Museum urges visitors to give a little extra

Visitors to one of the North East’s most popular attractions are being urged to help others do the same, through a new scheme.

Newcastle’s Discovery Museum, at Blandford Square, has joined forces with its in-house catering partner, Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events to launch Give A Little Extra – an initiative aimed at making the museum accessible to people experiencing homelessness or financial difficulties.

Under the scheme, visitors to the Museum’s café, on the second floor, can purchase an additional item or items – such as a hot drink, meal, sandwich or children’s lunch box.

The additional purchases will be credited for their value to the Museum, which will distribute them in the form of vouchers to local charities, such as Young Homelessness North East and the West End Foodbank.

Users of the charities – which also include Crisis Skylight Newcastle, Depaul UK and Streetwise Opera – can then exchange the vouchers for food and drinks at the Museum’s café.

Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events has kick-started the Give A Little Extra scheme by donating 20 sandwiches, hot drinks and meals and lunchboxes.

Carolyn Ball, manager of Discovery Museum, said: “Discovery Museum prides itself on being a welcoming and accessible museum, but we know that, even though it has free entry, there are other financial barriers to visiting, such as not being able to afford to buy a drink or meal in the café.

“We are delighted Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events is so passionate about helping us with this initiative and we hope our visitors will also see its value and give generously.”

Discovery Museum tells the story of Tyneside through hands-on displays and is home to inventions that changed the world, including Turbinia, once the fastest ship in the world and Joseph Swan’s early lightbulb.

The latest addition to the museum is the PLAY + INVENT space, dedicated to encouraging families to make, invent and get creative together. www.discoverymuseum.org.uk

For further information call 0844 856 1074 or e-mail events@twmuseums.co.uk.