Independent museums exhibit at Snibston Discovery Museum

As every year, the good folk at Snibston in Coalville have turned over their exhibition space in the foyer to the counties’ independent museums. This year’s exhibition opened on Thursday in time to be admired by attendees of the event to launch Leicestershire County Council’s Volunteer & Internship Programme (VIP).

Exhibitors this year include Coalville Heritage Society, Whitwick Historical Group, Wigston Framework Knitters Museum, Castle Donington Museum, Foxton Canal Museum, Railway Vehicle Preservations  and Rutland County Museum. Other museums are represented with information and /or a banner.

Why not pop along and see what some of the independent museums are up to – you might get some inspiration for a summer holiday trip to somewhere you have never been before, or discover one of the counties’ hidden gems. While you are at Snibston, why not pop in and see the current Anne Frank exhibition as well.

Both the Forum exhibition and Anne Frank exhibitions are free (charges still apply if you wish to visit other galleries). Opening times are the same as Snibston.

Community Museums Come Up Trumps

Of course community museums come up trumps. They always do. The amazing levels of commitment from their volunteer workforces never fails to stagger me.

At the recent Leicestershire & Rutland Museums Forum AGM a few museums told us what they had been up to over the last few months, and, as ever, brilliant project happening everywhere!

Leicester Transport Heritage Trust are busily raising funds to restore one of their vehicles, at the same time as planning an exhibition at the County Record Office in Wigston later in the year – watch this space for further details on the progress of ‘Operation Scrap Iron’.

Whitwick Historical Group are also busy, planning and creating their new website, but looking forward to the transport festival and miners’ gala at Snibston later in the year as well as the Grace Dieu Graden Festival in July, which will be an execllent opportunity to see the old ruins close up.

Railway Vehicle Preservations continue their hard work with their volunteer teams and have recently been successful in raising funds to have replica mail pouches made to continue the mail exchange demonstrations on the Great Central Railway. If you have never seen how a train can collect and drop off mailbags without stopping, get to Quorn Station on May 9th or 10th and see how it’s done – but blink and you’ll miss it! I’ve seen it a couple of times and I’m still confused. I think it is probably magic.

Ullesthorpe Subscription Windmill described their Poetry Workshops as ‘magical events’. They ran the sessions with local children and young people (one for very young children) with the support of community poet Mark Goodwin and funding from Renaissance East Midlands. The mill are also continuing to look to raise funds to complete their restoration. Look out for their next open weekend on 9th/10th May as well!

Hough Mill, Swannington

Swannington Heritage Trust are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year – and are doing so in style! They have raised £60,000 which is enabling them to restore the cap of Hough Mill, which will, once again, rotate as once it did. They are continuing with their industrial archaeology and anyone wishing to join them at their current excavation near Hough Mill can do so on the second Tuesday of each month.

So you see, there is lots going on, and that is only a selection of the 45 members of the local museum Forum.

With a bank holiday coming up, why not take a look at the Museum Guide and see what you might be able to go and see or do at a local museum – you might surprise yourself at what is going on at the very heart of your own community.