MANCHESTER, UK.- The Manchester Museum officially launched with a weekend of celebrations to mark the completion of a major £20 million redevelopment. This is the Museum that has collected the world: interpreting, researching and caring for almost six million items from every continent and providing a place where global cultures interact. The Museum’s research projects have international relevance through the conservation of endangered species and investigation into tackling diseases in the developing world.
 
Improved access has underpinned the redevelopment of The Manchester Museum: making the buildings physically accessible and appealing; ensuring that the collections on display and in store are made more accessible intellectually, culturally and physically; creating spaces that lift the spirit; and providing facilities to a standard that visitors have a right to expect. High quality contemporary design and materials complement and enhance the existing Gothic revival museum buildings and create engaging new displays.

Museum Director Tristram Besterman said, "The last major investment in the public galleries of The Manchester Museum was in 1927, and it showed! Superb modern design founded on immense care and thought has transformed this great regional museum. We can now provide the quality of service that the public expects and our collections deserve. What’s more the new University of Manchester will have a museum that will contribute to its international reputation."
 
The Manchester Museum, part of the University of Manchester, lies one mile south of Manchester city centre. Its pre-eminent collections are designated as having national and international importance by the UK Government. Through its collections and staff expertise, the Manchester Museum aims to reflect and deepen our understanding of the richness and diversity of the world and its inhabitants. It is committed to stimulating a desire for learning through its displays and lively programme of visitor events.  

The Manchester Museum is housed within a sequence of Grade II and Grade II* listed buildings, the first of which was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, the Mancunian architect of London’s Natural History Museum. Over the last five years, The Manchester Museum’s major refurbishment has been designed by another Manchester-based practice, Ian Simpson Architects. Dr David Bellamy launched the first phase in June 2000 and the second phase, which marks the completion of the project, is now open

This includes three major new galleries, Living Cultures featuring pottery, cloth, armour, carvings, masks and other artefacts from around the world together with the a selection of the bows and arrows from the Museum’s unique Simon Archery collection. The Story of Money traces the development of money from the days of barter, through its earliest recorded use in the 3rd millennium BC, to the modern age of banknotes, cards and electronic transactions, and Rocks and Minerals which displays the location of Planet Earth in the solar system, its inner structure and the fascinating range of crystalline mineral rocks that form the fragile crust of our world. 
 The Museum galleries occupy three floors and are accessed through a brand new courtyard and entrance hall. A new steel and glass bridge now links the 1885 and 1912 buildings at first and second floors. Fossils, minerals, natural history specimens, Mediterranean Archaeology and the Museum’s unique collection of material from Ancient Egypt are just some of the fascinating exhibits on show. There are also captivating displays of living reptiles and amphibians in the award winning Vivarium as well as an interactive exhibition on the human body, Science for Life.The Museum now has its own café, Café Muse, and a large museum shop in the new entrance area. The new temporary exhibition gallery and lecture theatre opens at the end of 2003. Behind the scenes, new state-of-the-art stores and conservation facilities enable the six million items in the Museum’s collections to be used and safe guarded.
     
The £20 million redevelopment has been principally funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund, The Wellcome Trust, The European Regional Development Fund, The Wolfson Foundation and The University of Manchester.