Great Western Coffee Shop

...etc
https://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/23469620.steam-museum-tired-absolutely-dead-swindon-mum-says/

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit there.  I was going to say "recent visit" until I worked out that it was nearly seven and a half years ago.  It wasn't all that busy then but it was a weekday in November so not that surprising I suppose.  The exhibits surely can be forgiven for looking at bit tired if they are pushing a century or more in age but some of the displays might need the occasional spruce up.....as Indeed do I!

The purpose of Steam Museum is the tell the history and story of the Great Western Railways Works and the social history of Swindon. 

Museums need to have a refresh in the case of Steam not at the expense of its purpose, it could probably do more on the social impact and development the Works had on Swindon

It's tricky.

I really liked the old Bristol Industrial Museum, which was just a fairly ragbag collection of artefacts in a shed. Since it was transmogrified into M Shed, it now tells the social history of Bristol in a way which is (presumably) approved of by the school curriculum czars, and it seems to be often filled with school parties. Meanwhile, the shed next door - which occasionally opens its doors to the public - contains most of the stuff that used to be in the main museum.

Reserve collections (such as LT's Acton Depot) are perhaps more interesting to enthusiasts, but the main museums have to reinvent themselves to stay relevant to the wider public. LT's main museum at Covent Garden manages to update reasonably regularly, as well as innovating with a good line of (pricey!) merchandise and activities such as 'Hidden London' tours.

'Steam' is overdue a refresh. Last time I was there, several hands-on exhibits were broken or not working. But Swindon Borough Council are unlikely to be able to spare much time or cash to sort it out at the moment. From a school's perspective, a museum that tells the tale of fossil-fuelled transport is unlikely to tick many boxes. The Railway Museum (NRM as was) in York has the advantage that it can look forward to rail's future role in carbon reduction and liveable cities. Very curriculum-friendly! Steam's story pretty much ends in 1986.

 

Beyond the state of the museum, it seemed to me the main point of that article was "I'm standing for election, how can I present myself as both a regular mum and a dynamic person with ideas for everyone?"!

and I presume these sorts of persons will complain about overcrowding in the same breath.

Lets move on and forget about this one.