What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 6pm Tuesday 8am - 9pm Wednesday 8am - 9pm Thursday 8am - 6pm Friday 8am - 6pm Saturday 9am - 4pm

The Birmingham and Midland Institute

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The Birmingham and Midland Institute

Find out about our forthcoming events and activities. Excellent conference and meeting room venue in the heart of Birmingham City Centre.

The Birmingham & Midland Institute has been at the heart of Birmingham’s cultural life for almost 170 years, founded by Act of Parliament in 1854 for the ‘Diffusion and Advancement of Science, Literature and Art amongst all Classes of Persons resident in Birmingham and Midland Counties’. Charles Dickens was one of its early Presidents. During the late nineteenth century, the Institute played a le

ading role in the introduction of scientific and technical education in Birmingham, until the state gradually took over the functions. It was thus the antecedent of many education bodies, such as Aston University and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Located in a Grade II* listed building, built in the Jacobean-style in 1899, to designs by F. Barry Peacock, the Institute has a thriving programme of cultural and educational activities, which includes a wide spectrum of arts and science lectures, exhibitions and concerts. These are open to members and non-members alike. The building is also a venue for many externally-organised events and can be booked for conferences and meetings. The Institute has long-standing associations with a number of independent societies who use the premises for their activities and meetings. Affiliated societies have kindred interests and include the Birmingham Philatelic Society and the Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry and The Victorian Society.

16/08/2026

Our scientist in residence, Dr James Dawson, went to Spain to capture images of the total solar eclipse this week.
astronomy

15/08/2026

Please note, due to the road closures for the European Athletics Championships this weekend, we will be closed today.
We will reopen 8am on monday 17th August.

Thank you for your understanding.

13/08/2026

Good luck to everyone receiving their results today.
Whether it's moving on to university or moving into the world of work. Be happy, be positive and enjoy it.

Let us know how you got on.

12/08/2026

These are photos of the original municipal reference library, which was situated in the Birmingham and Midland Institute building when the council rented space back from the Institute.
This library burned down in a series of unfortunate incidents.

07/08/2026

We are proud to once again be supporting in their Summer appeal. This year we are asking for donations of NEW children's socks and pants, in preparation for school starting.

All donations can be delivered to reception on Margaret Street by 1st Sept.

06/08/2026

Great night celebrating all our artists who are taking part in "Open" our 2026 Summer Exhibition. The show runs until Saturday 19th September. Free entry for everyone.

04/08/2026

Our 2026 Summer Show is now open.
"Open" is a collection of 37 pieces of work from 15 different artists. Using a variety of techniques and methods.

This is available mon-sat 10am-4pm free of charge and open to all. Mon 3rd August - Saturday 19th September.

27/07/2026

The Lloyd George Riot, Birmingham Town Hall 1901

125 years ago Britain was engaged in war with the South African Boers. The architect of South African policy was Birmingham’s Joseph Chamberlain and in 1901 the jingoistic fervour his Imperial policy generated was especially strong in his beloved home city. So, for a high-profile opponent of this war, the Liberal politician David Lloyd George, to come to speak against 'Joe’s War’ was provocative. The Birmingham Post and Birmingham Gazette urged him not to do so, fearing the consequences. When he did arrive to speak at a Liberal anti-War rally in December 1901 those fears were spectacularly realised. He had faced rowdy opposition in other towns, but Birmingham was in a class of its own. He nearly went to his grave. He was lucky to get into the Town Hall through a sea of angry Chamberlain supporters; he was even luckier to escape. Pandemonium reigned in the Hall before he even got onto the platform; then tumult reached fever pitch. Missiles rained onto the platform; outside bricks and stones smashed the windows. The glass dome of the Hall began to fall in. The Chief Constable prevailed on Lloyd George to leave the platform such was the carnage. The wounded were tended in the basement while Lloyd George donned a policeman’s uniform to be smuggled out of the building in a phalanx of policemen. Forty people were detained in hospital. Two died. Lloyd George survived but if the mob could have got to him his later career as 'the Prime Minister Who Won the First World War’ would have never happened. Birmingham had spectacularly reinforced its reputation as an impenetrable Chamberlain citadel and as the most Imperial city in Britain.

26/07/2026

Richard 'Cedric' Hodgson has joined our Operations team. He has volunteered at the Institute for a couple of years, working with Operations and the Library, so some of you will recognise him. Welcome aboard, Cedric!

24/07/2026

A definition fixes things in time, yet life is never fixed. It is a river: ever flowing, ever changing, ever present. The moment we try to capture it in a definition, we mistake the living for the static.
If you were to define and hold a river in place, you would not have a river at all—you would have a bucket of water. The river exists only in its movement. So too with reality, consciousness, and even ourselves. We are not objects to be finally described, but beings continually becoming.
Perhaps philosophy is not the search for better definitions, but rather the cultivation of a way of seeing, that allows us to remain attentive to what is always unfolding before us.
What, then, are we losing when we insist on defining everything?

Br. Piran-María, Philospher-in-Residence

Address

9 Margaret Street
Birmingham
B33BS

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 6pm
Tuesday	8am - 9pm
Wednesday	8am - 9pm
Thursday	8am - 6pm
Friday	8am - 6pm
Saturday	9am - 4pm

Telephone

+441212363591

Website

http://bmi.org.uk/

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