Short answers, pulled from the story.
Derby Silk Mill is a museum of industry and history in Derby, England, built on the former site of Lombe's Mill, a historic silk operation. The site marks the southern end of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
Derby Silk Mill opened as Derby's Industrial Museum on the 29th of November 1974. It served in that role for four decades before a major redevelopment changed both the building and its name.
Derby City Council temporarily closed the museum on the 3rd of April 2015 to free funds for the Silk Mill's redevelopment and for other museums across the city. A council report from 2010 indicated the closure would cost 8.6 full-time equivalent jobs but would release £197,000 a year to offset the loss of Renaissance Programme funding.
The redevelopment of Derby Silk Mill cost £17 million and began in October 2016. The museum reopened on the 21st of May 2021 under the new name Museum of Making.
Integrated project insurance, or IPI, is a shared-risk alliance model in which contractors, designers, and clients operate under a single contract rather than defending separate interests. The Museum of Making project used this approach to eliminate the blame and claim culture common in large construction projects, and the team delivered on time and within budget despite the COVID-19 pandemic and suppliers going into administration.
The Museum of Making received a Highly Commended placement at the Museum+Heritage Awards in the category of Sustainable Project of the Year in its first year. In September 2021 it won the National Construction News Award for Project of the Year Under £25m and five prizes at the Constructing Excellence East Midlands Awards. On the 10th of May 2022, it was shortlisted for the 2022 Art Fund Museum of the Year award.
Storm Babet caused flooding at the Museum of Making in October 2023, forcing the museum to close. It did not reopen until the 25th of January 2024. In August 2025, the museum applied for planning permission to install flood protection in its workshop area.