Birmingham Museums Trust facts for kids

The Birmingham Museums Trust is a really big group of museums in the United Kingdom. It's a special kind of organisation called a charitable trust. This means it's set up to do good things for the public, not to make money.

The Trust looks after nine different museum sites across the city of Birmingham. These include the famous Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) and Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum. Lots of people visit these museums every year – over 1.1 million!

What is the Birmingham Museums Trust?

The Trust started in April 2012. It was formed when two groups joined together: the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (which belonged to Birmingham City Council) and the Thinktank charitable trust.

Even though the Trust runs the museums, the buildings and all the amazing collections inside them still belong to the City Council. The Council also decides if visitors need to pay to get in. For example, it's free to visit BMAG, but you need to buy a ticket for Thinktank.

Besides the main museum and art gallery, the Trust also manages other cool places. These include the Birmingham Museum Collection Centre, Aston Hall, Blakesley Hall, Sarehole Mill, Soho House, the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, and Weoley Castle. Thinktank was created from the collections of the City Council's old Museum of Science and Industry.

In 2012, the Trust received funding from the Arts Council for three years. This helped them get started and plan for the future.

The first director of the Trust was Ann Sumner. She joined from the University of Birmingham's Barber Institute of Fine Arts. Later, Sara Wajid and Zak Mensah became the co-CEOs in November 2020.

Amazing Collections

The Birmingham Museums Trust has a huge and varied collection of items. You can find many paintings, sculptures, and other artworks. But that's not all!

They also have old steam engines, including one that's the oldest working engine in the world. You can see aeroplanes, classic cars like Austin, Rover, and MG models. There's even a classic red phone box, old coins, and a Sinclair C5 (a small electric car).

Birds and Nature

The natural history collection is really interesting. It has about 5,700 taxidermied (stuffed) animals. There are also skins, bones, eggs, and nests. Some of these came from private collections of famous bird experts.

You can even see taxidermy specimens of birds that are now extinct. These include a great auk and a passenger pigeon. It's a rare chance to see what these birds looked like.

Where to Visit?

The Birmingham Museums Trust manages many fantastic sites across the city. Each one offers a unique experience, from historic houses to science museums.

• Aston Hall is a grand old house built between 1618 and 1635. It's located in Aston.
• Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is the main museum in the city centre.
• Blakesley Hall is a beautiful Tudor house located in Yardley.
• Museum of the Jewellery Quarter is in Hockley. It shows what a jewellery workshop was like in the past.
• Sarehole Mill is an old water mill located in Hall Green.
• Soho House is in Handsworth. It was the home of Matthew Boulton, a famous inventor, and has exhibits about the Lunar Society.
• Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum is a modern science and industry museum.
• Weoley Castle are the ruins of an old castle, giving its name to the surrounding Weoley Castle district.
• Birmingham Museum Collection Centre in Nechells stores about 80% of the Trust's collections. It's open to the public on special days or by appointment.

Images for kids

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  Aston Hall

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  Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

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  Blakesley Hall

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  Museum of the Jewellery Quarter

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  Sarehole Mill

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  Soho House

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  Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum

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  Weoley Castle

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  Birmingham Museum Collection Centre