In an article on Museum [Insider] I’ve written up the details of what’s planned. They’re spending £45million on works in different parts of the building – so this is more a joined up project with lots of little projects combined into one. 9 galleries at the south end of the building will be redeveloped – and to be honest they need doing. The rotunda and entrance will be transformed and a new education entrance created. There will also be a new cafe – of course – and terrace, to cater for the growing numbers that have been visiting Tate Britain in recent years.

Planning permission for the project is granted and work is expected to start in early 2011. Watch this space for more….

As Stephanie says “Little London Observationist is all about giving other Londoners a voice rather than just plastering personal opinions on every post.”

And so she asked for my opinion as a writer. She asked me about museums, happiness and life in south London, all of which I’m very happy to talk about. The interview is available to read on the Little London Observationist website.

Behind-the-scenes photographs and information about the development of the project – including details of the redevelopment of the building, the works in progress, fundraising and ideas about interpretation – are available in a new article on Museum [Insider] today.

This piece is going into the next version of the new Museum [Insider] ebook, the second volume of which is published in early September.

The Titanic Signature Building will contain a world-class visitor attraction telling the story of the history of the fated ship, but also of the ship-building industry in Belfast and the seafaring folk who herald from the city. Eric Kuhne & Associates have designed the new building, which will open to the public in March 2012.

There’s an in-depth article about the Titanic Signature Building live on Museum [Insider].

I asked the councillor about the swtich over from a Tory/Lib Dem council to a Labour administration (the opposite of the national political landscape) and her hopes for the future. It also turns out that she’s also passionate about the preservation of the velodrome at Herne Hill. And there’s news that the debate about what to do with the closed down Livesey Museum is still wide open. Do read the artcile and leave a comment if you feel strongly about either of the those issues.

This is the second political interview I’ve conducted for DOV. Last year I got to interview Ward’s predecessor Lewis Robinson, who is now out of a job in the cabinet after the change of power.

They’re mini-courses, one about Ancient Rome and the other about Ancient Egypt. Each app has ten short chapters of content, scribed by me, made up of text, images and maps. There’s a glossary in case you aren’t familiar with some of the terminology used, and there also a quiz at the end so you can test yourself about what you’ve learned.

It’s the perfect way to swot up on some ancient history before you go on your travels. And, as it’s in your phone, you can take it with you on holiday to refer to when you’re there.

The clever behind-the-scenes work of designing and coding the content has been carried out by the educational software company Zuztertu, who make individual handheld learning materials, most of which are apps for iPhones. I met their Chief Exec – Gerlinde Gniewosz – after downloading one of their apps about museums in London. We got talking and came up with the idea for a series of mini-courses on ancient history. I’ve written another app about Ancient Greece, which is currently having the developer’s treatment right now and will be out in due course.

So if you’re a geek for ancient history and have £1.79 knocking around, why not download one and see what it’s all about for yourself.

I’ve been watching this story for a while, since visiting the site a few years back. There’s a piece about the new visitor centre live on Museum [Insider]. This will also be one of the chapter’s in the forthcoming e-book about museum and heritage development project, which we’ll be officially announcing next week.

But while I had her, I also asked a few extra questions about life in our area of London so I could write a piece about her for Dulwich OnView. She’s a really interesting character, so I figured she’d make a great addition to the South London People thread we have running on there. Do check out what she says can keep us happy in south London.

It turns out there’s a library of home improvement at a local design studio near me. Homelab is part of the design studio at Begin Design, a studio in Forest Hill. They’re kindly opening up their space for a series of free interior design workshops later this month. There’s a piece all about the library and their events on Dulwich OnView today.

That’s all about to change with the requsitioning by Coleraine Borough Council of the old Market Yard, an abandoned market place in the centre of the town. It will be redeveloped and a new museum placed in the centre, revitalising the town and bringing the story of the area to life in a permanent display. There will also be temporary exhibition areas and a community space where locals can get involved.

I’ve spent the last year or so looking at museum development projects, but this is perhaps one of the most ingenious I’ve seen, given that it turns the audience engagement model on its head. Rather than creating a huge building and then spending a lot of time effort and money on getting people in to see objects, Causeway have found the people already, engaged them successfullu and are now going to use that good will to bid to the HLF for money to complete a building for them. There’s a piece all about it – including an itnerview with the designers HKD – on Museum [Insider].

This is one of the pieces that will be going into the new Museum [Insider] e-book, coming out shortly. It’s a review of some of the projects I’ve written about in the last 18 months for the online magazine. It’s being edited right now – we’re digging around again on some of the older stories to bring them right  up to date. The collection of articles – plus new material, exclusive to the book – will be issued for sale in about a month. Much more to come on that in the near future.