Lancaster City Museum has revealed a new look amid plans for further modernisation in the years ahead.
Visitors to the museum will now see a much bigger new museum shop as they enter the building.
The shop, which opened earlier this month, offers a mix of new items, many of which are from emerging independent businesses or produced by young artists and local makers.
The former shop in the museum’s entrance hall is set to become a new feature space looking at Lancaster’s own Sir Richard Owen, inventor of the word 'dinosaur', and Emily Williamson, co-founder of the RSPB.
Here are more photos of the new-look Lancaster City Museum shop.
Changes to the museum come as a 'Reimagining the Museums' project is under way.
A recent Lancaster City Council report said that the project will also include mprovements to museum entrances, the Lancaster Maritime Museum café, and a funding bid has gone in to put together a 'service improvement study'.
This comes just months after opening hours at the city council's museums - which include the City and Maritime Museums - were cut by around half and staffing was also reduced.
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"We have big ambitions for the museums over the years ahead," said the report published in April by Councillor Catherine Potter, cabinet member for the visitor economy, community wealth building and culture.
"We recognise that it is several decades since they had any significant investment and redevelopment, whilst the museums of other cities and towns have been comprehensively brought up to date in recent years.
"We feel it is our turn next.
"With the very significant influx of new visitors to the district in the coming years, generated by Eden Morecambe, we wish to enhance our visitor experience, encourage visitors to stay longer and appreciate the whole of what our district has to offer.
"The modernisation of our museum offering has a key role to play in this."
Lancaster Maritime Museum is pictured below.
The report said that in 2023/24, the city's museums were becoming more inclusive with 16-34 year olds making up 29 per cent of visitors and 11.3 per cent of visitors being Asian/Asian British or Black/Black British.
A total of 16.2 per cent of visitors identified as having a disability.
The museum service partnered with several local organisations on projects during the year, including when 124 young people aged 10-19 took part in the Escape2Make Heritage Market Festival using £75,600 funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Touch & See project to increase accessibility for those with sight loss was shortlisted for three national awards. The project is run as a partnership between the museums, the School of Engineering at Lancaster University and Galloway's Society for the Blind.
The museums also helped to secure £53,000 for the King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum Trustees to undertake the Abyssinia Project, exploring the regiment’s colonial era legacy and objects in their collection.
In 2023, there was also the 100th anniversary of the opening of the City Museum and the 100 podcast series has been downloaded more than 16,500 times from around the world.
"Altogether the museums have leveraged in £223,600 during 2023/24 to support the museums and local communities," said the report.
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