Prickwillow Museum facts for kids
The front of Prickwillow Museum by the River Lark
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| Location | Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire, UK |
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| Type | Technology museum |
The Prickwillow Museum is a cool place that tells the story of the Fens. This area of England used to be very wet and marshy. The museum shows how people drained the land to make it useful.
You can find the museum in a village called Prickwillow. It's about 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. The museum is actually inside an old pumping station!
Contents
Welcome to Prickwillow Museum!
The Prickwillow Museum, once known as the Prickwillow Drainage Engine Museum, helps us understand the amazing changes in the Fens. This area was once a huge wetland. To turn it into farmland, people built many pumping stations and drainage systems. The museum shares this important history.
What You'll Discover
Inside the museum, you'll find a fantastic collection of huge diesel pumping engines. These powerful machines were used to pump water away from the land. The best part is that all these engines have been fixed up and can still run! It's incredible to see them in action.
Amazing Engines
These engines are a big part of what makes the museum special. They show how engineers solved the challenge of draining the Fens. Seeing them working helps you imagine the hard work involved in shaping the landscape.
Who Keeps the Museum Running?
The Prickwillow Museum is run by a group called the Prickwillow Engine Trust. This group is a registered charity. They work hard to keep the museum open and the engines running. They have received help from groups like the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Ouse Washes Landscape Partnership. This funding helps them preserve these important historical machines.
Fun Events at the Museum
Every year, usually in early autumn, the museum hosts a special event. It's called the Prickwillow ploughing festival. This festival celebrates traditional farming methods. It's a great chance to see old tractors and learn about how farming used to be done in the Fens.
More Places to Explore
If you're interested in other places that show how land was drained, check out these museums:
