25 January 2012.
A partnership between the peninsula’s principal cities, Exeter and Plymouth, has resulted in the two being recognised by the Arts Council England’s Renaissance Major Grants Programme. Exeter and Plymouth join 15 otherm major partners who will together receive approximately £20 million a year in funding for the next three years. The award is aimed at driving the development and delivery of excellence in museums, reaching out to more people and supporting innovation. Cllr Greg Sheldon, Exeter City Council's Lead Councillor for Environment and Leisure, said the award was testament to RAMM's position as one of the leading regional museums in the UK. "It comes as no surprise that Exeter is listed among 16 of the country's best museums. This proves that Exeter is able to punch well and truly above its own weight. "This is a wonderful accolade for the RAMM, after its successful reopening just over a month ago, following a multi-million pound redevelopment. Since reopening, more than 60,000 people have visited the now world class museum and this latest funding will allow RAMM to continue to flourish and attract and entertain our visitors." Cllr Glenn Jordan, Plymouth City Council's Cabinet Member for Community Services (Safer and Stronger Communities and Leisure, Culture and Sport) said the award also recognised the innovative work that Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery has undertaken in recent years. "Everyone is delighted with the news and it's well deserved especially after recent successes such as Plymouth hosting the prestigious British Art Show - an ambitious and influential exhibition of contemporary British art which only visited four major cities in the UK and had over 75,000 visits while it was in the City. "This award really validates the hard work and ambition of the staff at the Museum and Art Gallery and means that it can continue to provide the excellent services and programmes that it offers. All this, plus the work of the RAMM in Exeter makes this award a real coup for Devon."

18 January 2012.
This month saw our 2,000th follower join us on Twitter. Twitter is a great way for followers to keep up to date with news, events, activities and other happenings and a great way for us to hear what people think of RAMM. We try to respond quickly to any direct questions and appreciate all the retweets and #ff Follow Fridays we get. We started using Twitter in October 2010 to share news and conversations while we were closed and since then our followers have steadily grown. We had a fantastic response on Twitter the day we reopened and captured this on Storify. Find us on Facebook We are also well established on Facebook. We have 560 Likes and would love to hear from you there. Whether it's just a hello or photos of your visit, you can get in touch with us and other RAMM fans. You can keep up to date with what's going on at RAMM, with Gerald the Giraffe's blog and let us know what you thought of the event or exhibition you attended. Connect for free in the museum Why not post your comments and photos while you are still in the museum enjoying your visit? We have free wifi throughout the museum for our visitors to use to find out more about RAMM online and to connect with friends. So head to the cafe for tea and cake and login to RAMMuseum for free wifi! Image: Oliver, RAMM’s 2000th Twitter follower, receives his prize - a Gerald pin and trading cards – from Rick, RAMM’s Digital Media Officer.

12 January 2012.
Written by Steve Knightley of Show of Hands for the museum’s reopening last December, Home to a Million Thoughts is a new song inspired by the newly refurbished RAMM. Steve Knightley and Phil Beer are both honorary patrons of RAMM. They are widely acknowledged as the finest acoustic roots duo in England but the jury is still out on just what kind of music they play; a genre defying mix of rock, roots, blues, country and trad, often influenced by the music of other countries, is played out on an array of instruments from slide guitar to fiddle, mandolin to South American cuatro. Steve will be singing Home to a million thoughts on his February solo tour. Image: Honorary patrons Steve Knightley (right) and naturalist Nick Baker at RAMM’s reopening.

22 December 2011.
Since re-opening on Thursday 15 December, RAMM has attracted record numbers of visitors. Cllr Greg Sheldon, Lead Councillor for Environment and Leisure, said, he was delighted by the response of the public: "There has been an overwhelmingly positive response from the public. I am thrilled by the way that people have received the new-look museum. The visitor figures speak for themselves, they are staggering!" On Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday, over 3,000 people visited the Museum each day - nearly six times the average daily attendance for November 2007, the last month before closure, and 50% more than the previous record daily attendance. "Saturday was busy, but that's to be expected, being the first Saturday since re-opening. With the schools now broken up for Christmas, the visitor figures should be spread a little more evenly," added Cllr Sheldon. "There are plenty of opportunities to catch the Museum over the coming weeks and we are now open on Sundays apart from Christmas Day! We're even open on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day!" Museum opening times: Tuesday to Sunday – 10am to 5pmClosed on Mondays and Bank Holidays Christmas opening: Christmas Eve – 10am to 1pmWednesday 28 to Friday 30 December – 10am to 5pmNew Year's Eve (31 December) – 10am to 1pmNew Year's Day (1 January) – 10am to 5pm

15 December 2011.
RAMM opened its doors to the public today after a four-year closure and multi-million pound refurbishment. The popular Queen Street building was re-opened by Council Leader Pete Edwards and special guests Maisy Arthur and Frank Potter. Three-year-old Maisy and pensioner Frank were chosen to perform the opening after taking part in a competition. Maisy had never previously been to the Museum but Frank has a long relationship with RAMM, as his father once worked as the Museum Technician in the 1950s and 60s. Fully refurbished, the Museum has new displays showcasing the collections and collectors that have helped RAMM to become one of Britain’s finest regional museums. They tell the story of Exeter and Devon from the prehistoric to the present but, more than a local museum, its internationally important world cultures and natural history collections also tell a story of global exploration and collecting in the 18th and 19th centuries. The splendid Victorian building has been repaired, refurbished and extended preparing it for the 21st century. RAMM is open 10am to 5pm every day except Mondays and bank holidays and entry is still free!  

15 December 2011.
Over 1,500 golden tickets holders enjoyed a preview of the new exhibitions and displays yesterday, Wednesday 14 December, the 150th anniversary of the death of Prince Albert and the day before RAMM opens to the public. Golden Tickets were issued to visitors before the museum closed in December 2007. RAMM reopens today at 10am with stunning new displays tracing the history of Exeter and Devon, fabulous exhibitions featuring artworks from major national and regional collections, an exciting programme of activities and events and newly commissioned artworks. First impressions “I’ve been dying to come back. I didn’t realise how often I used to visit and how much I missed the museum until it closed. It’s magic.” “It’s fantastic that you can just go out and see the Roman wall. It’s been there for ever but now you can see it as part of a museum visit. I just couldn’t believe it.” “It’s amazing and a real asset for the county and not just Exeter.” “I can’t tell you what a treat it is to be able to get around a building without obstacles. It’s been well thought out and will be a treat for disabled visitors.” Mike Ellis, manager of Shopmobility Exeter after a museum tour on their largest mobility scooter. “I particularly like the way RAMM has reclaimed the Victorian building and picked out the architectural décor in stunning fashion.” Judie Yung, Art Fund “It’s fantastic. It was a little tired and provincial before but not now. It’s the sort of museum you’d expect to find in London.” Jenna, University of Exeter

12 December 2011.
Shoppers in Exeter might be forgiven for thinking that some of our exhibits have escaped. Objects from our handling collections have been placed in shop windows in the city centre. It's all a bit of fun in the run-up to the re-opening and Christmas and there’s a great prize. People are being asked to spot seven objects from the Museum in the windows of seven shops in the city centre. If they spot them all, they will be in with a chance of winning a year's free entry to all RAMM's paid public events, including workshops, talks and exhibition previews. The shops involved are Isca Models, Boots, Marks and Spencer, Laura Ashley, Bhs, House of Fraser, and Kintamani. People can go on to the City Council website at www.exeter.gov.uk/shopstrail and print out an entry form. Entry forms are also available from the Customer Service Centre on Paris Street and Exeter Visitor Information and Tickets (EVITS) on Dix’s Field. The competition will run till December 25 and the winner announced in the New Year.

07 December 2011.
When RAMM reopens on 15 December, visitors will be able collect a new set of trading cards featuring some of the most fascinating objects in the collections. James, a self confessed history nut from Axmouth, is really excited “I love collecting trading cards and RAMM’s cards are pretty good because they give lots of information. I’m interested in cards and interested in RAMM, put them together and you’ve got some of the best cards ever. My favourite is the meteorite because it’s the oldest, it comes from miles away from RAMM and it scores well on the others. The museum closed before I had collected a full set so I had to use the collectors’ sheet to make my own. This time I’ll get them all.” Collect a pack of 5 free cards from the new garden entrance on each visit and built up your own complete set.

22 November 2011.
Preview - 14 December. Loyal visitors with Golden Tickets are invited to a preview of RAMM’s fabulous new displays and stunning opening exhibitions on Wednesday 14 December, the day before the museum opens its doors to all. Golden Tickets were issued in December 2007 before RAMM closed for redevelopment. Ticket holders who registered their addresses have been send invitations but all visitors who have saved their Golden Tickets will be welcomed. Opening at the normal time of 10am, RAMM will stay open until 8pm to ensure that families with school-aged children can also be among the first to come, to meet old friends and to experience all that’s new. All visitors coming to the preview must bring their invitations or intact Golden Tickets.

14 November 2011.
If you live in Exeter and would like to join your Councillor at a special preview of RAMM before it reopens on 15 December, just answer a simple question add your details and you might be lucky. 36 lucky residents - two from each ward in the city - will be chosen to join their Councillors at a special preview on Tuesday 13 December. Council Leader Pete Edwards said: "This is Exeter's museum, the people's museum, and that's why we want to give Exeter folk the chance to have a look around on Tuesday 13 December before it opens to the public two days later. What we have created at RAMM is something special and we believe that people won't be disappointed!" Forms must be completed and returned to the Council by 30 November and the 36 lucky people to receive a preview will be notified thereafter.