Oxford University Museum of Natural History has been revealed as one of 39 museums and galleries across England to have successfully bid for support from the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund. Totaling £4 million, the fund will allow cultural institutions to increase access, improve displays and enhance public spaces.
This support will take the museum one step closer to realising its plans to publicly display the remains of two Jurassic marine reptiles. One of these is the rare long-necked plesiosaur, known as Eve, which was discovered in a quarry in Cambridgeshire in 2015. The other is a short-necked relative of Eve that was found near Oxford in the 1990s.
With new cases, dynamic artwork and digital content, the exhibit – titled Out of the Deep – will present a picture of central England 165 million years ago: submerged 50 meters underwater in a warm, shallow sea, teeming with animals that are now long-extinct.
Professor Paul Smith, Director of the Museum of Natural History says: 'In displays that will reinvigorate our central court, Out of the Deep will conserve and exhibit two internationally-significant fossil marine reptiles. We are very grateful to DCMS/Wolfson for this funding. The museum is now looking for matched funding to complete the project.'
Matt Hancock, Minister for Digital and Culture says: 'These grants will make an important contribution toward increasing access to their wonderful collections and improving the visitor experience at museums right across the country. I applaud the Wolfson Foundation's generosity in once again matching the Government's investment pound for pound in this important work.'
The Ashmolean Museum was also successful in winning support from the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund. Marking the 400th anniversary of the birth of the Ashmolean's founder, Elias Ashmole, the museum plans to transform two central lower floor galleries to tell how the world's first museum was created.
The grant from DCMS/Wolfson for the Museum of Natural History provides 75% of the total project cost. The museum is currently looking for matched funding to complete the project. People who would like to help can donate online or email the museum's Development Team for more information.