Brooklands Museum Shortlisted for National Award

We are thrilled to announce that the Museum has been shortlisted to win a national award alongside some of London’s most famous Museums. The Permanent Exhibition category, for which Brooklands has qualified, includes National Army Museum, Ashmolean Museum, London’s Natural History Museum and part of the Science Museum Group, ‘Wonderlab’ amongst its shortlistees. The Museums + Heritage Awards are held as an extension to the annual Museums + Heritage Show which this year is on 16^th & 17^th May. It recognises projects of excellence, innovation and ground-breaking initiatives from galleries and visitor attractions across the UK and overseas. Other categories in the Awards include Volunteer of the Year, Educational Initiative, Marketing Campaign and Project on a Limited Budget.

The entry is for the Aircraft Factory and Flight Shed project which opened in November 2017. The new facilities offer a completely immersive experience and tell the story of aviation manufacture, testing and assembly at the site over an 80 year period. Visitors can hear the sounds and drink in the authentic atmosphere of a busy factory, pick up a “clocking in” card and try for themselves the skills involved in aircraft manufacture on interactives at several workstations.

The whole experience is enhanced and brought to life by volunteer stewards and demonstrators, some of them former employees of the Brooklands factories (which employed 14,000 people from surrounding towns and villages at their peak). The volunteers share their own reminiscences making every visit unique and which is a highlight for most visitors.

The Awards are judged by a panel of the sector’s leaders and the winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on Wednesday May 16^th in London.