V&A Dundee facts for kids

V&A Dundee

The museum and RRS Discovery in September 2018
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Established	15 September 2018 (15 September 2018)
Location	1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee, Scotland
Type	Design museum
Visitors	1.7 million (2023)
Architect	Kengo Kuma
Owner	Design Dundee Ltd.

V&A Dundee is a cool design museum located in Dundee, Scotland. It first opened its doors on September 15, 2018. This museum is super special because it's the very first design museum in Scotland. It's also the first Victoria and Albert Museum to be built outside of London. Plus, the V&A Dundee is the first building in the United Kingdom designed by the famous Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.

Museum's Story

The idea for a V&A museum in Dundee started back in 2007. A professor from the University of Dundee suggested it. Later, a university director gave a presentation to the head of the Victoria and Albert Museum. She explained why Dundee was a great spot. She also talked about how the museum could help make the city's waterfront area much better.

In 2010, a competition was held to pick the best design for the museum. Kengo Kuma, a Japanese architect, won with his amazing plan. His design was inspired by the rocky cliffs found on the eastern coast of Scotland.

The museum was built where an old leisure center used to be. Construction began in April 2014. It was supposed to finish in 2017 but took a bit longer, opening in 2018. During building, a special wall was put in the River Tay. This allowed part of the museum to extend out over the water. The building's outside is covered with 780 tonnes of pre-made concrete slabs. The whole project cost about £80.1 million.

V&A Dundee officially opened to the public on September 15, 2018. Before that, special previews were held for reporters. The opening was a huge party called the 3D Festival. It featured music acts like Primal Scream and Lewis Capaldi. There was also a cool light show and fireworks. The opening was even shown on TV! In its first week, the museum welcomed over 27,000 visitors. In just three weeks, it had 100,000 visitors!

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, officially opened the museum in a private event on January 28, 2019. By March 30, 2019, the museum had already reached its goal of 500,000 visitors. This happened six months earlier than expected! The museum had to close temporarily in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. During 2020, V&A Dundee also updated some exhibits. They wanted to show Scotland's history with colonialism and slavery more clearly.

In September 2023, the museum celebrated its fifth birthday. It was announced that 1.7 million people had visited V&A Dundee. The museum has also helped Scotland's economy a lot. A new permanent exhibit called "Stories from the Building" opened on September 15, 2023. This exhibit shares the history and design of the museum itself. In 2024, the museum decided to host one big exhibition each year to save money.

What You Can See

Exhibition Galleries

These galleries are where the museum puts on its special, temporary shows. These shows change over time, so there's always something new to see!

Scottish Design Galleries

The Scottish Design Galleries are home to amazing permanent displays. These shows highlight design works from all over Scotland. You can see cool items related to fashion, buildings, fabrics, and even comic books! There are also displays about theatre and pantomime.

Stories from the Building

This new permanent exhibit opened for the museum's fifth birthday. It's on the ground floor and tells the story of how the museum was built. You can see items used during construction. There's also a model of the museum and an interactive screen. This screen lets you explore objects from the building process.

The Oak Room

The Oak Room is a very special part of the museum. It was designed by the famous artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh. He finished it in 1908 for a tearoom in Glasgow. This large room is 13.5 meters long and has a very high ceiling. It's now a permanent part of the Scottish Design Gallery. The Oak Room was put back together from over 700 original pieces. These pieces had been stored by the Glasgow City Council for more than 50 years! It took 16 months to install the room. The cost to fix and put it back together was £1.3 million.

Museum Leaders

Gallery

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  V&A Dundee being built in 2017

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  A close-up view of the museum from the west

See Also

• List of design museums
• Victoria and Albert Museum § Partnerships
• List of art museums and galleries in Scotland