Press Releases

Welcoming the news that Big Pit has won the prize he said:

"I am delighted with Big Pit's success in this prestigious competition. It's a great boost to the work of the Museums and to Wales as a whole. It's a sure sign that the work undertaken to promote and develop the industrial collections over the past few years has been a success. This is an important competition for the museum sector, and I'm delighted to be celebrating Big Pit's success at another industrial museum here in Llanberis."

The First Minister's visit was also an opportunity to examine the work done on the Pattern Room at the museum, work that has been made possible with the support of the Welsh Assembly Government. Keeper of the Welsh Slate Museum, Dafydd Roberts added:

"The grant given to NMGW by the Welsh Assembly Government in 2004 allowed us to work on our Pattern Room. The full programme of developments and improvements will take time but we are confident that this part of the museum will be officially open to our visitors before the end of the year. It is my pleasure today to welcome the First Minister to see the work being done here at the Slate Museum."

Today's visit is also an opportunity for the First Minister to see the success of the free entry policy, which was created in 2001. Since then, the Slate Museum has attracted more visitors than ever before.

The Welsh Slate Museum is administered by the National Museums & Galleries of Wales. Other sites are the National Museum & Gallery, Cardiff, Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagans, Roman Legionary Museum, Caerleon, National Woollen Museum, Dre fach Felindre and Big Pit, Blaenafon. Opening later this year is the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea, telling the stories of the peoples, industry and innovation of Wales.

Entry to all NMGW sites is free, thanks to the support of the Welsh Assembly Government.