The RAF Museum Midlands is delighted to announce it has officially achieved the highest accreditation awarded by the VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Quality Assessment Scheme: the Gold Award.

The honours are designed to celebrate excellence within the visitor attraction sector and are available to members of the Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme who represent a wide range of tourism experiences in England.

The RAF Museum is proud to be one of only 30 visitor experiences to receive the highest honour in the 2021-2022 awards, where a total of 97 businesses across the country were recognised for going the extra mile to provide a high-quality day out. Accolades are given for five categories: Welcome, Best Told Story, Quality Food & Drink, Hidden Gem, and Gold for the overall winners.

To achieve the new Gold status, the RAF Museum scored consistently high levels of visitor experience across a wide range of areas, including welcome, catering and orientation, following the annual VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme assessment.

Alan Edwards, RAF Museum Midlands Operations Manager said:
‘We are thrilled to have been presented with the prestigious Gold Award in the VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Accolade 2021-22. It’s hugely gratifying to have this endorsement and recognition of the efforts we make to provide a first-class day out for our visitors. This award will spur us on to continue making improvements to the overall Museum experience, ensuring that we remain a top attraction for many years to come. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate our 50th anniversary than with a Gold Award!’

Discover more about the amazing things to see and do at the award-winning Museum at www.rafmuseum.org. The Museum is open daily from 10.00am and admission is free.

The home of Concorde is raising funds to sustain and grow its award-winning schools programme over the next 5 years.

Filton, Bristol, 18th October 2022: Aerospace Bristol has announced the launch of Engineering Futures, a new fundraising appeal that aims to raise £500,000 over the course of the museum’s fifth birthday year. Funds raised through the appeal will support the charity’s award-winning learning programme, which has reached over 50,000 school children and young people in the local community since Aerospace Bristol opened in October 2017.

Sally Cordwell, CEO of Aerospace Bristol, said:
“As we celebrate Aerospace Bristol’s fifth birthday and look back upon the achievements of the last five years, it’s crucial that we also look ahead and raise the vital funds needed to sustain and grow the Aerospace Bristol learning programme, which benefits so many young people across the region.

We’re therefore calling on corporate supporters and individuals who care about our engineering industry to support the Engineering Futures appeal and play a part in nurturing the next generation of engineering talent.”

Amy Seadon, Learning & Community Engagement Manager, added:
“Looking back on five years of Aerospace Bristol, we’re proud to have inspired so many young people with workshops like Supersonic Sound, Mission to Mars, Hubble Explorers, and Blast off Rockets, as well as opportunities to work alongside engineers in our Conservation Workshop, and enjoy interactive exhibits, science shows and hands-on visitor activities.

Through the Engineering Futures appeal, we hope to build upon our existing work and enable even more young people to get to grips with science and engineering whilst discovering amazing aircraft and the people who built them.” Aerospace Bristol is a family visitor attraction that tells the story of Bristol’s aerospace achievements from the earliest days of powered flight through to the modern day. The museum is home to the last Concorde ever to fly, with visitors able to step on board Concorde, explore the passenger cabin, glimpse into the cockpit, and learn about the supersonic passenger jet through a show projected on to the fuselage of the iconic aircraft.

As part of Aerospace Bristol’s fifth birthday celebrations, visitors will be able to enjoy a range of events and activities over the upcoming October half-term.

School holiday activities include a demonstration of Concorde’s droop nose on Monday 24thOctober, model flying demonstrations on Tuesday 25th and Thursday 27th October, and the chance to travel to the museum on a vintage Bristol bus, with shuttle buses running between the museum and The Mall, Cribbs Causeway, throughout Saturday 29th October.

The museum will also be unveiling a new Bristol Fighter display, with the wooden frame of the WWI aeroplane suspended above the museum’s existing replica.

To find out more about Aerospace Bristol and the Engineering Futures appeal, visit www.aerospacebristol.org.

The Royal Air Force Museum Midlands has marked its 50th anniversary milestone by preserving mementos in a time capsule, so future visitors can peek into the past.

The time capsule containing memorabilia, messages, and notable objects giving a snapshot of the Museum today, have been buried in the Museum grounds alongside a learning space used by schools. The capsule now lies in wait for its reopening when its contents are unlocked on the Museum’s 100th anniversary in 2072.

The capsule has been built by Museum Apprentices, and contains items from the time of its burial, including a souvenir guide, Museum teddy bear and newspapers. Messages from staff and volunteers adorned on an RAF flag, together with video messages, have also made it into the capsule. With a nod to the Museums 50 year history, items including badges and booklets dating back five decades have been buried, along with concept art and development plans, so those opening the capsule in 50 years’ time can reflect on the Museum’s ambitions in 2022. RAF Cosford also gifted a Station Commanders Challenge Medal for inclusion in the capsule.

Joining RAF Museum CEO Maggie Appleton, staff, apprentices, and volunteers for the burial event, were students from Burghill Community Academy and Leasowes High School, winners of the Museum’s 50th anniversary art and design competitions. The student’s birthday card design and 3D model of the Museum will be preserved in the capsule, along with a 50th anniversary patchwork created by members of High Flyers adult SEN day centre.

Dierdre Cuss, RAF Museum Access & Learning Assistant said:
‘This is all about the future of the Museum, for the staff, volunteers and the young people who visit us in 2072. When deciding what items to include, we worked with local schools and asked colleagues what they thought would be important to pass on to the next generation, giving a snapshot of the Museum at the time we marked our 50th anniversary. I can’t help but wonder how we’ll feel about these items in the future, and what will go into the next time capsule once these re-emerge. This was a great way of marking the occasion and capturing a moment in time that will spark discovery and debate in the future.’

A plaque will mark the spot where the capsule has been buried.

The Museum is open daily from 10.00am, for more information or to pre-book your arrival time online, visit www.rafmuseum.org.