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The Cabinet War Rooms have created the first national museum dedicated to Winston Churchill. Using cutting edge technology and a mixture of media displays, the undeniably exciting story of this historical figure is brought to life. Not only can visitors explore his ‘finest hour’ during the Second World War, but also investigate the private man, his successes and failures.
The Churchill Museum is divided into five chapters, spanning all 90 years of Churchill’s life. To allow an easy transition from the historical context of the Cabinet War Rooms, the story begins on 10 May 1940 with Churchill’s appointment as Prime Minister. The visitor can then explore his later years, his childhood, his early political career and finally the period known most famously as the ‘Gathering Storm’.
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Chapter 1: War Leader 1940-1945
Chapter 2: Cold War Statesman 1945-65
Chapter 3: Young Churchill 1874-1900
Chapter 4: Maverick Politician 1900-1929
Chapter 5: Wilderness Years 1929-1939
Most notable among the exhibits is the ‘Lifeline’, a fifteen metre-long interactive table, which dominates the Churchill Museum space. Touching a strip gives the visitor access to information from every year of Churchill’s life, divided into years, months, weeks and even days. The Lifeline also refers to major national and world events in order to give a sense of the times in which Churchill lived.
Key dates on the Lifeline bring up rewards – a variety of animations and sounds - that can either be local to your workstation or take over the entire table. Armistice day triggers an overlay of poppies, which covers the whole table, and selecting the day the Titanic went down causes everything to go ‘watery’!