A little bit of Paisley at the new Riverside museum

Jan 9 2013 by Jeff Holmes, Paisley Daily Express

A little piece of Paisley history is wowing visitors at Glasgow’s newest transport museum – a set of toy cars.

The Riverside Museum has proved a smash hit since opening its doors in June 2011.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors who have recently flocked through the impressive glass facade will have spotted three play cars in the main foyer, within the road safety section.

None of the small toys ever belonged to a child, although kids did get to play in them.

They were used by Paisley police officers, who took them into local primary schools to teach children all about road safety.

Officers set up mock roads with roundabouts and traffic lights at schools across the town.

And the cars were so popular that children sometimes squabbled for a turn and ignored the lesson altogether.

There was also a small ice cream van which was also used to teach road safety.

At play groups throughout Renfrewshire, toddlers played at buying and selling ice cream, which taught them how to use money. But they were warned never to run straight across the road – even to catch the ice cream van.

The toys form one small part of the stunning £74 million building which has more than 3,000 exhibits.

The fascinating museum is home to trams, buses, boats, cars and even chopper bikes.

The zig-zag structure was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and built on the site of the former A&J Inglis Shipyard.

It replaced the old Transport Museum in Glasgow’s west end which was always a popular destination for families from across the west of Scotland.

One of the old museum’s most popular areas was Kelvin Street. At the new Riverside Museum, this has been recreated, spanning 1895-1930, plus two additional display areas depicting shops from the 1930s, right through to the 1980s.

You can find out more about the Riverside Museum by logging on to www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums