The British Motor Museum re-opened to the public today, Saturday 13 February, following a £1.1m refurbishment. Formerly known as the Heritage Motor Centre, the new Museum will be visually more exciting with an immersive display of British motoring history, designed to appeal to both current fans as well as new audiences. Also opening today was the new Collections Centre, allowing public access for the first time to an extra 250 cars from the reserve collections of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust and the Jaguar Heritage Trust.
The Museum was officially opened by Managing Director, Julie Tew at 10am along with a live broadcast from Touch FM. Tew said, “We are delighted to re-open the Museum to visitors for half term. We have a packed programme of family events and tours and visitors will be impressed with the changes we have made to the Museum.”
Half term will kick off with “Build a British Car Week” from 13 – 21 February. Every day children of all ages can test their knowledge with the ‘Family Story’ trail and join one of the workshops in the LEGO® Education Innovation Studio where they can get creative building British cars with LEGO® bricks.
There are a range of different workshops to choose from. “How Cool is Your British Car” takes place on Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 February where children can build a car in the Studio and see where it’s placed on the Cool Wall. Technic Workshops run from Monday 15 – Thursday 18 February where children can design, build and test their own vehicle using LEGO® technics and become an engineering apprentice for the day. “Build a Balloon Powered Car” takes place on Friday 19 February where children can see how far their LEGO® brick sports car can travel. “Build a Rubber Band Powered Car” takes place on Saturday 20 February where children can use a rubber band to power their LEGO® brick car and attempt to beat the current British Motor Museum’s record. Finally, “The 25 Brick Challenge” takes place on Sunday 21 February where children can attempt to build a motor car with 25 LEGO® bricks and four wheels. All workshops run from 10am – 3pm.
Tours of both the British Motor Museum and the Collections Centre will be available daily and can be booked at no extra charge on arrival, and all half term family activities are also free of charge. Normal Museum entry fees apply: Adults £14, Children £9 (5-16 years) under 5’s free, Concessions £12 & Family £39 (2 adults & up to 3 children). Buy one day and get 12 months free if you Gift Aid your entrance.