THIS July marks ten years since the opening of IWM North, part of Imperial War Museums, at The Quays in Manchester.
"(This is) the reality of war in one everyday object - a car - but reduced to wreckage: unique and fascinating, having the impact that IWM North excels in."
With the major public opening on 5 July 2002 followed by a royal opening by Prince Philip on 24 July 2002, IWM North is marking the anniversary by celebrating all things ten.
The museum is calling on all ten year olds, born on 5 July 2002, to join in the celebrations.
Anyone born on the same day as the landmark visitor attraction will win a special birthday present by visiting between Monday 2–Sunday 8 July, during their birthday week.
Key acquisitions and attractions over the past decade have included the field gun that fired the first British shell of the First World War and the seven metre high, one ton section of steel from the World Trade Center in New York damaged on 9/11. A 'must see’ object or experience is being revealed every day on the IWM North Facebook, and on Twitter via @I_W_M #iwmnorth10
Interior
Favourites of well-known visitors have also been revealed. BBC journalist and former War Correspondent Kate Adie highlighted the wreckage of a car, bombed in a book market in Baghdad in 2007 and now in the IWM North Main Exhibition Space.
The car was brought to IWM by Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller. Adie said, "(This is) the reality of war in one everyday object - a car - but reduced to wreckage: unique and fascinating, having the impact that IWM North excels in."
As for visitor stats, IWM North has welcomed more than 2.5 million visitors and won more than 30 awards. It has been named as one of the top four large visitor attractions in the country on four separate occasions at the Visit England Tourism Awards. Visitors have supported the museum by buying more than 150,000 guidebooks and over 14,000 bouncy balls with miniature aircraft inside.
Designed by internationally renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, IWM North’s structure was inspired by the idea of a world shattered by conflict. The building was the first in the UK to be designed by Libeskind, who has since designed the masterplan for the rebuilding of Ground Zero in New York.
Director Graham Boxer, said: "With The Lowry and the arrival of MediaCityUK, IWM North has led the regeneration of The Quays, creating a major visitor destination for the twenty-first century. The next ten years promise to be as remarkable as the first, especially as we look towards the centenary of the start of the First World War in 2014."
IWM North, The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road, Manchester. M17 1TZ
IWMN
Looking up into Libeskind's Air Shard
