It includes the £30,000 refurbishment of the giant River Don Steam Engine and a permanent home for Sheffield's own Town Guns and a Staybrite stainless steel sailing ship.

With the first phase of refurbishment nearing completion, the reopening has been brought forward to coincide with the Big Draw event, a week of drawing related activities at the museum throughout half-term.

"The scale of the work and timescales involved has caused us to leave the decision to reopen right until the last minute," said John Hamshere. "We have decided to reopen parts of the museum in time for the Big Draw so visitors can see how far we have got in this first phase of the recovery.

"It's a great opportunity to see the refurbishment to date and observe the ongoing renovations and redisplay, as areas of the museum will remain closed until the second phase is completed in spring 2009."

The Sheffield Town Guns feature in the new galleries, providing them with a permanent home after a chequered history. The bronze six pounders made in 1795 by Francis Kinman of London were originally purchased by the Sheffield Loyal Independent Volunteers in readiness for a perceived French invasion and civil unrest at home, though it is believed they were only ever used for practice and ceremonial purposes.

Over the years they have been displayed in various places in Sheffield. They moved from Weston Park to the Botanical Gardens in 1923 and left to fall to bits until rescued by the army in 1953. They then stayed at Norfolk Barrracks and then Endcliffe Hall.

They were passed to the Councils Museums in 1974 and stored at Kelham Island before it became a museum. In 1980 the army again stepped in and restored the guns at 21C 41 Command Workshop REME in York. They were then displayed at Imphal Barracks York.

They came back to Sheffield in 1989 to be part of a gallery that was never created due to lack of funds. One of the guns was displayed at the Pump House of the National Museum of Labour History in Manchester from 1992 to 2003. The other has been in storage and on display at Kelham Island Museum at various times.

Now in the ownership of the Sheffield Town Trust, the guns were restored after the flood damage by the Chestnut Troop, the 1st Regiment of Royal Horse Artillery, in time for their parade through Sheffield last February.

The River Don Engine, a giant piece of Sheffield heritage, was built to roll steel and is the last working engine of its kind. It was engulfed by water during the floods in 2007, leaving it covered in grit and residue.



The engine required two steam cleans by museum staff, helped by a team of apprentices from Sheffield Forgemasters.

After the initial cleaning process the engine was assessed and it was found that, although significant restoration and a repaint was needed, the engine had suffered no damage to its mechanical workings.

The restoration team included Dennis Dawson, who was involved in the original assembling of the engine at the museum almost 30 years ago. Then it took almost three years to move, assemble and display the fully working engine that has been entertaining visitors at the site since the museum opened in 1982.

Conservation engineer Eddy Foster, manager of the project, reflected: "After the flood, five people spent almost 100 hours wiping the engine down with rags. Each copper pipe and brass screw was removed, piece by piece, then cleaned and reassembled. It took a team from Dorothea Restorations nearly nine weeks to repaint the machine, using more than 15 litres of black paint and 47 litres of green paint to cover the giant engine's surface.

"It's been an amazing opportunity to be involved in the restoration of such a great piece of Sheffield engineering so that future generations can understand the magnitude of what went on in Sheffield's steel-making past."

The River Don engine is fired up twice a day when the museum is open and when working to its full capacity it can produce temperatures of up to 160 degrees. A special industrial paint that could resist this temperature and also did not contain lead which could damage the engine had to be sourced.

Fiona Elliot of DBA Consulting, project manager of museum re-display, said: "Other things to see include a model sailing ship made by Sheffield company Firth Vickers in the 1930s as a showpiece for Staybrite Stainless Steel (used for a vast range of products from stylish shop fronts and hotel lobbies to hospital wards and operating theatres, from domestic kitchens to warships). There is also a giant nut and bolt – but to find out more about that you'll have to visit the museum…"

Kelham Island Museum in Alma Street will be open on Sunday from 11am- 4.45pm and on Monday to Thursday from 10am-4pm. There is a nominal admission fee of £2 to cover the running of the River Don Engine and all accompanied children get in free.

MORE:
Listings Guide
Arts Guide
Film Guide
Theatre and Events
Music Guide
Front Room