Museums reopen in time for International Museum Day | The National Lottery Heritage Fund

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18/05/2021

People sitting at tables with modern displays of musical instruments

Music Gallery, Horniman Museum

A huge number of museums that have received National Lottery Heritage Fund support are reopening across the UK in time for International Museum Day. To celebrate, here's a selection of what's on offer.

Museums in Ripon

A woman looks up at thin strips of paper that are hanging from the ceiling — Lives Unravelled exhibition at the Workhouse Museum, Ripon, Yorkshire

Three popular Ripon museums ‒ the Workhouse Museum, Prison & Police Museum and Courthouse Museum ‒ have reopened with a brand-new exhibition inspired by the theme of workhouse women.

Bamburgh Castle

Shot of castle in the distance at sunset with cliffs and sea

Magnificent Bamburgh Castle, which includes 14 state rooms and the Armstrong and Aviation Museum, also reopened yesterday after being closed for six months. The inspiration for epic historical saga The Last Kingdom and the real Bebbanburg, the 1400-year-old fortress stands 150 feet above sea level on the Northumberland coast.

Horniman Museum and Gardens

At Horniman Museum in London, the natural history gallery and nature base, world gallery and music gallery are all open, along with the exhibition, From Birth Till Death: Scrolled Life Stories. The gardens are open, and you can book tickets to visit the butterfly house.

Wales museums

People mill outside a cottage post office and red telephone box — The post office at St Fagans

The indoors of St Fagans National Museum of History, National Museum Cardiff and National Waterfront Museum Swansea will all reopen on Wednesday 19 May with pre-booking.

Black Country Living Museum

Long shot of museum with industrial chimneys, canal and boats

The Black Country Living Museum, an award-winning open-air museum in Dudley, has also re-opened its doors after five months. The West Midlands museum has recently been acting as a vaccination centre for people to get their coronavirus (COVID-19) jabs. It is currently undergoing a significant transformation to share stories of life in the 1940s to the 1960s, thanks to National Lottery players.

Whitehead Railway Museum

People stand on a railway platform as a steam train comes in

Whitehead Railway Museum in County Antrim was refurbished with our support in 2017. It will be reopening at the end of the month, with the chance to explore Irish railway heritage.

Supporting museums

Museums tell the stories of our cultural heritage. Through their collections they help to give us a sense of place and identity. Find out more about the museums, libraries and archives projects we fund.

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