The Winding House Museum in New Tredegar has won an award for heritage education.
The Sandford Award is an independently judged assessment of heritage education and is granted in recognition of excellence.
One of the award assessors visited the museum last month. In the judgement she said: “The Winding House is a lovely local history museum that makes good use of its collections and the stories of local people in the past, as well as housing an impressive winding engine.
“The education programme for schools focuses on real stories and objects and encourages children to think and discover.”
Museum staff are said to be thrilled.
The Winding House – the museum for Caerphilly County Borough – runs a range of learning programmes for schools based around themes such as the Romans, Medieval Wales, Life in Wartime and Mining Life in the 1930s.
The award follows news that a recent exhibition at the museum about The Titanic and its connection with the county borough has attracted 3,000 visitors since opening in April.
The exhibition, open for the rest of year focusses on Artie Moore – the man who received RMS Titanic’s SOS signal, on the night of April 15, 1912, on his homemade wireless radio equipment at Gelligroes Mill.
The exhibition has been further boosted by a recent new loan of Artie’s spark gap transmitter by Blackwood and District Amateur Radio Society. This is the only surviving piece of his radio equipment.
Cllr. Ken James, cabinet member for regeneration, said: “The story of Artie Moore is truly fascinating and provides such an immediate link to an event that has such great significance in history. It is no wonder the exhibition has received so much interest. I would encourage anyone who hasn’t yet visited to make it a priority.”