The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation will provide £2.5m in funding for the new interactive Wonderlab and marks the museum’s largest single donation to date, excluding lottery grants.

Set to open during May 2023 on the site of the museum’s former workshop, the gallery will be called Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery and will be a fantastic addition for family and school visits.

Once opened, the gallery will be full of interactive exhibits all with a rail engineering theme, and will be inspired by the success of the Wonderlab galleries in the Science Museum in London and the Science and Media Museum in Bradford.

The generous award will provide young people with an opportunity to learn about science and engineering in a hands-on learning environment in the 1,466m² Wonderlab and will mark a substantial family offer for the museum since it opened back in 1975. Approximately 81,000 people are expected to visit the gallery during its first year of opening.

Dr Terry Bramall CBE said:

“It is my pleasure to support the creation of the new Wonderlab gallery to the sum of £2.5m spread over 10 years. Liz and I are thrilled to pledge this significant investment which will benefit many young people in the region, and we hope that this gift will enable its work to continue for many decades.”

The National Railway Museum revealed the funding on the 16th of March after a tour of the proposed Wonderlab site by Liz and Terry Bramall and other Foundation trustees. Throughout the visit, the trustees enjoyed taking part in the museums ‘prototyping’ sessions which are usually delivered to groups of families and gave them the opportunity to test and shape the final interactives.

Judith McNicol, Director of the National Railway Museum, said:

“Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery will be a ground-breaking interactive gallery for children that will celebrate the inventiveness and wonder of engineering, science and the railways. From the success of Wonderlab galleries elsewhere in the Group, we know that children will have great fun while also developing a lifelong interest and appreciation of engineering that will enrich us all.

“Thank you, Liz and Terry, for your most generous support which will create a lasting legacy and I look forward to welcoming you along with our first visitors when we open next year.”

In October 2021, the museum revealed that Yorkshire artist Pippa Hale had been commissioned to create one of two art installations for the Wonderlab. The museum are currently looking for contractors to deliver the exhibition space with contracts set to be awarded during May. The exhibits will be installed during a period from February 2023 with the gallery set to open in May 2023.

Part of the Museums ‘Vision 2025’ master plan, Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery will provide widespread regeneration for both the National Railway Museum in York and Locomotion in Shildon. ‘Vision 2025’ will also see a new Central Hall building, ‘Railway Futures’ gallery and improvements to South Yard, Great Hall and North Shed, Shildon will also see a new collection building.

As Wonderlab will be built on the site of the museum’s Workshop, the development will see locomotive maintenance facilities on site upgraded and split over three areas including a refurbished prep bay for the use of visiting locomotives.

The Wonderlab gallery will cost £5m with further funding provided by Friends of the National Railway Museum, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 and The Holbeck Charitable Trust.

The National Railway Museum is still on the lookout for further funding to complete the ‘Vision 2025’ project.

Julie Moody, National Railway Museum Campaign Director, said:

“I would like to thank Liz, Terry and the Trustees for their generosity in supporting Wonderlab. We are now more than halfway to achieving our fundraising target for Vision 2025, which will demonstrate the cutting-edge innovations shaping our world today alongside the extraordinary birth and growth of the railways.”