Volunteering at the Lapworth Museum
New volunteering opportunities
We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help deliver spectacular evenings of dinosaurs and entertainment.
We will recruit new volunteers on a rolling basis so if you're interested, we would love to hear from you.
Please note you must be aged 18 or over to express interest.
Events Delivery Volunteers
Events Delivery Volunteers
We are looking for volunteers to help us deliver our events on-site at the Museum, particularly during autumn 2026.
Responsibilities:
- To support the Museum team in delivering cultural events, such as music performances, movie nights, quiz nights, and comedy nights.
- Activities might involve:
- Setting up and packing down of event equipment
- Greeting attendees and checking them in
- Providing information on Museum facilities to attendees
- Maintaining refreshments for attendees
There will be lifting tasks involved, so all volunteers will be required to undergo manual handling training provided by the University of Birmingham.
Skills Needed:
- Strong organisational and time management skills.
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to take initiative.
- Comfortable working with the public.
- Strong teamworking skills.
Length of Commitment: Ongoing
Flexibility: Schedule can be flexible based on the volunteer's availability.
Benefits for Volunteers:
- Gain hands-on experience in events delivery.
- Support the Museum’s public engagement programmes, making a positive impact in the community.
- Network with professionals and other creatives in the field.
- Be part of an active and diverse volunteer team within an award-winning museum.
How to express interest: Interested candidates should submit a CV to Anna Leppänen at a.z.a.leppanen@bham.ac.uk. Suitable candidates will be invited for an informal chat.
Any informal queries about the role can be sent to Anna at a.z.a.leppanen@bham.ac.uk.
Hear from our volunteers - Alex
Volunteer Coordinator - Catriona
“I have been a volunteer for five years, mainly in the archives but also contributing to the Object of the Month series. I participated in the Unlocking Lapworth's Legacy Project, funded by Archives Revealed, which catalogued the Museum's extensive archive of material relating to all aspects of Charles Lapworth's life. It proved to be surprisingly relevant and relatable to modern concerns, such as letters dealing with Lapworth's significant mental and physical health problems throughout his long and highly successful career. Any communication captures a moment in time, but there is a particular pleasure to be gained from holding a handwritten letter and reading what one of Lapworth's closest academic collaborators has recorded concerning some 'geological gossip ', the 19th century equivalent of a water cooler moment or perhaps WhatsApp message.”
Archive Volunteer - Dorothy
“Hello, my name is Ziyuan Cai, but you can call me Dorothy. I am a PhD student in the Department of History at the University of Birmingham, with a research focus on community engagement in Chinese museums. I am an Archive Volunteer, currently working on the Ketley and Holcroft material, which has deeply impressed me. Every piece of paper still shows the original owner’s meticulous care, with everything neatly recorded in a diligent hand. Stepping into the Museum feels like entering a portal to the 19th and 20th centuries, where every building seems to revert to its appearance in old black and white photos; stepping out brings me back to the landscape of today, modern and vibrant, yet the academic atmosphere remains unchanged. I am very happy at such a magical museum and have enjoyed meeting a group of like-minded and friendly colleagues.”
Curatorial Volunteer - Roy
Roy's Redevelopment Project report"My volunteering at the Lapworth began in 2010, working on the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery collections, producing an assessment and condition report. This was followed by preparation of an inventory of the BMAG gemstone collection and later the Matthew Boulton mineral collection. I presented a conference poster on the Matthew Boulton collection at the History of Geology Group conference in London in 2014. From 2012, I worked as a member of the Project Team for the HLF-funded £2.7m Lapworth Museum Redevelopment Project, working as the project lead for the Mineral Wealth Gallery. It was a great feeling to see the first visitors admitted to the gallery in the summer of 2016. Following that, I worked on the stores re-organisation project, as part of which my wife Mary and I re-organised the mineral collection and rehoused the specimens in chemical sequence according to Hey’s Chemical Index of Minerals. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work alongside the Lapworth team and although I am currently taking a break from active volunteering due to a major book writing project, I remain on hand to assist with enquiries or provide mineralogical expertise as needed."
Creative Marketing Volunteer - Molly
Molly's website"I am a paleoartist and illustrator from the West Midlands, enthusiastic about all things ancient, including dinosaurs, mythology, and creatures great and small. I love to work in nature, drawing on location or in my local coffee shop, usually designing something for a new printmaking venture or a prehistoric-themed project. My dream is to help spread knowledge about the extraordinary creatures of the world around us through books, exhibitions, and my own products. I specialise in traditional pen and ink drawing, and am currently undertaking a Master's in Gloucestershire while volunteering at the Lapworth. I tackle social media, creative marketing, and product design to help the Museum leave a lasting impression on its audiences. If you are interested, check out my website."
Our Expectations
We hope that volunteering will be of mutual benefit to the volunteers and the Museum, allowing volunteers to develop new skills and gain interesting new experiences. We expect volunteers to treat the Museum collections with respect and sensitivity. We expect the volunteers to be polite and courteous to the public/visitors, other volunteers, staff, and students. We expect volunteers to observe the Lapworth Museum procedures-policies-standards. We hope that our volunteers will commit an appropriate time to their volunteering activities. Further details are available in our Volunteer Guidelines and Volunteer Agreement which you will receive when you begin volunteering.