The Silverstone Museum is based at the entrance to the world-famous motor racing circuit, and is situated in the last remaining Second World War hangar at the venue.
On 20 June 2023 the Museum opened up after-hours for people with diverse sensory needs to visit. This was the first time they had done this, and every effort was made to ensure the environment was quiet, suitably lit and appropriate.
Eleven of us from Autism Bucks went along and effectively had the museum to ourselves (it can hold up to 1,000 people at a time). We were hosted by Rob Jaina and Elissa Judd who went out of their way to take care of us and show us around without ever being obtrusive. They even fired up the simulators for us, something that is normally an extra charge to visitors.
For our “petrol head” members this was a treasured experience, while for the rest it was a chance to marvel at the engineering miracles that are the modern racing cars. The final part of the visit was a 4-D simulation in their large domed cinema where you had the sensation of racing around the famous Silverstone track accompanied by motorbikes and racing cars going back 100 years.
Our grateful thanks go to all the museum staff, and also to The Rothschild Foundation whose kind grant has made these trips possible.
