NRM Lands One of Yorkshire's Largest Grants - 17 August 2006

Issue Date: 17 August 2006

Issued by: National Railway Museum

News Release

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport awarded nearly £4 million to museums and galleries across the country-and the National Railway Museum, at York, has been awarded £110,000 for its 'Hands On History' project.

The award is a boost to the NRM's mission to create a new, multi-million-pound archive and research centre in York. This huge project, known as Search Engine, will enable visitors for the first time to come face-to-face with the thousands of valuable artefacts and documents that until now have been locked away in the Museum's stores.

Andrew Scott, Head of the National Railway Museum, said: "This funding will allow us to mount frequently-changing displays, showcasing the more fragile hidden treasures from our archives. Many of these items have never been seen in public before-they're simply not robust enough to go on permanent display.

"This is all part of our trailblazing mission to open up every part of our collection to the public. We are challenging the perception that a Museum's stores are dark, inaccessible back rooms where the public can never go."

Recent and current projects to open up the Museum include:

o The Workshop, where visitors can now see first-hand our engineers and mechanics at work restoring historical locomotives.

o The Warehouse, where hundreds of small and medium-sized pieces from the National Collection are on display.

o Search Engine, an up-to-the-minute archive and research centre scheduled to open in Autumn 2007.

David Lammy, Minister for Culture, said: "This year, the DCMS/Wolfson Museums & Galleries Improvement fund is giving out more grants than in any previous round-enabling museums and galleries to improve the care of their collections and make them more accessible and enjoyable for the public.

"Our museums and galleries enjoy a worldwide reputation and the DCMS/Wolfson fund enables our institutions to provide an even higher level of service."

ENDS

Notes for editors

o The £4 million round of grants, from the DCMS/Wolfson fund, is designed to help improve the quality of museums' displays, public spaces, disabled access and environmental controls.

o The National Railway Museum is the world's largest railway museum, open from 10am until 6pm every day, and admission is FREE.

For more information, please contact: Toby Wardman, Press and PR Officer, National Railway Museum. Tel: 01904 686281, Fax: 01904 685789 or email toby.wardman@nmsi.ac.uk