Birmingham’s Thinktank science museum has been awarded £900,000 Lottery funding to bring some of its artefacts out of cold storage.

The attraction in Curzon Street will use the Heritage Lottery Fund money to finance a new gallery called Made In Birmingham.

The gallery will feature more than 1,200 items from the venue’s science and industry collection that are normally kept in storage.

The whole collection contains about 40,000 artefacts from more than 250 years of scientific, technological and industrial development in the city and surrounding area.

Anne Jenkins, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the West Midlands, said: “This exciting project means that Thinktank can now further bring to life its nationally important science and industry collection in a new gallery that will transform the experience of visitors of all ages.

“When complete it will expose the fascinating tale of Birmingham’s manufacturing heritage as the workshop of the world, and show how innovations in materials and manufacturing from the past are paralleled in industrial developments today.”

Expected to open to the public in December 2012, it is hoped Made in Birmingham will encourage visitors to become more involved in science.

Coun Len Clark, chairman of Thinktank Trust, said: "Birmingham has a rich and diverse heritage of manufacturing, and it’s fantastic that we are able to better showcase this to our visitors.”