Scarborough Fair Collection facts for kids

The Scarborough Fair Collection is a super cool museum! It's located in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, a town in England. This museum is home to one of Europe's biggest collections of amazing old fairground machines. You can see huge mechanical organs and powerful showman's engines here.

A Dream Comes True

The museum was started by Graham Atkinson. He was a local Farmer who became a successful businessman. Graham also owned a holiday park nearby. He wanted to share his love for fairgrounds. He also wanted to entertain the people staying at his park.

Graham began collecting these special machines in the late 1980s. At first, only holiday park guests and enthusiasts could visit. Then, in 2008, the museum officially opened its doors to everyone!

What You Can See

The collection has many interesting items. It includes vintage cars and tiny model vehicles. There are also cool model railways. But the main attractions are three special types of machines:

Powerful Steam Engines

The Iron Maiden at the Great Dorset Steam Fair, 2007

You can see four amazing showman's engines. These are big steam-powered vehicles. They used to pull fairground rides from town to town. One famous engine is called The Iron Maiden. There is also a Foden steam wagon. Plus, you can find a Barrows and Co. portable engine.

Fun Fairground Rides

The museum has several old fairground rides. One is an 1893 gallopers ride. This is a classic merry-go-round. There's also a rare 1928 caterpillar ride. You can also see a 1933 'Noahs Ark' ride. And of course, a thrilling waltzer ride is part of the collection.

Amazing Mechanical Organs

The museum is famous for its mechanical organs. These are huge instruments that play music automatically. One is the 97-key 'Oktoberfest' Gavioli Concert organ. Another is the 101-key Hooghuys 'Condor' organ. These organs make the fairground come alive with music!

Theatre Organs

The museum also has two special theatre organs. These organs are played during open days. They also feature at weekly Wednesday afternoon tea dances. Both instruments are "Mighty" Wurlitzers. They have three keyboards, called manuals. They also have eight sets of pipes, called ranks.

Granada Theatre Organs

• The organ from the Granada Theatre in Greenford has pipes like English Horn and Tuba.
• The organ from the Granada Theatre in Mansfield has pipes like Style 'D' Trumpet and Clarinet.