National Museum of Photography, Film, TV Museums

Founded in 1983, the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television quickly became the most visited national museum outside London, attracting approximately 750,000 visitors each year.

A part of the National Museum of Science and Industry, the decision to locate the Museum in Bradford was driven by the city's historic contribution to the development of cinema and film-making in the UK, and the desire to make the NMSI collection accessible to a wider audience.

The Museum's renowned collection includes more than three million items of historical, social and cultural value. These include three key 'firsts': the world's first negative, the earliest television footage and what is regarded as the world's first example of moving pictures Louis Le Prince's 1888 film of Leeds Bridge. Alongside this you will find the Playschool toys, Europe's first gallery dedicated to digital media, its longest-established IMAX cinema and the only publicly accessible Cinerama cinema in the world.

In 1996 the Museum embarked on Imaging Frontiers, a £16m expansion programme. Funded by the Arts and Heritage Lotteries, the European Community and from the private sector, the three-year project enabled the Museum to expand to meet changing visitor expectations and the challenges of the digital age.

Completed in spring 1999, the project has created a new Museum for a new age.

From its outset the Museum has set new standards in display and interactivity. Visitors can obtain a hands-on experience of the media, learning how television cameras work or trying their hand at animation among other activities.

Special events bring you face-to-face with leading photographers, stars and programme makers, allowing you to ask the questions you want answered. Three film festivals bring you the very best in new and classic film.

Above all, the Museum invites you explore the media, the world it presents and to think again.