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For details including a list of all projects see:- http://www.dfee.gov.uk/news/news.cfm?PR_ID=312 6 July 1999 £2.5 MILLION TO BRING MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES TO LIFE FOR PUPILS A new programme to bring museums and art galleries to life for schoolchildren was launched today by Schools Minister Charles Clarke. Forty museums and galleries will share up to £2.5 million over the next three years for projects which improve their educational role. The aim is to help boost children's literacy, numeracy and science skills, to improve their understanding of history and art, and to help parents support their children's homework. The projects range from the internationally known Science Museum in London to local galleries like Wolverhampton Art Gallery. Examples include: * the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester is using its large collection of steam trains to help improve boys' science and literacy skills; * the Museum of London will be working with over 2,000 schools in London and the South East to provide materials to set up their own 'mini-museums' about the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings in Britain; * the Bronte Society in West Yorkshire has created a 'Door to Wuthering Heights' as a way of improving young people's understanding of 19th Century literature; * the football museum in Preston is helping local children improve their literacy and numeracy skills through preparing newspaper reports and football results tables; * the Dorset County Council Museum will capture children's imagination with stories of smuggling, shipwrecks and danger. Mr Clarke said: "Museums and galleries have a great role to play in supporting education. Up and down the country museums have been thinking imaginatively about how they can bring their exhibits to life for youngsters and how they can help teachers deliver the curriculum. "We received nearly 300 bids from museums and galleries and I have been very impressed by the range and quality of the proposals. We will work with Area Museum Councils to help as many of the projects as we can to acquire funding from other sources or to link with existing initiatives." Culture Minister Alan Howarth said: "Museums and schools are natural partners in learning and I am delighted that so many projects will benefit from this funding. It will ensure that children directly benefit from tailored educational programmes which bring alive the rich ranges of resources held by the cultural sector. This underlines the very close cooperation now taking place between our Departments." David Dawson Museums New Technology Adviser, Museums and Galleries Commission tel: 0171 233 4200, email: [log in to unmask] See the MGC Website at www.museums.gov.uk %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%