St Andrews University’s flagship museum is to unveil its £2.1 million transformation in the spring.
MUSA will reopen as the Wardlaw Museum, named after the six-century-old institution’s founder and first chanceller Bishop Henry Wardlaw.
Over the last two years the museum has undergone a massive overhaul which has increased its size by 50%.
It has has new displays in four thematic galleries, a temporary exhibitions space and a remodelled entrance area and shop.
The university said it would provide an exciting venue at the heart of St Andrews’ cultural quarter, also including the Laidlaw Music Centre, Byre Theatre and redeveloped Younger Hall.
Dr Catherine Eagleton, director of museums at the university, said: “The new museum will take visitors inside the university.
“Exhibitions will draw on the 600-year history of the university as well as the world-leading research being done at St Andrews.
“We have ambitious future plans for exhibitions, digital projects and research and teaching at the museums, and plan to innovate and experiment and continuously push ourselves to surprise audiences.”
The university’s collections include around 115,000 objects of national and international interest.
Visitors will soon be able to see a broader selection in the Wardlaw Museum, including some that have not been on display before, including a Thai silver zodiac bowl, prototype LEDs developed in the 1970s, beautiful models of plants and flowers and a NASA telegram that accompanied moon rock samples sent to the university for analysis.
Temporary exhibitions planned for the year ahead include a photographic exhibition of 100 women by renowned photographer Anita Corbin and a display curated by students featuring a book created by photographer Julia Margaret Cameron in collaboration with the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson in 1875.
There will also be a display of artwork by schoolchildren from across Fife in the summer, inspired by the natural history collections.
