More than 40 museums across England are set to benefit from funding packages ranging from £6,000 to £300,000, culture minister David Lammy has announced.

The grants are being made through the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and the Wolfson Foundation Museum & Galleries Improvement Fund, which this year has a total of £4m to distribute.

The 43 recipients include the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford which will use its £6,000 grant to create a microgallery, while the Bowes Museum in Country Durham is to receive £0.3m to create textile and fashion galleries. Also in County Durham, Beamish, the North of England Open Air Museum, will receive £40,000 to restore the Stephen Lewin Steam Engine to working order.

In London, the Natural History Museum has been granted £150,000 for the renovation and improvement of the permanent Mineral Gallery – including the creation of a secure gem room – while the London Transport Museum, which is currently undergoing a major refurbishment, is to receive £100,000 towards improvements to access and facilities for disabled visitors.

Other recipients include Plymouth City Museums and Galleries (£120,000), Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford (£30,000), Stoke-on-Trent Museums Service (£100,000), York Museums Trust (£200,000), the University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge (£20,000) and Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester (£90,000).

Dr Victoria Harrison, executive secretary of the Wolfson Foundation, said: “The trustees were pleased to see that the fund attracted a record number of bids this year. It’s a sign that the fund is being well recognised as a means of assisting museums and galleries to improve their facilities.”

Minister David Lammy added: “This year the fund is giving out more grants than in any previous round – enabling more museums and galleries to improve the care of their collections and make them more accessible and enjoyable for the public.”

The DCMS/Wolfson fund was established in 2002 to allocate funding for capital projects to national and regional museums and galleries. In the past four years it has distributed £16m to a variety of projects. Details: www.culture.gov.uk

Photograph: Beamish, the North of England Open Air Museum (www.britainonview.com)