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A new multi-million pound centre is to be built for Kent’s rare and valuable historical documents, which forms one of the largest collections in the country. Kent County Council will be contributing £4 million to the project, the total cost is not yet known. Documents include letters from Jane Austen and Lord Nelson. The current centre was built in 1938 and does not provide adequate conditions to be able to look after and exhibit the collections properly. The plans will include increasing public access to the collections and helping people research their family history.

A new chain of budget health clubs, that offer a flat rate membership of £9.99 per month, is to open its first club in Hounslow, London, in May. It will be called ‘The Gym’, and will use Cybex fitness equipment and an online CRM, for low-cost, low-staffing club management. The CRM system allows people to become a member online, and since the sales office opened in December 2007 84% of members have joined online. The system also allows the company to collect all direct debit data and largely eliminates administration. The system is set to be very simple to help retain customers.

‘Our Dynamic Earth’, a Scottish science centre, has received £80,000 of funding from the Science Engagement Grant Scheme, which is a Scottish Government initiative to engage young people in science. The funding will support a summer show that will be in collaboration with the Edinburgh International Science Festival. It will also develop a schools’ outreach programme, Closer2Nature.  It offers the first Climate Change Workshop available on an outreach basis. 33 other projects across Scotland will also benefit from funding which is expected to reach 300,000 pupils.

A new botanical art museum is to open at Kew Gardens. It will display paintings and sketches of fruit, flowers and leaves. It will be named The Shirley Sherwood Gallery and will exhibit previous works of art from the collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Dr. Shirley Sherwood. It will be a year round attraction.

Scotland’s newest museum has opened inside a newly built branch of Morrisons supermarket. Johnstone Heritage Society set up the exhibition using a £29,100 grant from the Lottery Fund. The museum examines the town’s history and will be run by 5 volunteers. The museum focuses on textile and engineering industries with craftmaking workshops, guided tours, talks and lectures also available.

Work has begun on a 6 year programme that will lead to an all Wales coastal footpath.  Sixteen local authorities in Wales are sharing £1.5 million in grants to improve access to the Welsh coast.  The first year of work is to focus on low-level improvement work, including better signage.

English Heritage has launched a new education service called Heritage Explorer. It provides classroom resources and accessible information for teachers in Key Stage 1, 2 and 3. All information can be downloaded and used for free. It incorporates four main facilities Teaching Activities, Images by Theme, Interactives and a Search function.

The Haig Colliery Mining Museum in Whitehaven has just received a £1.9 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, which will allow the site to be restored and provide access to the collections. It will create a meaningful facility for the local community which reflects the historic importance of coal mining in Whitehaven (source BBC).

The Aquarium of the Lakes in Cumbria, has launched a new ‘Virtual Dive Bell’, which allows visitors to come face to face with scary sharks, hippos and crocodiles. The attraction takes visitors to lakes and freshwater destinations all over the world.

The National Maritime Museum have recently announced that they have received a £20 million donation to help develop a new wing at Greenwich.