Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre facts for kids
| Former name | Dingles Steam Village |
|---|---|
| Established | 2003 |
| Location | Lifton, Devon, England, United Kingdom |
Dingles Fairground Museum is a super fun place where you can explore old fairground rides and cool fairground stuff! It used to be called Dingles Steam Village and Fairground Heritage Centre. This museum is in Lifton, Devon, in the United Kingdom. A special group called the Fairground Heritage Trust runs it. The museum first opened its doors in 2003. Many of the rides are from the early 1900s. They have been fixed up and you can even ride them!
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Discovering Fairground History
The Dingles Fairground Museum is home to many amazing old fairground rides. It also has games and artwork from the past. Imagine what it was like to visit a funfair over 100 years ago! This museum brings that history to life.
The Fairground Heritage Trust
A charity called the Fairground Heritage Trust started in 1986. Their main goal is to find, collect, and fix up old fairground items. This includes rides, games, and even the beautiful artwork on them. Many of these items are from the 1800s and 1900s.
The museum first opened in 2003 as Dingles Steam Village. It is located in Lifton, Devon. In 2006, the museum got bigger. It then reopened in 2007 with a new name: Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre.
Amazing Vintage Rides
The rides, games, and artwork at the museum once traveled around with funfairs. These were big shows that moved from town to town. The museum team works hard to restore these old attractions. If a ride can be fixed, they get it working again for visitors!
You can ride these cool vintage attractions. To do this, you need to buy special tokens. These tokens are separate from your entry ticket.
Famous Rides to Try
Some of the most exciting rides in the collection include:
- A 1930s-era Edwards' Dodgems ride. Get ready to bump and spin!
- A Joy Wheel from around 1910. This is a big spinning disc that's a lot of fun.
- A 1938 Shaw's Moonrocket. This ride is very special. It is thought to be the last one of its kind left in the world!
Overcoming Challenges
Like many places, the museum faced some tough times. It had to close in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant the museum did not have visitors or money coming in.
To help keep the museum going, some items from their collection were sold. This helped them raise about £50,000. In November 2021, the museum also received special help from the government. This money was part of a plan to support museums and art galleries during the pandemic.
The museum was able to reopen in April 2022. It also showed off a new expansion that was planned for 2021. This means even more cool things to see and do!
