The National Waterfront Museum, Swansea or NWMS (Welsh:Amgueddfa genedlaethol y glannau) is a museum situated in Swansea, Wales, forming part of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales (NMGW). It is an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage.
Consisting of a major new slate and glass building integrated with an existing Grade II listed warehouse (formerly the Swansea Industrial and Maritime Museum), the new museum deals with Wales' history of industrial revolution and innovation by combining significant historical artifacts with modern technologies, such as interactive touchscreens and multimedia presentation systems. Building and exhibition design was carried out by Wilkinson Eyre and Landesign respectively, and Davis Langdon was project manager for the construction.
Much effort has been put into accessibility for the new museum, and is one of the first museums in the United Kingdom to feature multilingual voiceovers, as well as British Sign Language captioning on all interactive content.
The museum, which initially went to public consultation in April 1998, and secured funding from the Welsh Development Agency and the Heritage Lottery Fund (among others) was opened in October 2005 at a ceremony attended by Welsh celebrities such as Gareth Edwards and First Minister Rhodri Morgan. However, there has been some concern that the massive Waterfront regeneration that has driven the development of the museum is taking much-needed attention away from Swansea's city centre, which has suffered significant economical decline since the 1980s.
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