A NEW attraction at the National Railway Museum is due to open this summer.

The date has yet to be announced but tickets will be available soon for Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery.

A sponsor for the next five years has been announced as London-based rolling stock company Eversholt Rail.

Wonderlab promises to ignite curiosity in engineering and rail through hands-on learning, including exhibits, art installations and live experiments facilitated by the museum’s explainer team.

£5m Wonderlab plans for railway museum revealed

The museum says the new interactive gallery will be its most significant new family offer since opening in 1975.

Mary Kenny, Eversholt Rail Chief Executive Officer, said: “It is vitally important for our industry to be working together to fire the imagination of the younger generation and inspire them to pursue careers in the railway industry. 

“That is why we are delighted to be supporting the National Railway Museum with this fantastic new gallery. We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the museum at such an exciting time in their Vision 2025 project.”

Work starts at NRM on Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery

The new gallery is based on other successful Wonderlab galleries within the Science Museum Group, including those at the Science Museum in London and the Science and Media Museum in Bradford.

It will be focused on engineering, linking hands-on exhibits to real life examples from the railways and the ever-expanding technology influencing our futures.

Judith McNicol, Director of the National Railway Museum, said: “We are grateful to Eversholt Rail for their continued support as we further extend our partnership with them, through their sponsorship of Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery.

“Due to open in the summer, Wonderlab will feature around 18 interactives and artworks, all with an engineering and technology theme as we aim to inspire the next generation of railway engineers and innovators.”

Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery is part of the museum’s Vision 2025 masterplan project to transform the National Railway Museum in York and Locomotion in Shildon.

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Vision 2025 will include a new collection building at Shildon called New Hall which will house an extra 40+ vehicles and a new building at the heart of the National Railway Museum called Central Hall which will be dedicated to telling the story of future innovation.

Vision 2025 will also see better outdoor and indoor facilities and the refurbishment of Station Hall to create a world-class experience for visitors.

Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery is also supported by The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, The Friends of the National Railway Museum, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, and the Holbeck Charitable Trust.

The National Railway Museum in York has the largest collection of railway objects in the world, featuring more than 260 locomotives and rolling stock, plusn other items.

Admission is free, although visitors are encouraged to book in advance. For details and tickets, go to: Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery | National Railway Museum