The old prison cells in Grimsby’s Town Hall have been converted into Time Trap, a museum about the famous fishing port in the 19th century. Using displays, models and interactive games, it covers everything from the building of the Royal Dock to the history of the town’s football club. For information, tel: 01472 323345.

Women in prison

“The Treadmill and The Rope” - a drama about the lives of women prisoners at Liverpool’s Kirkdale Gaol in the 1860s - is to be staged at the Museum of Liverpool Life on February 19-20. Tel: 0151 478 4080.

Darwinian selection Down House near Biggin Hill in Kent, where Charles Darwin lived for 40 years and wrote On The Origin of Species, opens to the public on April 10 (except Mondays and Tuesdays) following a Pounds 2million restoration by English Heritage. The downstairs rooms have been restored to the style of his final years (he died in 1882), and the upstairs ones contain exhibitions about his life and work. Tel: 0l71 973 3485.

Rare observations

The Old Royal Observatory at Greenwich is staging a series of special events during “Set98” (National Week of Science) on March 13-22. They include a rare opportunity to make safe observations of the sun using a Victorian photo heliograph (March 13) and a children’s planetarium show (March 18). Tel: 0181 312 6608.

Planet probe

The Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth in Powys is staging a Planetary Celebration from Easter to August 31, daily in school holidays and weekends at other times. The centrepiece, a live theatre performances in which children explore the earth through the eyes of an imaginary physician, will be supported by workshops and videos. Tel: 01654 702400.