Plans to open a major new visitor attraction called the Blackpool Museum have been put into motion, in order to tell the story of the seaside town via a collection of immersive exhibits.
The new museum will be based in the Pavilion Theatre in the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, and is hoped to open by 2018. It’s said the project is costing around £20 million.
The Blackpool Story
The vision of the project is to tell a true story of the seaside resort. The Blackpool Museum is set to be a museum, a visitor attraction and a theatre, filled with artefacts, film, music and performance.
The attraction will draw together nationally significant historic collections and places them in the Blackpool Winter Gardens, one of the earliest Victorian entertainment complexes in the country.
It will provide a local heritage focus for Blackpool people reconnecting them with their own history.
In addition, it will teach visitors from further afield about the importance of Blackpool as a seaside resort and its contributions to the British entertainment industry.
Immersive areas
The Blackpool Museum will be split into various themed zones. For example, Reach for the Sky will tell the story of the Blackpool Tower and how the iconic building was made.
Meanwhile Roll up! Roll up! will explore how circus has played a part in the Blackpool entertainment industry, and look at Blackpool Tower Circus, said to be one of the oldest purpose-built circus rings in Britain.
Other areas will include Ta-da! – where theatre, comedy and dance will be performed – and I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside; an area for learning about the British seaside and the symbolism of coastal holidays in both the UK and abroad.
Further themes will include escapism, ballroom dancing, and the Blackpool illuminations.
For further information visit blackpoolmuseum.com.
