Spice visits The Birmingham Museums Collections Centre

The Museum Collection Centre is the main store for Birmingham Museum Trust, holding over 80% of a collection of around a million items, many offering a real insight into life in Birmingham and the West Midlands over the centuries.

With only a small percentage of collections on display at Birmingham Museums, or on loan to other organisations, it is the only place to see collection items not normally on display.

A huge number of the objects are held on open storage in one very large warehouse which contains everything from aircraft engines to zoological specimens. Among the hundreds of thousands of objects stored here are steam engines, sculptures, cars, a giant spider crab, a retro chip fryer, and many more. Smaller objects, and objects that need more stable temperature and relative humidity, are stored in purpose-built spaces.

The Museum Collection Centre is a 1.5-hectare site that holds 80 per cent of Birmingham Museums’ stored collections under one roof. Among the hundreds of thousands of objects stored here are steam engines, sculptures, a transport collection of Austin, Rover and MG motor cars, dozens of motorbikes and even a red phone box.

The visit will allow you to see a vast range of objects, often with a real focus on Birmingham and the West Midlands. The contrasting mix of objects and the behind-the-scenes atmosphere at the Museum Collection Centre make it an intriguing place to explore and discover more about museum stores.

Please note that this is not a Spice exclusive event and we will be joining members of the public.