Welcome to the 24 Hour Museum news in brief page for the week ending April 20 2008.

18.04.2008 - Alloway Auld Kirk Re-opened

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond officially re-opened the Alloway Auld Kirk and Graveyard today, which features in the famous Burns poem Tam O'Shanter, following completion of extensive conservation and repair work.

As an important part of Scotland's literary heritage the site is a key visitor attraction in South Ayrshire, and is also the resting place of William Burns, Robert Burns' father.

The opening comes ahead of Scotland's Year of Homecoming 2009, which also marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of the nation's bard - Robert Burns. The Burns Cottage Museum is also in Alloway.

18.04.2008 - National Railway Museum chuffed with tourism award

Staff at York’s National Railway Museum (NRM) are celebrating winning a top award at the city’s ‘tourism Oscars’.

The NRM, which includes the Yorkshire Wheel, was up against some of the UK’s top tourism venues in the category of ‘Attraction of the Year’ at the York Tourism Awards for Excellence 2008, including the Yorkshire Air Museum and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

“York has recently been crowned European Tourism City of the Year and also best UK City so we are particularly pleased to walk away with this award, especially against such tough competition,” said Andrew Scott, Director of the NRM.

The award category focuses on the contribution that attractions have made to the local York economy, visitor satisfaction, promotional campaigns and any new additions over the past year.

The NRM recently opened a multi-million pound archive and research centre and special exhibition space, Search Engine, to great national and international acclaim. A stunning new photography exhibition China: the Last Days of Steam is also currently pulling the crowds to the museum’s Great Hall.

17.04.2008 - Victorian charity dog comes to the Natural History Museum at Tring

Visitors to the Natural History Museum at Tring this spring will get the chance to see London Jack, a Victorian fundraising dog, when he is put on temporary display (April 21 - July 13 2008) in the museum’s entrance foyer.

There were at least four ‘London Jacks’ working at London railway stations between 1894 and 1921, and the dog joining the Natural History Museum at Tring was one of the first.

Charity dogs were first introduced by railway guard John Climpson in the 1880s. Train travellers donated coins into a box carried on the dogs’ backs for the orphans of railwaymen killed at work during the early days of steam.

London Jack worked at London’s Paddington station from 1894 until 1900, raising more than £450 in his lifetime. After his death, he was preserved and placed in a glass box where he continued to raise charitable funds.

This is the latest furry friend to join the Natural History Museum at Tring. The museum houses an internationally important collection of 88 domestic dogs in Gallery 6 that highlight the impact of selective breeding.

17.04.2008 - Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre Launches online shop

The shop at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre has long been a must-visit destination for avid Roald Dahl fans and gift-shoppers - now it has launched its own internet shop to serve Roald Dahl fans worldwide.

Discerning browsers can explore the online treasure trove of unusual gifts and collectables - from stationery and accessories to games and activity kits - some of which are exclusive to the museum.

You can find the new store by clicking through from the Roald Dahl Museum website www.roalddahlmuseum.org or by going straight to www.roalddahlstore.com.

16.04.2008 - New Head of Steam Museum is right on track

On its opening weekend, following its £1.7m refurbishment, Darlington's Head of Steam has exceeded all of its visitor targets with close to 5,000 visitors coming to see the newly refurbished railway museum.

Exceeding targets by 100%, families in particular have welcomed the changes to the attraction including the addition of a children’s play area, 40 seat cafe and educational facility.

The revamped visitor attraction offers a unique experience to visitors through presentations, AV equipment, interactive displays for people of all ages, including, visual, auditory and sensory and dressing up areas.

"It is exceedingly pleasing to see so many people visiting the Head of Steam in its first week," said Councillor Nick Wallis, Darlington Council's Cabinet Member for Health and Leisure. "It really is an excellent visitor centre and I am sure many more people will visit in the coming months."

15.04.2008 - Burne Jones' last painting goes on display in Britain for first time in over 40 years

The last and greatest work by Edward Burne-Jones, The Sleep of Arthur in Avalon (1881-1898), has returned to the UK from Puerto Rico for the first time in forty years and has gone on display as part of the major re-hang of the BP British Art Displays at Tate Britain.

The enormous painting, measuring over six metres in width, is being loaned to Tate Britain with Frederic Leighton’s masterpiece Flaming June (1895) from the Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP), Puerto Rico, while its galleries undergo a major renovation and expansion programme during 2008.

Shown alongside other masterpieces of late Victorian art from the Tate Collection, the loan of the important Victorian paintings marks a unique new collaboration with MAP in Puerto Rico, which holds a major collection of British art.

The collaboration aims to develop long-term relationships between the curatorial departments at both institutions in order to encourage a broader international understanding of the rich collections of nineteenth-century British Art in both MAP and Tate Britain.

15.04.2008 - Modernist masterpiece acquired by Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

A masterpiece of 1930s British art, by a key figure in the Modernist movement, has recently been acquired by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

John Cecil Stephenson’s Painting II, which was painted in 1937, has been purchased from the Fine Art Society for £32,500, with the generous support of a £10,000 grant from the Art Fund, the UK’s leading independent art charity.

Though he is now somewhat neglected, John Cecil Stephenson was one of the most outstanding Modernist artists working in Britain in the 1930s, ranking alongside figures such as Henry Moore and Ben Nicholson.

"John Stephenson is an under-rated, almost unknown artist," said Simon Groom, Director of modern and contemporary art at the National Galleries of Scotland. "But this painting looks magnificent, hanging in our gallery next to major works by Piet Mondrian, Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. It shows that you can still buy major works with fairly modest funds."

Picture: John Cecil Stephenson (1889-1965). Painting II 1937. © The Artist’s Estate

15.04.2008 - Could Triceratops be heading to Dorset?

Dorchester's Dinosaur Museum could be the new home for a rare Triceratops dinosaur skeleton about to go under the hammer at an auction in Paris on April 16.

According to reports in the Dorset Daily Echo, an anonymous backer has approached the museum with an offer to try and buy the super-rare skeleton as a spectacular addition to the displays there.

If the bid is successful the Triceratops skeleton (estimated value £400,000) could be on display by June 2008. However, stiff competition is expected from bidders around the world.

The near complete fossilised skeleton was found by a rancher in North America four years ago and dates to the late Cretacious period (65 miliion years ago).

14.04.2008 - MOSI is a winner at Manchester Tourism Awards

The Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) has won the category for Tourism Website of the Year at the Manchester Tourism Awards.

Judges described the website as : "an excellent website that is difficult to fault, with a perfect tone of voice, clear design and a great use of space, images and categories."

The news comes as MOSI announced that visitor numbers had doubled year on year, according to new data released by its accounts department this week. The latest figures, which are unaudited, show that 819,104 people visited the Museum between April 2007 and the end of March 2008, compared to 408,469 between 2006 to 2007.

The new-look website, www.mosi.org.uk, and 'MOSI' logo were launched in September 2007. Since its launch date the website has attracted over 500,000 visits.

14.04.2008 - National Trust volunteers do their bit for the environment in Wales

A new green project got underway in Snowdonia this week (until Thursday April 17) as part of the National Trust in Wales' commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.

A group of 13 volunteers attending a working holiday at Craflwyn Hall are installing a new hydro-electric system at the property.

The group is securing over 200 meters of pipe to channel water which feeds a turbine, which in turn creates electricity. The system will provide 800 watts of electricity - enough energy to power 80 low energy light bulbs for a lifetime.

The system will provide power to light the on-site Mongolian yurt campsite, which offers original alternative accommodation to volunteer groups.

This is just one of the approximately 80 working holidays on offer in Wales this year. For more information call the booking office on 0870 4292429 or log on to the website, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/volunteering

14.04.2008 - Gloster Javelin returns to Yorkshire Air Museum

A rare Joster Javelin RAF jet has returned to the Yorkshire Air Museum near York after a three-year absence for a re-paint.

The 1960s jet is one of only seven of its type left in the world. This model, Gloster Javelin XH767, was one of the first to go into service and served with 11 Squadron at Geilenkirchen, in Germany, between 1962 and 1965.

Its return was delayed because the RAF base undertaking the re-paint, RAF St Athan in South Wales, was busy with operational commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

14.04.2008 - Future of Kent’s History uveiled this week

Initial designs of the planned Kent Library and History Centre will be unveiled for the first time on Thursday April 17 enabling local residents to see what the new centre might look like.

The new centre in Maidstone is being developed by Kent County Council's Kent Libraries and Archives (KLA), and promises to be one of the biggest county archives in the country combined with a stunning new library.

A new Community History Room will help widen access to the rich resources the archives has on Kent, its people and its places. It will also provide the hub for a whole digitisation programme which will help make material more accessible, both in other venues and via the internet.

The plans will be on view from Thursday at 10.30am at County Gallery, Sessions House, Maidstone.