For months engineers have been beavering away behind the closed doors of the borough’s historic steam museum, making changes to more than just its name.
Next week visitors will finally get the chance to find out how the place known for years as Kew Bridge Steam Museum has been transformed, when it reopens to the public.
With new interactive exhibitions and a complete transformation from a dusty old Grade I listed museum to a glittering new place of education and discovery, visitors used to a few ancient displays explaining the impressive steam machines’ history will get a big surprise.
Changes abound at London’s oldest waterworks site, which will now be known as the London Museum of Water and Steam.
Using £2.3million of National Lottery money , former special events manager at Legoland, museum director Penny Jenkins, has paid an incredible amount of attention to detail.
Features include Thames Water pipes used as displays in the gift shop and the recurring picture of a cat asking questions throughout interactive displays, referencing the museum's resident felines who have been there since it was a water works.
The director said: “It’s been a massive project and we’ve got a lot riding on it, but I’m so excited for people to come and see how it has transformed.
“It’s so different I don’t think they’ll recognise it. We couldn’t have done it without our volunteers, they’ve been amazing.”
The museum will have a new cafe, run by catering company PenniBlack, as well as an outdoor interactive water pump which children and adults will have hours of fun with.
Ms Jenkins is also adamant that education and the community will be central to the museum’s ethos.
The museum will reopen on Saturday, March 22, which is also World Water day. Visit the website to book tickets.
