Hargey steps back in time as museums prepare for re-opening

Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey took a step back in time when she visited the Ulster Museum ahead of its re-opening on Tuesday.

Hargey steps back in time as museums prepare for re-opening

Minister Hargey was given a tour of the Belfast museum by Kathryn Thomson, Chief Executive of National Museums NI who provided an overview of their plans for re-opening on May 25th.

The Department for Communities has provided £1.5 million in additional, Covid specific, financial support, to National Museums NI including £200,000 from the Covid-19 Culture, Languages, Arts and Heritage Support Programme.

Minister Hargey said:

“I welcome the plans to re-open Ulster Museum, Ulster Transport Museum and Ulster American Folk Park commencing May 25th, with Ulster Folk Museum to follow on June 12th.

“Museums serve as important cultural, historical and social resources for the public and I am pleased that people will once again be able to enjoy these facilities.”

The Minister added:

"This is the third occasion that the staff of National Museums have had to prepare to re-open and re- welcome visitors to each of their museums and I would like to take this opportunity to commend them on their flexibility, resilience and commitment to making their collections accessible to as many people as possible, helping broaden horizons and deliver social value."

Kathryn Thomson, Chief Executive of National Museums NI, said:

“We thank Minister Hargey for her visit to Ulster Museum to hear about our re-opening plans and to view some of the exhibitions that are part of our current programme. We also thank the Department for its continued support of our museums.

“We are delighted to announce that our museums will once again open their doors with Ulster Museum, Ulster Transport Museum and Ulster American Folk Park open from Tuesday 25 May, in line with ongoing Government advice and public health guidelines. Ulster Folk Museum will open at the slightly later date of 12 June due to operational activity taking place on site.

“I would like to extend a thank you to the teams across our four sites who have been working hard to ensure that we deliver a safe and enjoyable experience for all our visitors, as part of the 'Good to Go' accreditation. We are excited to welcome visitors back over the coming weeks.”

Visitors must pre-book their timeslots online, before they visit.

Notes to editors: 

1. Caption: Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey is pictured with Kathryn Thomson, Chief Executive of National Museums NI.
2. Visitors will be required to adhere to public health guidance including social distancing and the use of face masks.
3. Media enquiries to Department for Communities Press Office 
4. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hour’s service for media enquiries only between 1800 hours and 0800 hours Monday to Fridays and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.
5. Follow the Department on Twitter @CommunitiesNI

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