Great Achievement!
Great North Museum
The Great North Museum is celebrating receiving a series of high profile awards recently.
At the prestigious World Architecture Awards, the Great North Museum: Hancock was highly commended for Best Interior in the World in 2009.
The Museum was also Winner of the British Interactive Media Awards for ICT interactive exhibits in a museum setting.
Cllr. Ged Bell, chair of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, said:
“These awards are great endorsement of the Museum’s World Class quality. This is a fitting tribute to the commitment and ambition of the partnership that developed the Museum.”
The Museum’s very successful launch campaign has also been rewarded by winning the accolade of Best Launch Campaign at the Northern Marketing Awards, and reaching the final, of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations North East Pride Awards.
The award-winning Museum has been open since May 2009 thanks largely to an award of just under £9million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. In that time, the Great North Museum: Hancock has seen record-breaking visitor numbers and has doubled its annual target in just seven months.
Professor Paul Younger, pro-vice-vice-chancellor for engagement at Newcastle University and chair of the Great North Museum Board, says:
"That we have received more than 600,000 visitors since the Great North Museum: Hancock opened in May is an indication of the success of the campaign leading up to its launch. The publicity clearly captured people's imagination, and this award is a fitting tribute to the hard work and creativity of the team behind the campaign.”
Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in the North East, Ivor Crowther said:
“These awards are great news for the museum and very well deserved. They give this wonderful place the recognition it deserves. The Great North Museum: Hancock is at the heart of North East culture and heritage – and will continue to be so for many years to come. HLF are thrilled to have been a part of its refurbishment and are confident there are more awards to come.”
The Museum brings together the North East’s premier collections of archaeology, natural history, geology and world cultures under one roof. It incorporates collections from the original Hancock Museum, and Newcastle University’s former Museum of Antiquities and the Shefton Museum.
Highlights of the Museum include a planetarium, a life-size replica T. rex skeleton, mummies from Ancient Egypt, a large scale model of Hadrian’s Wall and a display of many of its treasures, and a superb collection of ancient Greek art and archaeology. Animals from around the world make up a spectacular display of life on Earth, past and present, and highlight the diversity of the animal kingdom.
The Great North Museum: Hancock also serves as a gateway to the environment and landscape of the North East of England. The Hadrian’s Wall Gallery displays exhibits from the entire length of the Wall in the single greatest collection of artifacts from the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site.