The weekly feature rounds up the latest updates in museum appointments, openings, funding and new exhibitions from across the UK.
Museum Moves is supported by DJW Projects Limited: DJW Projects Limited. DJW Projects Limited is recognised as one of the UK’s leading forces in the audio-visual industry, providing creative lighting, Audio Visual and multimedia solutions globally to achieve the ultimate technological experience, using sound, lighting, vision and interaction.
Appointments
Eureka! The National Children’s Museum has appointed Kirsty Ward as chair of trustees, succeeding Jane Rice-Bowen who held the position since June 2022.
Openings and closures
The Museum of Carpet in Kinnermister has announced it is to close before the end of the year, citing low footfall and increased costs. The Carpet Museum Trust’s Chair of the Board, Geoffrey Gilbert, said “It is with deep regret” that the museum will close before the end of the year.
‘Deep regret’ as Kidderminster’s Museum of Carpet announces closure
The Quaker Tapestry Museum in Kendal, Cumbria has announced that it is to close, citing rising costs.Operated by Quaker Tapestry Limited, it too said it would close before 2026.
‘Leaps in running costs’: Kendal’s Quaker Tapestry Museum to close
Exhibitions
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos
Science and Industry Museum | Manchester
Opening: 13 February 2026 – Closing: 17 January 2027
Science Museum | London
Opening: 18 March 2027 – Closing: 27 February 2028
This exhibition introduces the Horrible Science series to a museum setting for the first time and presents a structured, interactive overview of the Solar System. Developed by the Science and Industry Museum with BBC Children’s and Education, Lion Television and Scholastic, it includes hands-on activities, character-led interpretation and selected objects from the Science Museum Group’s space collection. The exhibition is designed to support family audiences in engaging with core principles of space science and planetary environments.
Gathering Landscapes: 150 Years of Collecting at Weston Park Museum
Weston Park Museum | Sheffield
Opening: 28 November 2025 – Closing: 1 November 2026
This exhibition marks 150 years of collecting at Weston Park Museum and presents more than 400 objects from Sheffield’s collections, spanning art, archaeology, natural science and social history. Curated by Heavy Water Collective, it examines how the museum’s holdings reflect changing relationships with the landscape, drawing on archival material, historic artefacts and new work by the artists. The exhibition brings together items ranging from biological specimens and archaeological finds to artworks and geological samples, offering a wide overview of how the city’s collections have developed since the museum opened in 1875.
Strings Attached: The Art of Puppetry in Ditchling
Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft | Ditchling
Opening: 28 March 2026 – Closing: 27 September 2026
This exhibition examines the revival of puppetry in the years following the First World War and the role of Ditchling’s artistic community in that development. It focuses on the work of Hilary Pepler and the Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic, presenting Pepler’s puppet plays and mimes alongside wooden puppets carved by Joseph Cribb and other Guild members. New commissions by contemporary makers, including Danny Manning and Abbie Stanton, are shown with historic material to explore techniques, influences and ongoing craft traditions.
Plant Dreaming
Leeds Art Gallery | Leeds
Opening: 14 November 2025 – Closing: 19 April 2026
This exhibition presents contemporary artistic responses to plants, fungi and wider ecological systems, bringing together textile works, ceramics, drawings, photography and film. Featuring artists including Emma Talbot, Noémie Goudal, Yan Wang Preston, SHARP, Jane Lawson, Aliyah Hussain and Charmaine Watkiss, the display considers plants as agents within global, cultural and environmental contexts. Works address themes such as climate change, flooding, invasive species, traditional knowledge and future ecologies, drawing on both local experiences and international perspectives. The exhibition is accompanied by a programme of related events and runs alongside ‘Don’t Let’s Ask for the Moon…’: Nocturnes and Atkinson Grimshaw.
Spies, Lies and Deception
IWM North | Manchester
Opening: 29 November 2025 – Closing: 31 August 2026
This exhibition examines the role of espionage and deception in conflict from the First World War to the present day, presenting more than 60 objects including documents, equipment, photographs, film and artworks. It covers subjects such as large-scale deception operations, covert communications, disguise, and recent developments in digital misinformation. Case studies include Operation Mincemeat, the work of the Special Operations Executive, and open-source investigations by Bellingcat. The exhibition also highlights the experiences of individual agents, including Noor Inayat Khan. A family trail and associated programme accompany the display.
Funding
The Weald & Downland Living Museum has launched a £55,000 fundraising campaign to improve accessibility across its 40-acre site in the South Downs National Park. The appeal ‘Accessible to Everyone – 55 for the 55th’, marks the museum’s 55th anniversary and addresses challenges posed by the rural terrain that makes some areas difficult for visitors with mobility needs, families with pushchairs and those with additional accessibility requirements.
Weald & Downland Living Museum launches £55k accessibility appeal
