Scottish borders museum eager to attract coach groups boosts offering with two new exhibitions for 2018
Members of the public will be able see inside a nuclear power station where plutonium and tritium were produced for the atomic bomb, thanks to a 3D tour, which is the latest addition to the Devil’s Porridge Museum.
The 360-degree virtual reality tour of crucial areas at Scotland’s first nuclear power station, during the height of its activity, is a key feature of a new exhibition at the museum. Exploring one of the darker sides of our history, this exhibition is joined by another new feature at the museum celebrating a brighter future for women. The Importance of Women is a new exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in Britain.
Sarah Harper, The Devil’s Porridge Museum Collection Manager, said: “We are very excited to be revealing both exhibitions for 2018, which is also a big year for us, as we mark the anniversary of the end of World War One.”
This interactive of Chapelcross Power Station has been funded by the Magnox Socio-Economic Fund. Sarah further explains: “By donning a state-of the-art 3D headset, you will pass into high security areas, to the reactor control room, see inside the pile cap, where the nuclear fuel rods were installed and into the turbine hall where electricity was created and monitored in the electrical control room. The highly secretive and secure tritium plant, where the fuel to power the British hydrogen bombs was processed from the 1980s, is also visually accessible for the first time.”
The 3D exhibit is just one aspect of telling the story of the real-life experiences of Chapelcross employees. Visitors will be able to listen to the many interviews conducted with past and present workers and enjoy photographs and films of the construction of Chapelcross, as well as the demolition of the four iconic cooling towers in 2007.
Telling the story of the women of the munitions factories, working with the highly explosive “Devil’s Porridge” mixture that filled the bullets for the troops on the front during World War One has always been part of the museum but for 2018 there will be more space dedicated to the campaign for women to gain the vote and the brave women of the munitions factories, that spanned the length of the Solway Coast in Dumfries and Galloway into Cumbria.
These two contrasting exhibitions will both be open to visitors from this month. The Devil’s Porridge Museum is located just off the A75, only 15 minutes from Carlisle. The museum is open every day, only closed briefly at Christmas. The admission rate for groups of 20 or over is £4.00 per person and a tour guide presentation, bringing the story to life, is offered at no additional charge. Booking is essential and can be made by phone 01461 700021 or email [email protected]. Visit www.devilsporridge.org.uk.
