Just five days before the scheduled re-opening after the Covid-19 lockdown, the museum has suffered a burst water pipe, flooding much of the the ground floor and causing significant damage.

The damage to the floor, displays, equipment and furniture is considerable and will take a great deal of time and effort to fix. Social distancing also means that only a limited number of people can be in the museum to clean up, slowing the recovery further.

Thankfully, the museum's extensive collection of computers, software, print and paraphenalia are safely preserved according to museum accreditation standards, and has not been affected.

However, this again means that the museum has no visitors or schools attending, no workshops and no events... and those are what keep it going. Almost 100% of the income from these streams is gone. Yet, as with all organisations, the costs don't stop just because the museum is closed.

We are extending the purpose of our JustGiving campaign to cover the extra time and effort required to clean up. Whilst we are covered by insurance that should help cover the costs of recovery, we are making this available those who would like to donate to help us during this extended downtime.

We totally understand that we're all in the same boat. Many of us are facing reduced incomes and these times are hard for everyone. But if you can afford to help the museum in these further troubling weeks and months, please do.

Thank you.