Join us for a day of free events at Liverpool’s World Museum on Sunday November 20, 10.30 – 4.45.

When the explorer Mary Kingsley first sights the coast of West Africa in 1893, she admits she is terrified. Fear can often steer our encounters with those different from ourselves, but Kingsley and other British women explorers turned that fear to hope. They opened our eyes to other cultures and expanded our understanding of what it means to be human. Did their gender help them to see the world differently?

This is just one of many questions we ask as we re-tread their intellectual footsteps across the globe with an exhibition, talks, live literature event and children’s craft workshop.

Events include:

10.30 – 11.30 am: Understanding the ‘Dark Continent’: British Women and Africa: Talk with Lisa Regan and Sandeep Parmar (University of Liverpool)

12-1 pm: Fossils, Butterflies and Ancient Civilizations: Talk with Claire Jones (University of Liverpool) and Ashley Cooke (World Museum)

1 -4 pm: Young Explorers Craft Workshop (for ages up to 11 – drop in)

2-4: Poetry Polar Tombola (drop-in) with acclaimed poet and writer Nancy Campbell whose work is inspired by residences in the the Arctic.

4.15 – 4.45: The day’s events conclude with a poetry reading.

For full details and to book for these free events visit: http://beinghumanfestival.org/event/women-explorers-crossing-cultures/

This event is part of Being Human: Festival of the Humanities.