Axminster Heritage Centre opened its doors for a special Night at the Museum evening last week, in celebration of International Museum Day 2023.

International Museum Day has taken place on May 18 every year since it was first established by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in 1977.

Axminster Heritage Centre manager, Nigel Sadler, himself a member of ICOM said: "International Museum Day is run by the International Council of Museums which has over 45,000 members in 138 countries and territories.

"ICOM is run through national committees, and I have had the privilege of serving as a board member for ICOM-UK for the last 12 years. As I have completed my maximum term on the board, however, I will be stepping down at our AGM this year."

Speaking about the event at Axminster Heritage Centre, Mr Sadler added: "It is always pleasing seeing museums celebrating our work together all around the world and last night's event at the heritage centre illustrates how all museums are not only connected to each other, but more importantly to the communities where we are based.

"Last year, more than 37,000 museums participated in International Museum Day in about 158 countries and territories, and this year we can add Axminster to the list of participants."

The heritage centre was open from 7pm to 9:30pm on the day and welcomed visitors from the local community to visit the museum free of charge.

Volunteer co-ordinator Rebecca Green said: "We thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone who joined us at our Night at the Museum event and allowed us to share our passion for the heritage centre with them.

"We've received such positive feedback from those who attended that this is something we'll definitely be doing again!

"Our regular summer opening hours are Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm, and Saturday from 10am to 1pm. This is no different to many other museums but does sadly exclude a lot of individuals who for a myriad of reasons such as work, study, caring responsibilities, etc. are not able to visit a museum during the day.

"Evening opening allows those individuals to be able to come along and enjoy learning about their town and its history and engage with the museum in a unique way."

Axminster Heritage Centre will be announcing dates and times for further evening opening events soon, which will include both free entry and ticketed events/activities.

For all of the latest news relating to the Axminster Heritage Centre and local history, visit the website at www.axminsterheritage.org and follow the Facebook page www.facebook.com/axminsterheritage