The following is a Press Release from DCMS:

> DCMS 4/2000	14 January 2000
> Alan Howarth announces successful IT projects for local museums 
> The Jewels of Milton Keynes and Virtually the Ice Age amongst those to
> benefit from DCMS/MGC IT Challenge Fund
> 
> Grants totalling more than £450,000 have been awarded to 11 projects
> bringing IT to museums up and down the country.
> 
> Arts Minister Alan Howarth today announced which local museums have
> been
> successful in bidding for money from the Department for Culture Media
> and
> Sport /Museums and Galleries Commission IT Challenge Fund. 
> Each of the projects will receive between £30,000 and £60,000 from the
> Fund
> and serve as pilot projects for other museums.
> 
> Welcoming the awards Alan Howarth said
> "These awards will enable many smaller museums to open up their
> collections
> in new and innovative ways through IT. These exciting projects will
> bring in
> new audiences and encourage people to explore the rich collections
> that
> their local museums hold.  
> "I look forward to seeing these projects when they are completed and
> hope
> that they act as inspiration to other museums. Special projects like
> these
> show the achievements that can be made with partnership and
> collaboration
> between local museums.
> 
> Timothy Mason from the MGC said
> "As a result of the DCMS/MGC IT Challenge Fund, museums of all sizes
> will be
> working together to develop exciting and interactive initiatives that
> will
> encourage users of the new technologies to discover for themselves the
> objects in museums." 
> Today's announcement of 11 awards involves 40 partner museums which
> demonstrated the four main themes of the DCMS/MGC IT Challenge Fund:
> *	support for lifelong learning 
> *	support for collaborative learning 
> *	development of interactive and participatory service
> *	creation of innovative applications for new technologies
> 
> Notes to Editors
> 
> 1	The full awards are as follows:
> 
> North Devon on Disk: Weaving the Cultural Web
> A digital archive of life in Northern Devon, this project encourages
> access
> to the learning of Devon's museum collections. 
> A grant of £60,000 has been awarded to the partnership of the Museum
> of
> Barnstaple, North Devon Maritime Museum, Ilfracombe Museum and the
> Burton
> Art Gallery and Museum. 
> 
> The Jewels of Milton Keynes 
> A guide to collections held by the 18 members of Milton Keynes
> Heritage
> Association. It will feature interpretation of the 'jewels' of the
> collections and will link to local history web pages. 
> A grant of £40,500 has been awarded to the partnership of the Milton
> Keynes
> Museum, Cowper and Newton Museum and the Old Gaol Museum
> 
> Netting the Bay
> Netting the Bay will be a virtual voyage of discovery by fishing boat,
> accessing aspects of North West maritime history and ecology. 
> A grant of £54,500 has been awarded to the partnership with the Museum
> of
> Lancashire, National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, Fleetwood
> Museum
> and the Lancaster Maritime Museum.
> 
> Three Cornered Gallery
> This IT project features three very different art collections joined
> as a
> virtual visual 'library'. 
> A grant of £46,533 has been awarded to the partnership of the
> Wolverhampton
> Art Gallery, The Wallace collection and the Sainsbury Centre for
> Visual Arts
> at the University of East Anglia.
> East West Central 
> The East West Central project will deliver on-line learning resources
> which
> reflect the diversity of the three museums and their audiences. 
> A grant of £30,750 has been awarded to the partnership of the London
> Transport Museum, the Grange Museum and the Ragged School Museum.
> 
> Cornwall Heritage Access Information Network
> Five museums working  in partnership to link and improve access to
> their
> collections databases. 
> A grant of £37,083 has been awarded to the partnership of the Royal
> Cornwall
> Museum, Penless House and Museum & Art Gallery, Wheal Martyn Museum,
> North
> Cornwall District Museum Service and Falmouth Art Gallery.
> 
> Virtually the Ice Age
> Intended as a life-long learning resource this project will examine
> the Ice
> Age archaeology of the Cresswell Heritage Area. It will provide
> virtual
> access to the caves at Cresswell crags and encourage visitors to
> explore the
> Ice Age. 
> A grant of £40,000 has been awarded to the partnership of the
> Cresswell
> Heritage Trust, The British Museum and Derby Museum and Art Gallery. 
> 
> Planes Machines and Automobiles
> An innovative virtual gallery about Coventry in the 20th century. 
> A grant of £43,500 has been awarded to the partnership of the Herbert
> Art
> Gallery and Museum, Midland Air Museum, Museum of British Road
> Transport,
> Coventry Archives, Coventry Libraries and the Depot Studios. 
> 
> Cradle of Science, Technology and the Better Life
> This IT project will increase the understanding of the scientific
> technological and social development in part of the West Midlands
> during the
> 18th and 19th century. 
> A grant of £33,750 has been awarded to the partnership of the
> Shrewsbury
> Museums Service, Wedgewood Museum and Ironbridge Gorge Museum. 
> 
> Roman Sussex - Interactive Website
> A website drawing together objects from the collections of Sussex
> museums
> and archaeological sites building a picture of Romano-British Sussex. 
> A grant of £40,350 has been awarded to the partnership with the Sussex
> Archaeological Society, Worthing Museum, Chichester Museum. Barbican
> House
> Museum and Fishbourne Roman Palace.
> 
> Victorian Website
> Based on The Victorians teacher resource pack, this website will link
> the
> collections of 16 London museums, providing interactive and
> participative
> learning strategies.
> A grant of £43,074 has been awarded to the partnership of SEMEU,
> Linley
> Sambourne House, Old Operating Theatre Museum, Dickens House Museum
> and
> Leighton House. 
> 
> 2	The DCMS/MGC Museums IT Challenge Fund was first announced as
> part
> of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review. It provides
> £500,000 over
> this financial year and the next and is administered for DCMS by the
> Museums
> and Galleries Commission. 
> For further information on the MGC please contact Emma Wright on 
> 0171 233 4200	
David Dawson
Museums New Technology Adviser
MGC, 16 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AA
email: [log in to unmask] tel: +44 (0)171 233 4200
Visit us on-line at www.museums.gov.uk



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