A new visitor centre has opened at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum's Blists Hill Victorian Town.

The centre forms part of a £12m redevelopment of the town, which has been funded by Advantage West Midlands and The European Regional Development Fund.

The building was designed by specialist architectural practice Nash Partnership of Bath with support from Osbornes Architects and was constructed by Mansell Construction Services Ltd. As well as the different exhibitions, the building will also contain a new shop and restaurant.

As visitors enter the main exhibition hall they are greeted with nine separate projectors creating images on the 9 metre high walls, telling the story of the evolution of the mining and hot metal industries.

As visitors leave Blists Hill Victorian Town they will be able to find out more about the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site with the help of a giant interactive three dimensional map.

Behind the map exhibition, visitors will be able to look out over a balcony containing flywheels, boilers and other large scale remnants of the area's industrial past.