A new room has been created in Experience Barnsley Museum featuring a small interactive gallery, displaying stories of the town's people and places through objects and archaeology. 

The Chamber of Treasures has been made possible through support from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund and uncovers the history and heritage of the town through objects that people have given, collected and most importantly treasured. It features a variety of unusual and fascinating artefacts that have never been seen before, from archaeological discoveries to local heirlooms.

Snug and inviting, the gallery creatively mimics the ‘cabinet of curiosity’ style of the earliest museums. It includes a traditional writing desk where visitors can experience history in an immersive way and treasures can be discovered and can be touched. 

A unique collaborative project between the museum and the local community, it has been co-curated by the people who have kindly donated their objects and stories to create an engaging and distinctive experience. The space is built with accessibility in mind, with a large print accessible guide, with ten objects audio described for visitors with visual impairments. 

To celebrate the opening of the Chamber of Treasures on Saturday, 16 March there will be a special event between 10am and 3.30pm. Here people can see the space for the first time and join in with some heritage themes activities.  People will be able to create their own treasure bottles at a craft station that they can take home with them. The launch day will also feature an object handling area where people can get close to wonderful objects from Roman bottles to Viking amulets. 

The Chamber of Treasures has been made possible thanks to support from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Wolfson Foundation, Arts Council England and Barnsley Museums Heritage Trust which help to conserve and promote the cultural heritage of the town. 

Cllr Robin Franklin, Cabinet Spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, said: “Experience Barnsley Museum is a great success story for the town.  Created entirely through the generosity of people who have donated objects and stories it really has been made by the people for the people.  This new, exciting space will allow visitors to explore objects in a new way, bringing the history of the borough to life.” 

For more information about the Chamber of Treasures which is totally free to enter visit www.experience-barnsley.com