Features

Best in show

Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife 1941, National Army Museum, London

Keeping the faith

Religious buildings have traditionally had little or no interpretation, but this is changing. Simon Stephens finds out why

Northern spirit

Iain Watson grew up in the north east and is now in charge of 12 museums across Tyne & Wear. Simon Stephens meets him

Reading matters

There is a great public interest in literature, but museums need to find novel approaches to making writers and their work come alive for visitors. By Deborah Mulhearn

The Museum of… Our pick of the UK’s specialist collections

Louise Gray hears what links London, Stratford-upon-Avon and Washington, DC, to Craven Museum and Art Gallery

Best in show

Black Sabbath concert poster, 1970, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

Social work

As work on the Museum of East Anglian Life's capital project continues, its director, Tony Butler, tells Simon Stephens why progress at the organisation has been about much more than just bricks and mortar

Last resort?

From traditional end-of-the-pier shows to modern art festivals, can culture turn the tide of decline and get people flocking back our seaside towns? By John Holt

Fields of dreams

Every summer the UK goes festival-mad and some museums are making sure they get in on the act, as Louise Gray finds out

Digging it

The growing public interest in archaeology is an excellent opportunity for museums to engage new audiences, writes Rebecca Atkinson

The Museum of… Our pick of the UK’s specialist collections

Its location makes the Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum an archaeological hotspot, says Louise Gray

The museum of… Our pick of the UK’s specialist collections

Clang, clang, clang went the trolley: there are rides for all at the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft, says Louise Gray