Gairloch Museum facts for kids
Gairloch Museum is a special place in Scotland, located in the beautiful Highland village of Gairloch. It's a museum that tells the story of the area. In 2019, the museum moved to an exciting new home. This new building used to be a secret Cold War bunker! The museum was even named one of the top five museums in the UK in 2020, winning an important ArtFund Museum of the Year Award.
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Discovering Gairloch's Past
How the Museum Started
Gairloch Museum first opened its doors in 1977. It was created thanks to the hard work of local people like Sylvia Murdoch, her husband Morton Murdoch, and Kay Matheson. They wanted to protect old items donated by people living in the area. They also wanted to create a fun place for tourists to visit, especially on rainy days.
The first museum was set up in an old farm building in Achtercairn. It had rooms for exhibits and also for club meetings in the winter. Soon, they realized they needed more space because so many interesting things were being donated! So, they expanded the museum into a second part of the farm building. Later, a library was added in 1987, and a special extension for a huge lighthouse lens was built in 1988.
A New Home for the Museum
In December 2016, the museum received a large grant of £725,600 to help it move to a new location. They chose a former Cold War building nearby. This building was originally built in the 1950s as a military bunker to help with anti-aircraft operations. Later, it was used as a depot for road maintenance.
The museum board and volunteers worked very hard, raising £2.4 million in total to complete the project. Building work began in February 2018. They removed some inside walls and added windows to the very thick, two-foot-wide walls. But they also kept some original features, like the heavy blast doors, which are really cool to see!
The newly updated Gairloch Museum officially opened on July 9, 2019. The opening ceremony was attended by the Princess Royal.
Award-Winning Museum
In October 2020, Gairloch Museum was recognized as one of the five winners of the ArtFund Museum of the Year Award. This award is a big deal in the museum world. ArtFund increased the prize money to £200,000 and chose five winners instead of one. This was done to help museums during the challenges of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
What You Can See at the Museum
The museum has many interesting displays and exhibitions. They show the history and culture of the Gairloch area. Here are some of the things you can explore:
- The Poolewe Hoard: This is a very rare collection of bronze items from the early Iron Age. It was found in Poolewe.
- Rua Reidh Lighthouse Lens: You can see the original giant lens from the nearby Rua Reidh Lighthouse. It's huge!
- Replica Croft House: Step back in time and see what a croft house looked like over 100 years ago. It's a great way to imagine how people lived.
- Ancient Pictish Stone:
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The museum has an ancient stone carved by the Picts. This is one of the very first Pictish stones found on the West Coast of Scotland.
- Natural History Displays: Learn about the amazing plants and animals that live in the Gairloch area through interactive displays.
