The winning images from the Royal Air Force's Photograph of the Year Competition will be on view to members of the public from 10 January 2009 at the Royal Air Force Museum's Milestones of Flight Gallery.

Consisting of 12 categories ranging from "The RAF Experience" to "Technical & Engineering", this exhibition gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse of RAF personnel at work, rest and play both at home and in the field.

The Royal Air Force trains and employs a large number of photographers who deal with day to day technical and operational photography. Their bread and butter is the recording of aircraft and equipment damage, technical manuals, military incidents and accidents, media work and ground intelligence gathering, as well as administrative work such as photos for ID cards.

But as photographers, they also get unique access to their service colleagues and equipment and they bring their creative eye to this environment.

With varying categories for professional and amateur photographers, this annual competition gives Service personnel the opportunity to showcase their talents by encapsulating in a single image the strength, character, dignity and humour of the Royal Air Force.

The reward for the successful photographer is the recognition of their talent with the successful photograph selected from all 12 categories as "PR Photograph of the Year" being used in official communications by the Chief of Air Staff, the highest ranking officer of the Royal Air Force.

The exhibition will be open daily from 10am to 6pm until April 19 2008. 

Visit the RAF Museum website

How to get there:

By tube: Colindale Underground on the Edgware branch of the Northern Line.

By bus: route 303 passes the front of the museum

On Sunday 9th and Tuesday 11th of November the RAF Museum will be holding a simple Act of Remembrance to commemorate the fallen personnel of all 3 services during the conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Each ceremony will start at 10:55 am with the Last Post and will be located by our Lancaster Bomber. A short announcement will be made prior to the ceremony's commencement. Those members of the public wishing to pay their respects are very welcome to attend.

As part of our commemorations members of the public are also welcome to contribute to our Poppy Collage by dedicating a petal,on the 8th and 9th of November, to the memory of the fallen.

Session times for our Poppy Collage, from 3rd to 11th November (excluding the weekend of the 8th and 9th), are: 11.00am - 1.00pm and 2.00am - 4.00pm.

Find out more about the Royal Air Force Museum London or call 020 8205 2266.

How to get there

The closest tube station is located at Colindale.

If travelling by bus the 303 passes the museum entrance and the 32, 142, 204 and 292 all serve Colindale.

As part of the "Campaign for Drawing's" Big Draw Week we are turning our Milestones of Flight Hangar into giant artists' workshop, by offering children of all ages (5 and above) the opportunity to draw aircraft of the past, present and future - inspired by the wondrous machines in this area.

The event takes place from Monday 27 October to Friday 31 October.

All materials, pens, drawing paper and clipboards will be handed out free of charge and visitors will be given the opportunity to display their masterpieces.

Drawing sessions will run from 11am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm each day; and each day a member of the Guild of Aviation artists will be in Milestones, working on their own pictures and engaging with the public.

Younger children may also be interested in our drawing sessions in the Museum's Aeronauts Interactive Gallery. Here they can design their own tail or nose art and to inspire them there will be a display of various nose art to view.

Session times for this activity are also 11am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm - with all materials supplied free of charge.

For more information visit the RAF Museum website.

Young Aviators are invited to participate in a trail at the Royal Airforce Museum.

The trail contains 7 challenges that will test their physical dexterity, reaction times and agility in a series of fun tasks which, in accordance with the Olympic Spirit, help promote teamwork and friendly competition.

Will they be able deliver a package on target in our Drop Zone challenge? Using only a column of air can they successfully guide in under a minute a Flying Ball through a suspended hoop and into the waiting basket? Who is able to spot our craftily hidden Spitfires the fastest?

At the end of each task team members will be awarded Bronze, Silver or Gold dependent on their success. At the end of the trail, each child's medal scores are then totted up after which they participant will be awarded a certificate stating that they are a successful Aeronaut Olympian.

Attached to the trail will be an exhibition about medals and why they are awarded which will cover the history of Olympics, pictures of famous Olympians wearing medals, plus a full description of what medals are awarded by the Royal Air Force to its personnel.

This fantastic trail is open from Friday August 8th to Sunday August 24th. The museum is open from 10am to 6pm on weekends and till 4.30pm on weekdays.

Find out more about the RAF Museum.

How to get there

The closest tube station is located at Colindale.

If travelling by bus the 303 passes the museum entrance and the 32, 142, 204 and 292 all serve Colindale.

Head down to the Royal Airforce Museum for the Battle of Britain weekend this September.

Our Battle of Britain weekend will consist of an open air living history festival demonstrating the story of the "Few" who defended London in 1940 from enemy attack. Members of the public are invited to meet Veterans of this campaign and to watch costumed interpreters bring to life this momentous period in London's history.

To immerse people fully back into 1940s the Museum will be providing a host of free entertainment ranging from concerts of music from the period as well as digitally re-mastered films in its 200 seat cinema. Free tours around the Museum's Battle of Britain Hall, will give added insight into the heroes who defended London from the air, the people who protected her on the streets, and the communities who banded together looking out for one another and sharing what they had in the face of adversity.

On the hour, every hour the Museum will show it's powerful and emotive sound and light show "Our Finest Hour" which will explain the contribution that the Royal Air Force made to the defence of the capital during the Blitz; and the Museum has a special treat in store for all propellor-heads by having a working Merlin, the powerhouse that drove the Spitfire and Hurricane on public view.

In addition to this there will be a range of activities in the Museum's Aeronauts Interactive Gallery where children will be able to make, free of charge, their own cut out and keep Spitfire as well as a fun quiz trail that will take them around the Museum.

Find out more about the RAF Museum.

How to get there

The closest tube station is located at Colindale.

If travelling by bus the 303 passes the museum entrance and the 32, 142, 204 and 292 all serve Colindale.

Many people identify the Golden Age of aviation as the period between the two World Wars, a time when young men and women sought thrills, danger and, ultimately, international recognition through trailblazing aviation exploits that set the world alight.

This small group of pioneers were the first to conquer oceans and seas or just the physical and mental demands of long distance flying, without the comfort of the modern technologies that we take for granted today, making their achievements, for many, even more wondrous.

In this the Centenary Year of British Powered Flight, the Royal Air Force Museum has decided to honour this band of intrepid aviators with a free six month exhibition. 'Trailblazers' focuses on four individuals whose courage, grit and determination captured the world's imagination during the 1920s and 30s.

Those featured in the exhibition include Alex Henshaw, Amy Johnson, Francis Chichester, Charles Lindbergh and many more.

The aim of 'Trailblazers' will be to re-introduce these pioneers, their achievements and aircraft associated with them to a new generation of young explorers in the appropriately named Milestones of Flight Hall at the Museum's London site.

The exhibition runs from Saturday May 31st to Wednesday December 31st. The museum is open daily from 10am to 6pm.

Find out more about the RAF Museum.

How to get there

The closest tube station is located at Colindale.

If travelling by bus the 303 passes the museum entrance and the 32, 142, 204 and 292 all serve Colindale.

Enjoy a free lunchtime lecture at the Shoe Lane Library on 'The Red Hand Gang: Surgeons in Georgian England' Simon Chaplin

Simon Chaplin is the Director of Museums & Special Collections at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. This free lunchtime lecture looks at the bloody operations, gruesome dissections and vicious arguments characterised the practice of surgery in Georgian England.

Discover how the surgeons salvaged their dire reputation, transforming themselves from a 'useless and wretched' company to a Royal College through science, skill and some careful spin!

The event takes place on Wednesday May 7th from 12.30pm to 1pm.

Find out more about lectures in the City of London.

How to get there

The closest tube stations are located at Chancery Lane and Blackfriars.

If travelling by bus the 8, 17, 25, 45, 46, 242, 341 and 521 all serve Chancery Lane.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED

Enjoy a free lunchtime lecture at the Shoe Lane Library on 'The Red Hand Gang: Surgeons in Georgian England' Simon Chaplin

Simon Chaplin is the Director of Museums & Special Collections at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. This free lunchtime lecture looks at the bloody operations, gruesome dissections and vicious arguments characterised the practice of surgery in Georgian England.

Discover how the surgeons salvaged their dire reputation, transforming themselves from a 'useless and wretched' company to a Royal College through science, skill and some careful spin!

The event takes place on Thursday March 20th from 12.30pm to 1pm.

Find out more about lectures in the City of London.

How to get there

Where: London
020 7583 7178

Nearest Public Transport: Chancery Lane Tube (Central Line) or Blackfriars (District Line) or City Thameslink (Ludgate Hill). Buses - Fleet Street or Farringdon Road.

Contact: 020 7583 7178 or shoelane@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Be one of the first to see the new display, Outside Edge at the Museum in Docklands, which opens on the first late of 2008 chronicling a journey through black British lesbian and gay history.

Outside Edge publicly commemorates the people and events that have shaped the lives of black LGBT, from the colourful, pop filled 80s to the post-millenial noughties. Ajamu, curator and co-founder of rukus! black LGBT archive will speak alongside Valerie Mason-John and Neil Young, Co-ordinator LGBT Communities at GLA to launch the small exhibition that coincides with LGBT month.

Sukhdev Sandhu will be taking you on a different kind of journey as he talks about his book 'Night Haunts: A journey through Nocturnal London'. It features stories of the untold underbelly of London; tone poems about Thames bargers, office cleaners and urban fox hunters amongst many other characters. Sukhdev Sandhu will be in conversation with Sara Wajid, editor of untoldlondon.org.uk about the changing character of the 'London night' over the 20th century.

Plus, DJ Silk will be spinning some R&B, dance and old skool crafting the perfect party vibe to enjoy a drink to in the foyer bar.

The exhibition launch is taking place on Thursday February 7th, things kicks off at 4.30pm and go on until 9pm. The exhibition will be open to the public until April 4th and will be open daily from 10am to 6pm.

Find out more about events at the Museum in Docklands.

How to get there

The museum entrance is two minutes walk away from its closest tube station the West India Quay DLR. If travelling by bus the D3, D7, D7, 277, N50, D6, 15 and 115 all serve the area.