
A £200,000 funding boost for a city museum will transform an exhibition area while also helping to create a play area including facilities for children with special needs.
Newcastle’s Discovery Museum – and its visitors – will benefit from the award for new developments which comes the Wolfson Foundation, a charity which invests in range of projects including the arts. And the funds will help transform the the city museum’s Working Lives gallery into a new flexible space for displays and events while also contributing to the creation of an under-fives area.
This will replace what was Play Tyne. And – in keeping with research which shows that access to play and exploration has a positive impact upon youngsters’ development, including their memories, problem-solving, communication and motor skills – the new area will be specifically designed for young children including those with special educational needs and disabilities.
The aim will be to create a fun, safe place for them to play and learn and the under-fives area will also explore the likes of transport, engineering, inventions and bridges: all the pioneering local achievements which are the focus of the museum. The new children’s attraction is also receiving funding from the Sir James Knott Trust and the Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust while a crowd-funding appeal is to be launched in March to secure the rest of the funding needed to complete it.
The aim then will be to open the play space this spring. The new exhibition area, which is to be used for temporary displays, should be complete in 2026.
When it opens, this too will be showcasing stories of the region by making use of items in its collections. Keith Merrin, director of North East Museums; formerly called Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, said the team is grateful for the grant enabling Discovery to develop the exhibition and play space “to provide experiences that cater to the full age-range of our family audience”.
The museum, which is free to enter, offers a wide range of attractions including a Newcastle Story gallery, making up a journey through the decades from Roman times to the late 20th Century, and a hands-on Science Maze with activities and exhibits exploring themes such as electricity and light. It recently won the business partnership category of the North East Culture Awards for its Steam to Green exhibition involving the local energy and travel sector.
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