by Angela Cole
acole@thekmgroup.co.uk

Maidstone Museum is in line for a share of £3.6 million to encourage youngsters’ interest in history.
The museum in St Faiths Street is one of 10 across the country awarded the funding by the Arts Council England until 2015 through its museums and schools programme, it was announced this week.
The aim is to boost the numbers of educational visits for pupils at schools and to spark their interest so that they will return under their own steam.
As part of the award, Maidstone will also be able to link up with the British Museum to display world-famous artefacts.
Simon Lace, Maidstone Museum manager, said: “One of the aims is to get more of the national collections out into the regions.
“We have got to not just include school visits but also increase out-of-school visits - pupils coming back later under their own steam - so that we can demonstrate that there has been an engagement and benefit.”
“We hope staff at other Kent museums could benefit from training, and the venture would lead to “a rolling programme of high-value, world-famous artefacts from the British Museum being displayed in Maidstone.”
The museum will initially work with primary schools across the county before later expanding to take in secondary schools.
The historical centre has only recently completed its £3.7 million East Wing extension, partly funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, which also provided extra space for school visits and exhibiting areas.