Customer: The Pennoyer Centre

About The Airship Museum at the Pennoyer Centre tells the story of The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) Pulham, its people and amazing airships. The RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy and existed from 1914-18, then merged with the British Army’s Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force (RAF). RNAS […]

About

The Airship Museum at the Pennoyer Centre tells the story of The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) Pulham, its people and amazing airships. The RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy and existed from 1914-18, then merged with the British Army’s Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force (RAF). RNAS Pulham was commissioned in 1916 as part of a defensive network of air stations around the UK. At the peak of WWI, over 3,000 personnel were stationed there. The site continued in active service into WWII and post-war as a maintenance site before being finally closed in 1958.

Airship Museum Requirements

Over the years, various artefacts telling the story of the airships and the RNAS have been donated. However, there was no place to have them permanently on display to share them with visitors and the community. Having done four to five pop-up exhibitions, the Pennoyer Centre secured grant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to create a permanent and more detailed airship museum situated in the remodelled upstairs area.

The brief was to create an ‘immersive experience’ that was interesting, educational and fun for all ages.

Results

Pennoyer Centre Trustees supplied all the content and images for Scream Blue Murder to design exhibition boards and build the experience which included.

  • 13 exhibition boards
  • A history timeline
  • A giant airship centrepiece suspended from the ceiling
  • Valuable artefacts displayed in an exhibition
  • A toy airship for young children to climb inside and play with

The Pennoyer Centre secured a five-year sponsorship deal from Smurfit Kappa and held an open day to launch the Airship Museum. It was a huge success, packed with the local community and interested visitors who had travelled for the unveiling.

Client Feedback

‘The Airship Museum at The Pennoyer Centre has been an absolute success. It is truly an immersive exhibition experience for our visitors of all ages. Scream Blue Murder did an excellent job recreating this fascinating history from the beginning of the twentieth century. The images and information that make up the timeline are superbly designed and printed, as is one of the airships constructed and suspended from the ceiling. This permanent exhibition has already had hundreds of visitors who have been able to relive our local history. Scream Blue Murder definitely hit the mark.’