than £4 million back into the region, find out more about how our grants help STEM here.

Want to book with Millennium Point?

For further information about the event, charity or venue please get in contact with our team.

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 2020 and shows the power of what the grants funding can achieve for STEM organisations.

Who are Aston Villa Foundation?

The Aston Villa Foundation is a registered charity that delivers the community and social responsibility work of Aston Villa Football Club. With a mission of ‘Working Together to Enrich Lives’, the foundation and its partners work with people from a variety of backgrounds in Birmingham as well as supporting the wider ‘Aston Villa family’ through schools, football in the community, disability, health and wellbeing, education, interventions and community relations.

Why did they apply for a Millennium Point Grant?

The Aston Villa Foundation reached out to the Millennium Point Charitable Trust to help support it’s STEM Stars: Science Through Football project. The project will be developed across six schools, all within a three-mile radius of Villa Park. The funding will be used to purchase a Sphero robot package (which includes robots and a small pitch) that uses football to engage young people in coding. The students will learn and use specific lines of code to operate a moving ball on the pitch, recreating Aston Villa goals from the Premier League season.

The video below showcases this process in action on our Platform event space.

What impact has the project made?

The project has so far been a huge success, impacting a cluster of schools within the Aston area. It gives children the perfect opportunity to fully engage in computer science, in a fun way that keeps them interested to learn new skillsets. The grant provided by Millennium Point has allowed these schools to run these activities, which otherwise wouldn’t of been able to due to a lack of funding and resources.

Aston Villa Foundation using football to unlock new learning potential

The Aston Villa Foundation have been hugely pleased with the results and potential of the project. They caught up with us for a chat and said: “The funding will allow us to be innovative with our provision in schools and make a difference within the local community by equipping the next generations with potential skill sets of the future and looking positively ahead in an ever-evolving technological world.

It will provide us with a further opportunity to have a positive impact on children and schools, by enriching their curriculums through this unique programme to experience, learn and develop through STEM, with the power of football and the club as a key instigator to unlocking learning potential.”

Want to get your school involved?

The Aston Villa Foundation will be targeting schools in it’s local community around Villa Park, these areas include Erdington, Ladywood and Perry Barr. For more information please email Paul Hughes by clicking below.

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

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.

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.

As many businesses across the UK continue their transition back to normality, business meetings will be a priority over the coming months for many, getting the team back together and planning the future ahead. The Millennium Point team have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure our multi-award-winning venue is safe, clean and ready for the return of events.

So why should you choose Millennium Point for your next meeting? We’ll tell you right now.

Spacious, clean and safe

Despite the lifting of many Covid restrictions, that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped our mission of making our venue safe for all our visitors. Each meeting room is cleaned thoroughly as part of our rigorous cleaning schedule and will be deep cleaned prior to your event, making the space safe and clean for the whole team.

Central location in Birmingham’s Eastside

Millennium Point is located right in the central of Birmingham’s Eastside. We are just a 5-minute 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.

Multi-award winning and fully accredited service

Our venue has achieved “award winning” status, claiming many highs including winning the Excellence in Hospitality & Retail award at this years Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Awards. We are also fully accredited by the HBBA, MIA, Venue of Excellence and COVID secure accreditations including Quality in Tourism’s Safe, Clean & Legal; AIM’s Contagion Secure and Visit Britain’s ‘We’re Good to Go’.

Forward-thinking technology

All of our meeting rooms come with forward-thinking technology, with access to high-speed Wi-Fi and high quality virtual conferencing solutions for those unable to attend. We have AV equipment, from screens and projectors to lights that can be programmed to match your brand giving you a fully immersive meeting experience.

Catering and refreshments

All our event spaces come with contact free catering options that minimise hygiene risks without compromising on the satisfaction of your delegates. Food items are individually wrapped or sealed with options for biodegradable cups and cutlery which will be recycled after use.

All bookings support our charity

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. Click below to see the fantastic projects we have funded.

Flexible spaces to suit your needs

We have 7 flexible meeting rooms located across Level 2 and 4 of our multi-award-winning venue. From simple to sophisticated, there is everything you need to make your meeting a success.

Connect Event Suite

Connect is a purpose-built sophisticated event suite located on Level 2 of our venue. Connect consists of four interconnected rooms which can be combined to create a combination of small meeting set-ups from intimate workshopping to formal board meetings. Each room in Connect is equipped with ready-to-use AV including HD screens, projection facilities, high-speed wi-fi and temperature and light controls. Connect also includes four hot drinks machines which can be included in your package.

Engine, Inter-City and Junction

Our next offering is our triple event suite on level 4. Engine is the largest of the three rooms, with ample space to conduct your meeting. Inter-city is the medium-sized meeting space, suitable for board room meetings and Junction is the smallest for more intimate meetings or workshopping.

Each room comes with different facilities and equipment to suit your meeting needs. All spaces come with high-speed wi-fi and Engine is equipped with ready-to-use projection facilities. Inter-city and Junction are both equipped with large HD Screens ideal for the team conducting presentations.

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.

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

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