Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1928 |
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| Location | Dunfermline |
| Type | Biographical Museum |
| Founder | Louise Whitfield Carnegie |
The Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum is a special place in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. It tells the amazing story of Andrew Carnegie. He was a famous Scottish-American businessman and a very generous person who gave away much of his wealth. People called him "one of the great Scots of the 19th century."
This museum is run by the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust. It's located in a historic building that includes the small cottage where Andrew Carnegie was born. This cottage dates back to the 1700s. A special memorial hall was added to the museum in 1928. Andrew Carnegie's wife, Louise Whitfield Carnegie, bought the cottage in 1895. She used money she received from her grandfather. The cottage became part of the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust in 1903 and opened to visitors in 1908.
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Andrew Carnegie's Early Life
Andrew Carnegie was born in the cottage at 2 Moodie Street in 1835. His father, William Carnegie, was a weaver. He made cloth using a hand loom. However, around 1840, large machines in factories started replacing hand looms. This made it hard for weavers to find work.
The Carnegie family believed in fairness, speaking up for what's right, and learning on their own. Because of these beliefs, William struggled to find work in the new factory system. So, in 1848, when Andrew was 13, his family left the cottage. They moved to Allegheny, Pennsylvania, in the United States, to start a new life.
Museum Achievements and Awards
In October 2019, the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum won a big award. It became the first Scottish museum to win the Family Friendly Museum Award.
The museum was chosen from over 800 nominations. It was one of only fifteen museums to make the shortlist. First, it won the award for small museums. Then, it became the overall winner of the 2019 award. This shows how welcoming and fun the museum is for families.
The Historic Museum Building
The museum is made up of several parts. It includes numbers 2 and 4 Moodie Street and 5 Priory Lane. Andrew Carnegie was born in 2 Moodie Street. This cottage was bought by Louise Carnegie in 1895. Because of this, it still looks much like it did when he was born.
The outside of 4 Moodie Street also looks very similar to how it used to. However, the inside was changed to become the museum's entrance. A special memorial building was added between 1925 and 1928. This new part was designed by a Scottish architect named James Shearer. It connects to the old cottages with a short passage.
The memorial building has a traditional Scottish castle style. It features stepped gables, which are like steps on the roofline. The main hall has windows high up to let in light. This newer building is also considered important because of its unique style. Even the walls around the museum are special, with decorative designs like scrolls and thistles. The original cottages were built in the 1770s. Work on the memorial building started in 1925, and it officially opened on June 28, 1928.
What You Can See: Museum Collections
The museum has many interesting items that tell Andrew Carnegie's story. Most of the first items were given by Louise Whitfield Carnegie in 1928. These came directly from the Carnegie family homes in the United States and Scotland. The collection includes art, old photographs, and important documents.
More items, which were considered too valuable to give away at first, were later left to the museum after Louise Whitfield Carnegie passed away. The museum displays many different kinds of exhibits. These include items related to nature, art, and science. Some special things you can see are portraits of the Carnegie family. There are also drawings of the Carnegie Institute in Pennsylvania.
The museum's displays were updated in 2008. They now show details of Carnegie's big achievements in business in the United States. You can even see some puppets from Sesame Street! This famous children's television show received money to start from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
