Alistair Hardaker | Image: The new Unearthed- Archaeology and Nature galleries at Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Museum opens new Unearthed gallery this week after £250,000National Lottery Heritage Fund grant
Derby Museums will open new galleries on Saturday 28 February at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery following a major redisplay of archaeology and natural history collections.
The collections, which had not been overhauled in over 30 years, was last redeveloped in the late 1980s, whilst the Nature Gallery was last refurbished over 10 years ago.
The redisplay has been made possible by a grant of £250,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The Unearthed galleries combine objects from the museums’ archaeology and natural sciences collections. Previously displayed in two separate galleries, the two collections explore the story of life in Derbyshire.
Visitors can see objects including Bronze Age finds recovered from the wetlands of the River Trent, Ice Age material from Creswell Crags, finds from Roman Derby, and Viking material from Repton. Many objects have never been displayed before.
The redisplay sees the return of specimens from the Notice Nature, Feel Joy Gallery, alongside newly featured animals. Many were chosen in collaboration with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to represent current wildlife concerns and local nature recovery programmes.
Specimens such as hedgehogs, a peregrine falcon and black grouse tell stories of conservation, whilst a beaver skull speaks to current reintroduction projects in Derbyshire.
Sadie Scott, project manager for the Unearthed galleries, said the galleries “were long overdue an update”.
“Through project labs, co-curation discussions and on-gallery exercises, visitors and volunteers made it clear that the new displays should focus on our local area, putting our histories and our landscapes into a wider national and global context.”
The new galleries are expected to welcome over 85,000 visitors annually, including thousands of schoolchildren.
