The National Army Museum has announced that it will open on 30 March 2017 after a three-year £23.75 million re-development project including £11.5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
The main Chelsea site has been reconfigured to create a more welcoming, accessible and flexible environment, enabling the National Army Museum to manage increasing visitor figures, predicted to reach 400,000 by 2026.
The new building will include over 2,500 objects in five permanent thematic galleries, laid out over four floors – Soldier, Army, Battle, Society and Insight. There will also be a 500 square metre temporary exhibition space, a study centre, a three-room learning centre, as well as a brand new café, shop and Play Base, where children aged zero to seven can learn through play.
Intended as a regularly changing exhibition, the gallery’s opening displays look at the army’s connection with Germany, Scotland, the Punjab, Ghana and Sudan. Communities from these areas have been involved in the creation of the gallery, sharing thoughts on their relationship with Britain, the army and the objects within the Museum’s collection, such as a Nazi Car Pennant and a cup from the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion.
Read the full story
