Clockwise from top left: Vintage exhibits. Hands on activities for Martha and Gracie. James tries a helmet on for size. The museum has an impressive collection of vehicles. Cabinets protect incredibly rare exhibits. An original police poster in the museum's cells.
wells, their gritty faces framed by flat caps and bonnets – who knew Sheffield was the British version of Chicago? Martha and Gracie pour over them trying desperately to find an Ellis somewhere (our family comes from nearby Rotherham), but to no avail – thankfully, we obviously come from good stock! Elsewhere in the museum, they get to jump on all manner of vehicles, trying out a defibrillator on a dummy in one ambulance and posing happily for pictures in the driving seat of a fire engine. The museum has more than 50 vehicles in total, from an original Victorian horsedrawn fire engine, to a NYPD replica car that happens to be a bit of a film star thanks to its role alongside Brad Pitt in disaster flick World War Z.
yorkshire.com
All around Nigel fills us in on the history of each exhibit, many of which are one-offs or incredibly rare – one cabinet even has a handheld water pump of the kind that was likely used to help put out the Great Fire of London. Another room is a hive of activity thanks to a scout group who’ve taken the opportunity to ‘camp’ for the night in the museum – one of the special events, including ghost tours, that are offered out of normal opening hours. As we move up the floors there are rooms dedicated to special events or types of emergency, the most poignant of which is a 9/11 memorial, dedicated to those who lost their lives in the attack on the World Trade Center. A screen replays the events of the day, two passenger planes crashing into, arguably, what were then the two most famous buildings in
Experience Take a ride in a real life fire engine and live the childhood dream of being a Firefighter for the day.
57