• News
April Despite opposition the Museums and Galleries Commission is merged with the Library and Information Commission to become Resource (the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries). The chairman is Matthew Evans (at the time the chairman of publisher Faber and Faber) and the chief executive is Neville Mackay.
Evans sets the cat among the pigeons by suggesting that museum collections should get out more - to schools, shops and pubs - and that national museums are isolationist...
May Centres for Social Change: Museums, Galleries and Archives for All is published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; social inclusion is the New Labour buzzword for the new millennium.
June The Museums Association and the International Council of Museums launch Stealing History, a report on the illicit trade in looted objects that says London is a centre for stolen artefacts and specimens.
• Openings
January Millennium Dome
February New Art Gallery Walsall
April Lowry, Salford
May International Centre for Life, Newcastle
May Tate Modern
June Holocaust Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum, London
December Great Court at the British Museum
• People
Diane Lees becomes director of the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood.
Wales and Scotland get their first culture ministers - Jenny Randerson and Allan Wilson respectively.
Lewis Biggs leaves his position as director of Tate Liverpool in order to become director of the Liverpool Biennial of contemporary art. Christoph Grunenberg replaces him.
"A decade's worth of Heritage Lottery Fund support has helped transform our museums and galleries into modern public spaces where people enjoy spending time"
Jenny Abramsky, chairwoman, Heritage Lottery Fund
• News
Foot and Mouth disease spreads across the UK - rural life museums are hit hard.
April Wales and Scotland get free admission to national museums. The long-awaited policy is extended to all nationals in December.
August The DCMS appoints a Working Group on Human Remains.
• Openings
March Eden Project, Cornwall
July National Space Centre in Leicester
September Thinktank, Birmingham
• People
All change at the nationals: Suzanna Taverne becomes managing director of the British Museum in January but resigns in September after rows about the wrong type of stone and staff strikes - Neil MacGregor succeeds her as director.
Lindsay Sharp becomes the director of the National Museum of Science and Industry, rear admiral Roy Clare is appointed director of the National Maritime Museum and Mark Jones becomes head of the V&A.
At the DCMS, Chris Smith returns to the backbenches and Tessa Jowell replaces him as secretary of state for culture.
• News
The Renaissance in the Regions report is published. The programme aims to transform England's regional museums using central government funding. By the end of 2011 nearly £300m will have been directed into museums in England's regions through the scheme.
• Openings
June Urbis, Manchester
July Baltic Centre, Gateshead
July Imperial War Museum North, Manchester
• People
Charles Saumarez Smith becomes director of the National Gallery, London, and Sandy Nairne takes over next door at the National Portrait Gallery.
Gordon Rintoul becomes director of National Museums Scotland. Alec Coles becomes director of Tyne and Wear Museums.
• News
April Baghdad museum is looted after the war breaks out in Iraq. Although many items have since been recovered, some 8,000 objects remain unaccounted for.
May The Galleries of Justice in Nottingham wins the first Gulbenkian Prize for Museums.
November The Working Group on Human Remains publishes its report, which recommends the return of disputed human remains held in museum collections to communities of origin.
• Openings
May The Museum in Docklands opens in London after numerous delays.
• People
Michael Houlihan becomes director of National Museums Wales and Tim Cooke is named as his successor at National Museums Northern Ireland.
My highlight...
"The development of family friendly museums and galleries services has brought buildings and programmes to life, and begun to change the audience demographic"
Virginia Tandy, director of culture, Manchester City Council
• News
March Strategic Commissioning, which gives central government funding to education partnerships between national and regional programmes in England, is launched.
June The Clore Leadership Programme, which aims to develop cultural leaders, begins.
• Openings
June Foundling Museum, London
September Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon
• People
Neil Chalmers retires from the Natural History Museum and hands over to Michael Dixon, who was director general of the Zoological Society of London. Colin Philpott becomes director of the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford.
• News
June The Museums Association publishes Collections for the Future. The report recommends that museums make better use of their collections.
July London learns of its Olympic bid success. The good news is that it will bring millions of tourists to the capital, the bad news is that it threatens to swallow lottery funding.
November The department for culture publishes cultural property guidelines designed to help museums avoid the acquisition of illicitly traded material.
• Openings
February Churchill Museum, London
April World Museum Liverpool
June Roald Dahl Museum
July restored ss Great Britain, Bristol
October National Waterfront Museum, Swansea
• People
Lindsay Sharp makes a surprise exit from NMSI - Jon Tucker becomes acting director.
Kate Brindley moves from Wolverhampton to take over as head of Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives.
Ian Dejardin becomes director of the Dulwich Picture Gallery.
Tim Knox is the new director of London's Sir John Soane's Museum.
Vaughan Allen joins Urbis in Manchester as its chief executive. Nick Winterbotham moves to Birmingham to become chief executive of Thinktank.
"Special things happen every day in museums where storytelling is a joyous heart-beat. Our people make these things happen, with great leadership at every level, but much more work lies ahead to secure sustainable regional museums"
Roy Clare, chief executive, MLA
• News
November The Natural History Museum announces the return of the remains of 17 Tasmanian aboriginal people.
December The Museums Association revokes Bury Council's membership for selling a Lowry painting to plug a hole in the council's budget.
December The Theatre Museum in London closes.
• Openings
July Pallant House Gallery, Chichester
May Historic Royal Palaces reopens Kew Palace
July Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum reopens
• People
Richard Smith becomes director of the Tank Museum in Bovington and Nick Merriman takes over as director of the Manchester Museum.
• News
The 200th anniversary of the parliamentary abolition of the transatlantic slave trade is commemorated in museums across the UK.
May The Cutty Sark is badly damaged in a fire.
July The Museums Association's Effective Collections scheme is launched.
October The Museums Association changes its code of ethics to allow museums to take a more active approach to disposal.
• Openings
May Shetland Museum and Archives
June Wellcome Collection, London
July London Transport Museum reopens following £22m redevelopment
August International Slavery Museum, Liverpool
September Lightbox, Woking
• People
Chris Rapley becomes director of the Science Museum. Kevin Fewster is appointed director of the National Maritime Museum. Roy Clare becomes chief executive of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.
"For me personally, the reopening of the London Transport Museum in November 2007 after a £22m refurbishment, and the record visitor numbers that have followed has been of great significance"
Sam Mullins, director, London Transport Museum
• News
Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture begins.
February Southwark Council closes the Livesey Museum.
May Boris Johnson is elected as London Mayor; after a six-month delay he launches Cultural Metropolis, the Mayor's Priorities for Culture 2009-2012.
July The Museums Association starts a debate about museums and sustainability.
September The global financial crisis begins. In October the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester reveals that it had £900,000 in a failed Icelandic bank.
• Openings
May Rotunda Museum
September Leeds City Museum
• People
In January Andy Burnham becomes culture minister and says it's his dream job (he lasts less than two years in post).
Godfrey Worsdale joins the Baltic in Gateshead, becoming the gallery's fourth director since it opened in 2002.
Diane Lees is named as the director-general of the Imperial War Museum.
• News
Figures show that the recession is having a double-edged effect on museums - visitor numbers go up but a squeeze on public spending means museums are often first in line for cuts.
June The Renaissance review is published and recommends better management and a new hub structure.
September The Scottish Museums Think Tank meets for the first time with the aim of drafting a national strategy.
• Openings
May Great North Museum, Newcastle
September Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum
November Ashmolean Museum, Oxford reopens after £61m revamp.
• People
Rachel Mulhearn is appointed director of Merseyside Maritime Museum
Molly Jackson becomes acting director of NMSI in July, but is dismissed two months later for breaching its code of conduct.
Ben Bradshaw becomes the fifth culture secretary since the decade began.
Existers, Gilbert and George
The purchase of Artist Rooms from dealer Anthony d'Offay for £125m in 2008 has meant 18 artists on a tour to over 30 UK museums and galleries.
Blue Rigi , JMW Turner
Turner's masterpiece was acquired for the Tate for nearly £5m in 2007.
Deer Shelter, James Turrell
The Art Fund commissioned its first contemporary artwork for the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It went on show in 2006.
Diana and Actaeon, Titian
This Titian was acquired from the Duke of Sutherland for £50m in 2009. It now shares its home between the National Gallery in London and the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh.
The Macclesfield Paslter
The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge raised the £1.7m necessary to keep this manuscript in the UK in 2005.