NEWS - OUT AND ABOUT

The new School of Museum Studies building on University Road.

A building worth celebrating

The new home of the School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester offers unique, tailor-made facilities and cutting edge design.

In advance of its official opening on 19 April 2010, the University of Leicester’s new Museum Studies building is already going down very well with students and staff alike.

The building, refurbished at a cost of 1.5 million pounds, provides a resource for the whole of the University, with experimental, high quality teaching spaces as well as housing a set of unique features tailored to the specific needs of Museum Studies teaching and research.

The Collections Room, for example, houses objects from the School’s own collections and a facility which, by meeting strict security and environmental conditions, enables the School, to borrow objects from museum collections. The first set of loans has already been negotiated from Leicester Museums and other loan arrangements are under discussion. There are also dedicated exhibition spaces in which students will mount their own exhibitions and where experimental modes of display can be trialled that feed into a host of research and teaching activities.

The Learning Studio is another new feature of the building which transforms the way Museum Studies is taught. The Studio is flexibly configured and fitted with a range of teaching technologies designed to meet the needs of students with a wide range of learning styles.

Dr Richard Sandell, Head of the School of Museum Studies, said:

“A new home for the School that has been specially designed to meet the specific requirements of Museum Studies is already transforming the way we teach and research. The architectural and design features throughout the building reflect the personality of the School and combine to create an environment that underlines our position as a world class centre for Museum Studies.”

The Vice Chancellor will officially open the new Museum Studies building on the evening of Monday 19th April which will also mark the launch of a major international three day conference – Narrative Space – organised by the School of Museum Studies and the University of Nottingham’s School of the Built Environment.

For more information and images of the new School please visit the School of Museum Studies website.

Ruth Shepherd