Coventry Transport Museum Vision

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Preserving the Past... ...driving the future

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Driving the

Future

Contents

1 The road to 2015 Introduction

3 Experience is everything Development of the visitor experience

5 A vital cog in Coventry’s success The Museum as a driver of economy, profile and tourism for the city and region

8 The future . . . inspired by the past The future role of learning

10 New perspectives Making the most of the Museum’s commercial, conference and public service opportunities

12 Power behind the passion Museum management, support and conclusion

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The road to 2015 At Coventry Transport Museum, we love to

celebrate.

Last year, following a £7.5 million re-launch, visitor numbers virtually doubled, making us one of the most-visited attractions in the West Midlands and one of the top 1% of museums in Britain.

In 2006, we’re celebrating again, with a £6.9 million expansion, including new exhibition galleries, plus state-of-the-art facilities for conferences, education and research. The largest collection of British road transport in the world now takes the space of seven full-sized football pitches!

Every day we open – 362 days a year – we celebrate the automotive and cycle pioneers who made Coventry the home of innovation

But the best is yet to come.

By 2015, we aim to be setting the pace for dynamic, interactive, museums worldwide.

Here’s how we aim to do it...

• At 130,000 square feet, Coventry Transport Museum is one of the world’s largest transport museums.

• The Museum is one of only 62 collections in the UK to be designated by the government as a Collection of National Importance.

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Preserving

Experiences

Innovation

Memorable

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Experience is everything The collection is incredible: 240 cars, commercial vehicles and buses, 94 motorcycles, over 200 cycles, 1,000,000 archive and ephemera items, and more than 25,000 models...

The surroundings are stunning: Sweeping glass entrance in Coventry’s Millennium Place, amazing, multi-sensory exhibition galleries on two floors, and superb, purpose-built facilities...

The experience

– from horseless carriages, to the swinging sixties, the turn of the twenty-first century, and a seat in the world’s fastest car - is interactive, exciting, unforgettable...

And it’s all

free!

The dramatic expansion has confirmed Coventry Transport Museum’s international status.

By 2015, we aim to: • Establish a global reputation for innovative interpretation and cutting-edge technology enhancing the visitor experience.

• Strengthen and forge new partnerships with museums in Britain and around the world, supporting other museum teams with our best-practice models.

• Fly the flag for Coventry and our region through loans, touring exhibitions and events across the UK.

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A vital cog in Coventry’s success • Coventry was once known as the ‘Cycle Capital of the World’.

• It is the birthplace of the British motor industry.

• It has been home to 288 cycle makers, 140 motorcycle makers, and over 138 car and commercial vehicle builders, including many great British names.

We don’t intend to let the world forget it.

• Coventry Transport Museum is a lead partner organising the Festival of Motoring – one of the City’s most successful events, attracting over 150,000 spectators each year.

Preserving

the city’s unique heritage for future generations is a vital part of the Museum’s mission. So too is developing its role as a powerful economic driver for the City and Region, and a focus for promoting a positive image of Coventry at home and worldwide.

By 2015, we aim to: • Welcome 500,000 visitors a year, making a £10 million contribution to the local economy.

Each year someone visits the Museum from every postcode area in the British Isles, and one in ten visitors come from overseas.

With just over half the museum’s visitors female, and 45% under the age of 24, Coventry Transport Museum really is a family affair.

• Generate an international profile for Coventry and the region.

• Maintain pride of place in the top 10 museum and art galleries outside London.

• Organise at least two major themed events for the City each year.

• Feature consistently in the top five visitor attractions in the Region.

• Play a key role within a multi cultural community developing cultural entitlement and fostering pride in the City.

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The future... inspired by the past • A superb Education Suite and ‘Technocentre’ features three dedicated rooms, with networked PCs and AV facilities supporting formal and informal programmes.

• Coventry University’s Automotive Design course is one of the best in the world. The Museum’s partnerships with organisations like this aim to stimulate greater interest in design and engineering among young people.

The 30,000

school pupils who currently visit each year, our higher education links showcasing the design brilliance of tomorrow’s car designers, and the new interactive Technocentre are just the beginning.

Our aims for 2015 – spanning education, lifelong learning and professional partnership programmes - are hugely ambitious, placing the Museum at the heart of the national transport debate.

Here’s our vision: • Over 1 million visitors using the museum’s education extranet each year.

• At least 125,000 learners taking part in formal education programmes.

• Increased partnership activity with universities, schools and professional organisations, developing the regional skills base.

• A new 'Future' forum, encouraging and stimulating global debate between those designing and developing the future of road transport.

• A new interface between industry and the public, offering a test-bed for innovative products, and placing the Museum and Coventry at the heart of transport research and development.

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• The Museum’s Archive and Library includes humidity-controlled conservation systems, and a reading room with wireless computer support.

• The Archive includes books, magazines, sales catalogues, manuals, production records and photographs featuring, among other famous marques, Triumph, Daimler, Hillman, Alvis, Lanchester, Humber and Standard.

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New perspectives The Museum plans to develop the Archive and Library to: Open up access to over one million photographs, documents and records.

Provide valuable support for a growing education and exhibitions programme.

Promote Coventry’s achievements to new audiences worldwide.

Unlock an important source of revenue for the Museum.

Looking afresh at every aspect of the Museum and constantly seeking new opportunities underpins plans for the most exciting period of growth in the Museum’s history.

For example...

• Carefully-planned expansion will create one of the most modern and exciting conference venues in the Midlands.

• The ‘career’ of Museum vehicles will be developed through exhibitions and events, and through the use of cutting edge technology to support TV and film.

• The Museum will become a media and industry hub for transport and heritage issues, promoting and providing expert comment.

• Its extensive experience of historic vehicle maintenance will be used to support classic car clubs and specialists.

At the same time, we are committed to being a true community asset, providing spaces for local groups and supporting a diverse range of events and activities.

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Power behind the passion “We believe that we exist for people.

Collecting, caring for and interpreting our Collections for the benefit of our present and future visitors and users is at the heart of everything we do“.

Extract from Coventry Transport Museum’s ‘Core Values’ document.

The Museum collection started in private hands as far back as the 1930s.

Over the years, it has benefited from an intimate relationship with Coventry’s legendary automotive industry, as well as the generosity of numerous benefactors.

Run for many years by Coventry City Council, the Museum now operates as an independent charitable trust, with a committed Board drawing representation from education, the motor industry, media, politics and business.

Backed by local, national and European funding, the executive team has masterminded one of the most successful Museum transformations in Europe.

It’s an achievement worth celebrating. But not for long... there’s still a long way to go.

Coventry Transport Museum is not just about the past, but also about informing the present and inspiring the future.

By 2015, we aim to...

• Become one of the most visited and influential museums in the UK, recognised and applauded worldwide as a benchmark for museum management, innovation and interpretation.

• Raise Coventry’s profile and showcase its immense achievements.

• Enrich the minds of our diverse audience, inspiring them to turn an understanding of culture and history into a positive contribution to the world of today and tomorrow.

To find out more about Coventry Transport Museum, our vision or how you can get involved please contact us on Telephone: 024 7623 4270 Email: enquiries@transport-museum.co.uk

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www.watermarkdesign.co.uk 01926 493666

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Millennium Place Hales Street Coventry CV1 1PN T: 024 7623 4270 F: 024 7623 4284 E: enquiries@transport-museum.co,uk www.transport-museum.co,uk