This year has seen our biggest ever grants offer, with four streams available to apply for. Over the summer, we awarded 17 grants across our On Display! and the first round of our brand new Capacity Builder grant schemes.  

In July, the On Display! Grants program awarded just over £18,000 to help museums conserve and properly display museum objects that were previously inaccessible to the public. 

Thanks to the Capacity Builder grants, we were able to award £6,360 in round 1 to support staff and volunteer development. By providing funding for skills training and team building, we are helping museums build stronger and more capable teams. 

This autumn, we have been able to award grants for the second round of our Capacity Builder to the following museums:  

 In addition to Capacity Builder, our other new grant this year is Talking Nature, based on the popular 2023 Art Fund The Wild Escape project. Congratulations to the following museums who have received Talking Nature grants: 

 As this is a new grant scheme, we wanted to highlight some of the inspiring projects we’ll now be funding until spring 2026.  

The Isles of Scilly Museum is currently being completely rebuilt and has a number of temporary homes including the Five Islands Academy. Their young curators are keen to understand how the extensive taxidermy collection will be reinterpreted as part of the new Wildlife Gallery. Working with trustee and wildlife expert Vickie Heaney, the students will consider how the study of wildlife has changed and how factual information can be shared while co­-creating a new temporary exhibition.  

Engaging local schools in new ways is Weston Museum’s top priority. Changes to the national curriculum in recent years have meant that the museum’s resources (which previously centred on KS1) no longer match the approach or key stage that this topic is now studied from. Having extra science centred KS2 or KS3 resourcing will enable the learning team to develop and trial a new approach, as well as building relationships with a key stage (KS3) that is currently underrepresented. Through exploring this topic, utilising museum objects and nature based activities, the project will begin a legacy relationship of co-­production, enabling children to decide their own supported actions and outcomes. 

Based on their New Forest Embroidery and other pieces, the New Forest Heritage Centre want to talk about how to protect and preserve the New Forest. For their project they will work with a local flexi­school group and a home educators group to create workshops ‘by children and for children’. They will also co­-produce a tactile ‘fuzzy felt’ style activity with a textile artist. The centre are part of the MDSW Kids in Museums Family Friendly Programme and this opportunity will help them to develop their new family programme.  

In 2025 we will be running the Small Open Grants and Capacity Builder grant programmes again, keep your eyes peeled for further information in our February newsletter. 

If you are considering applying for funding from MDSW in the future, then you can join us for Focus on: Grant Applications on Thursday 7 November, a relaxed and informal discussion session about applying for our grants. You can also meet colleagues from across the south west to share experiences and ask questions.