Opened in 2017, the museum’s revamped Canadian History Hall tells Canada’s story through varied experiences and from different perspectives.

GSM Project handled the makeover, with the exhibition setting leading standards in universal accessibility.

Members of the public were invited to the Grant Museum of Zoology, London, to help rebuild a northern bottle-nosed whale skeleton. People who attended the weekender got to meet museum conservators while assisting with the cleaning and documentation of the 157-year-old bones.

Exhibition design firm Kossmann.dejong has been shortlisted for a 2,000sqm presentation in the Arnhem, Netherlands, museum. The Canon of Dutch History is a list of 50 topics that summarises and covers Dutch history from megaliths to the modern day. Through a combination of decors, objects and film fragments, visitors are invited to actively uncover information using hands-on elements and interactive games.

Working with Alchemy VR and astronaut Tim Peake, the Science Museum, London, developed an immersive experience that puts visitors in the pilot’s seat of a Soyuz capsule. Guided by Peake, the VR experience tracks his 400km journey from the International Space Station back to Earth. “It truly is very close to the real thing,” Peake says.

Architects BIG transformed a former German WWII bunker into a cultural complex camouflaged among the protected dunes of Blåvand, Denmark, while Tinker Imagineers created the museum’s exhibitions, which showcase permanent and temporary themed experiences dedicated to exploring Hitler’s European defence project, the Atlantic Wall and 100,000 years of coastal history.

Part of London’s Tate Modern’s Modigliani retrospective, visitors were able to immerse themselves in the Ochre Atelier – a VR experience that reimagined the artist’s Parisian studio where he lived and worked before his death in 1920. In the studio, visitors could interact with virtual artefacts, artworks and materials the artist used.

The museum’s theme days aim to engage young writers by bringing the historical context, characters and settings of a story to life. Different theme days offered at the facility in southeast England are based on stories from different periods of history, for example, The Little Red Hen, Wolf Brother and Goodnight Mr Tom. Children explore museum buildings and meet costumed characters from the stories.

The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I received an extensive treatment before being returned to the Queen’s House at Greenwich, London. The large-scale oil painting, created in the 1590s, has been publicly owned since 2016, thanks to a funding appeal that raised £10m, including £7m from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). It then underwent six months of complex and comprehensive conservation.

The Syria Initiative of the Museum of Islamic Art in the Pergamon Museum Berlin aims to promote and document the Syrian cultural heritage, each project dealing with a special aspect of both tangible and intangible Syrian culture. In order to raise awareness and appreciation for the Syrian cultural heritage, the museum has implemented extended documenting, archiving and damage assessment. In addition, the free guided tours invite refugees to explore the artefacts exhibited, discover common origins between cultures, find their own creative expression at workshops, discuss their cultural heritage and share their personal memories.

Speak Up! The Hyde Park Debating Challenge engaged hundreds of secondary students from seven London schools in a debating programme inspired by Speakers’ Corner. Young people had the opportunity to improve their reasoning and presentation skills, inspired by the rich history of a pivotal landmark of the famous park.

In partnership with Debate Mate, the project launched in April last year with hands-on heritage activities, followed by dozens of workshops, and culminated with a celebration event last summer. The day saw hundreds of students preparing their motions and debating on topics chosen by them and their peers, surrounded by their families and the public.

The Royal Parks learning programme offers a wide range of events to help young people explore and discover the parks’ landscapes and heritage.