The Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro is going on tour for two months this winter, as the building itself closes for work to take place as part of a major transformation project.

The museum’s regular winter closure is being extended by a month to allow gallery spaces on the ground floor and balcony to be “modernised and reimagined afresh, ushering in a new phase of the museum’s long history.”

This phase of the project to transform the museum has received £2.3 million from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is being managed locally by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Good Growth Programme.

Artistic Director, Bryony Robins, explained: “In January and February, the museum team and items from our collections will be on the road, while the physical space is undergoing an exciting refresh ready to reopen in early Spring 2025.”

She added: “Our Learning Team have joined up with the local library service. They’ll be aboard the Education Library Service Bus, and delivering our Ancient Egypt and Victorian Toys workshops in eight libraries across the county. This will enable us to reach more school children in a short space of time than ever before.”

Meanwhile, the museum’s Engagement Team have created a workshop called Treasure, which they will be running in collaboration with wellbeing groups across Cornwall during January and February.

The workshop includes handling museum artefacts and will look at themes of Cornish identity and language, arts and folk tales, landscape and sense of place.

Participants will be encouraged to discuss what they consider to be their own treasures and create a collaborative artwork - a wall hanging – which will be displayed at the museum when it reopens.

One of the museum’s current exhibitions – As Above, So Below by Jill Randall - is also going on the road and will be at Wheal Martyn Clay Works between 13^th January and 13^th February.

The winter building work represents a major step forward in the museum’s Transformation Project, which began with the Mineral Gallery last summer.

Preparatory work for the next phase has been taking place all autumn, but this planned winter closure will allow the major work to forge ahead safely and efficiently.

The Nature Gallery is being redesigned in consultation with Cornwall Wildlife Trust, creating a spellbinding window onto Cornwall's wildlife and biodiversity riches and encouraging museumgoers to learn from the past in striving for a brighter, more considerate future.  

The Balcony of the impressive main atrium will become an art gallery, allowing much more of the Royal Institution of Cornwall’s impressive art collection to go on public display.

Finally, the central space in the museum will become the Heart of Cornwall Gallery, a space where Cornish culture and history will be explored and celebrated, from the Cornish language to maritime industries, mining heritage to local folklore.

Jonathan Morton, Executive Director, commented: “We’re already looking forward to welcoming people back into our new-look physical spaces in the spring, with an exciting exhibition and events programme planned. In the meantime, we’re taking the opportunity to get out into the community as much as possible and engage diverse and geographically remote audiences with what the museum has to offer.”

For updates on the transformation and reopening information, follow the museum on social media.

The Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro is home to collections of Cornish art, culture, and history.   

Find out more: royalcornwallmuseum.org.