Minister toasts Big Pit's success (From Free Press Series)

Minister toasts Big Pit's success

BIG pit celebrated its status as the nation's top museum as the Assembly's culture minister congratulated delighted staff.

Alun Pugh, Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport, visited the mining museum last Tuesday evening after the museum beat hundreds of others to be awarded the Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year. Mr Pugh told staff at Big Pit the accolade was a fantastic achievement and was fully deserved.

"Thanks to the dedication and enthusiasm of its staff as well as the recent redevelopment work, Big Pit is now a world-class attraction and winning this praise will raise the profile of the museum as an important representation of our proud industrial heritage across the UK and further afield."

An added bonus for many visitors to the museum is that as part of the National Museums and Galleries Wales group, entry to Big Pit is free.

Mine Manager and Keeper, Peter Walker said: "All the staff were overjoyed to win the prize, it is a testament to the commitment and dedication of the entire team. The minister's personal commitment to this project has been a great boost for all of us who work at Big Pit."

Big Pit beat of stiff competition to take the title Museum of the Year. The other three finalists were - Coventry Transport Museum, Time and Tide: The Museum of Great Yarmouth Life and Locomotion and The National Railway Museum, Shildon, Co. Durham.