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Reviews

Opening this month

Simon Stephens surveys a selection of the eye-catching shows opening across Britain in the next four weeks

The Braid, Ballymena, County Antrim

The Braid could certainly not be accused of lacking ambition, but the museums service will have to work hard to ensure it's used to its full capacity, writes Simon Stephens

Ancient Egypt, World Museum Liverpool

The latest generation of ancient Egypt galleries try to look beyond mummies and pharaohs and Liverpool is no different, writes Simon Stephens

Taking Liberties, British Library, London

The British Library should have taken a more radical approach to telling the story of our 1,000 year fight for freedoms and rights, says Simon Stephens

Shetland Museum and Archives, Lerwick

The Shetland Museum and Archives take a bit of getting to for non-islanders, but the newly opened building is worth the journey, says Sharon Heal

Hospital drama

Sharon Heal on how the Florence Nightingale Museum wants to resuscitate the story of Britain's most famous nurse

Family affair

A museum that tells the story of the Salomons family has made a small grant awarded for its redevelopment go a long way, writes Sharon Heal

The write stuff

A volunteer-run museum in Birmingham tells the story of how the city was once the centre of the world pen trade. By Sharon Heal

Private passion

Sharon Heal visits west London to see how order has been restored to the vast and eclectic collection of Thomas Layton

At the coalface

Sharon Heal makes a pit stop at the Scottish Mining Museum, which shows what life was like for those working in this unforgiving industry

Opening this month

From women's liberation to German Expressionism, Simon Stephens looks at this month's new exhibitions

Exhibitionist tendencies: Looking for fall out

A debris field is the technical term that is employed, often by geologists but increasingly by accident investigators, to describe fall-out. And it is this term that the Bolton Museums, Art Gallery and Aquarium’s exhibition officer Sarah Teale, in tandem with local artist and academic Phil Mouldycliff, have used to title their inventive and intensely …