Preserving the Past... ...driving the future

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1 The road to 2015Introduction

3 Experience is everythingDevelopment of the visitor experience

5 A vital cog in Coventry’s successThe Museum as a driver of economy, profile and tourism for the city and region

8 The future . . . inspired by the pastThe future role of learning

10 New perspectivesMaking the most of the Museum’s commercial, conference and public service opportunities

12 Power behind the passionMuseum management, support and conclusion

Contents

FutureDriving the

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At Coventry TransportMuseum, we love to

celebrate.

Last year, following a £7.5 million re-launch, visitor numbers virtually doubled,making us one of the most-visitedattractions in the West Midlands and one of the top 1% of museums in Britain.

In 2006, we’re celebrating again, with a £6.9 million expansion, including newexhibition galleries, plus state-of-the-artfacilities for conferences, education andresearch. The largest collection of Britishroad transport in the world now takes thespace of seven full-sized football pitches!

• At 130,000 square feet, CoventryTransport Museum is one of theworld’s largest transport museums.

• The Museum is one of only 62collections in the UK to bedesignated by the government as aCollection of National Importance.

The road to 2015

Every day we open – 362 days ayear – we celebrate the automotive andcycle pioneers who made Coventry thehome of innovation

But the best is yet to come.By 2015, we aim to be setting the pace fordynamic, interactive, museums worldwide.

Here’s how we aim to do it...

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Experiences

Preserving

Memorable

Innovation

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By 2015, we aim to:• Establish a global reputation for innovativeinterpretation and cutting-edge technologyenhancing the visitor experience.

• Strengthen and forge new partnershipswith museums in Britain and around theworld, supporting other museum teams with our best-practice models.

• Fly the flag for Coventry and our regionthrough loans, touring exhibitions and events across the UK.

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The collection is incredible:240 cars, commercial vehicles and buses, 94 motorcycles, over 200 cycles, 1,000,000archive and ephemera items, and morethan 25,000 models...

The surroundings arestunning: Sweeping glass entrance inCoventry’s Millennium Place, amazing,multi-sensory exhibition galleries on twofloors, and superb, purpose-built facilities...

The experience – from horselesscarriages, to the swinging sixties, the turnof the twenty-first century, and a seat inthe world’s fastest car - is interactive,exciting, unforgettable...

And it’s all free!

Experience is everythingThe dramatic expansionhas confirmed CoventryTransport Museum’s international status.

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Preserving the city’s unique heritagefor future generations is a vital part of theMuseum’s mission. So too is developing itsrole as a powerful economic driver for theCity and Region, and a focus for promotinga positive image of Coventry at home andworldwide.

Each year someone visits the Museum fromevery postcode area in the British Isles, andone in ten visitors come from overseas.With just over half the museum’s visitorsfemale, and 45% under the age of 24,Coventry Transport Museum really is afamily affair.

• Coventry was once knownas the ‘Cycle Capital of the World’.

• It is the birthplace of theBritish motor industry.

• It has been home to 288 cycle makers, 140 motorcyclemakers, and over 138 car and commercial vehiclebuilders, including many great British names.

By 2015, we aim to:• Welcome 500,000 visitors a year, making

a £10 million contribution to the localeconomy.

• Maintain pride of place in the top 10museum and art galleries outside London.

• Generate an international profile forCoventry and the region.

• Organise at least two major themedevents for the City each year.

• Feature consistently in the top five visitorattractions in the Region.

• Play a key role within a multi culturalcommunity developing culturalentitlement and fostering pride in the City.

A vital cog in Coventry’s success

We don’t intend to let the world forget it.

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• Coventry Transport Museum is alead partner organising the Festivalof Motoring – one of the City’smost successful events, attractingover 150,000 spectators each year.

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The 30,000 school pupils whocurrently visit each year, our highereducation links showcasing the designbrilliance of tomorrow’s car designers, andthe new interactive Technocentre are justthe beginning.

Our aims for 2015 – spanningeducation, lifelong learning andprofessional partnership programmes - arehugely ambitious, placing the Museum atthe heart of the national transport debate.

Here’s our vision:• Over 1 million visitors using the

museum’s education extranet each year.

• At least 125,000 learners taking part in formal education programmes.

• Increased partnership activity withuniversities, schools and professionalorganisations, developing the regionalskills base.

• A new 'Future' forum, encouraging andstimulating global debate between thosedesigning and developing the future ofroad transport.

• A new interface between industry and the public, offering a test-bed forinnovative products, and placing theMuseum and Coventry at the heart oftransport research and development.

• A superb Education Suite and‘Technocentre’ features threededicated rooms, with networkedPCs and AV facilities supportingformal and informal programmes.

• Coventry University’s AutomotiveDesign course is one of the best inthe world. The Museum’spartnerships with organisationslike this aim to stimulate greaterinterest in design and engineeringamong young people.

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The future... inspired by the past

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• The Museum’s Archive and Library includes humidity-controlledconservation systems, and a reading room with wirelesscomputer support.

• The Archive includes books,magazines, sales catalogues,manuals, production records andphotographs featuring, amongother famous marques, Triumph,Daimler, Hillman, Alvis, Lanchester,Humber and Standard.

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The Museum plans to develop the Archive and Library to:

Open up access to over one millionphotographs, documents and records.

Provide valuable support for a growingeducation and exhibitions programme.

Promote Coventry’s achievements to new audiences worldwide.

Unlock an important source of revenuefor the Museum.

Looking afresh at every aspect of the Museum and constantly seeking new opportunities underpins plans for the most exciting period of growth in the Museum’s history.

For example...

• Carefully-planned expansion will createone of the most modern and excitingconference venues in the Midlands.

• The ‘career’ of Museum vehicles will bedeveloped through exhibitions andevents, and through the use of cuttingedge technology to support TV and film.

• The Museum will become a media andindustry hub for transport and heritageissues, promoting and providing expertcomment.

• Its extensive experience of historic vehiclemaintenance will be used to supportclassic car clubs and specialists.

At the same time, we are committed tobeing a true community asset, providingspaces for local groups and supporting a diverse range of events and activities.

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New perspectives

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The Museum collection started inprivate hands as far back as the 1930s.Over the years, it has benefited from anintimate relationship with Coventry’slegendary automotive industry, as well asthe generosity of numerous benefactors.

Run for many years by Coventry CityCouncil, the Museum now operates as an independent charitable trust, with acommitted Board drawing representationfrom education, the motor industry, media,politics and business.

Backed by local, national and Europeanfunding, the executive team hasmasterminded one of the most successfulMuseum transformations in Europe.

It’s an achievement worthcelebrating. But not for long...there’s still a long way to go.

Coventry Transport Museumis not just about the past,but also about informing the present and inspiring the future.

“We believe that weexist for people.Collecting, caring forand interpreting ourCollections for thebenefit of our presentand future visitors andusers is at the heart ofeverything we do“.

Extract from Coventry TransportMuseum’s ‘Core Values’ document.

By 2015, we aim to...• Become one of the most visited and

influential museums in the UK, recognisedand applauded worldwide as abenchmark for museum management,innovation and interpretation.

• Raise Coventry’s profile and showcase itsimmense achievements.

• Enrich the minds of our diverse audience,inspiring them to turn an understandingof culture and history into a positivecontribution to the world of today andtomorrow.

Power behind the passion

To find out more about Coventry Transport Museum, our vision or how you can get involved please contact us on

Telephone:024 7623 4270 Email: enquiries@transport-museum.co.uk

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T: 024 7623 4270F: 024 7623 4284E: enquiries@transport-museum.co,ukwww.transport-museum.co,uk

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