History brought to life at touch of a button

2:26pm Thursday 2nd March 2006

THE history of Calne has been brought to life, thanks to the opening of two new touch screens at the town's Heritage Centre.

Town Mayor Cathy Bowyer unveiled the system at a ceremony last Saturday.

The screens, one fixed and one free-standing, will depict changes in Calne over the last 50 years.

They will also show pictures and videos about specific events, such as Royal visits. Calne was visited by the Queen in 2001 when she visited the new library.

The Heritage Centre opened in October 2004 and was granted £26,000 from the National Lottery.

Calne Heritage Trust chairman Tony Trotman said the screens, which have been funded from the remainder of the grant, signified a big step forward for the centre.

"When we opened the centre, I said that, although we had completed our remit of setting up a heritage centre, we needed to look to the future," he said.

"That meant we would have to produce some IT and possibly television touch screens to attract the younger generation.

"We are very pleased to announce we now have this product and I'm sure it will be a success."

Chair of the centre Daphne Walters is thrilled that the screens, supplied by Calne firm Rascom IT, are in place.

"We hope they will encourage the schools to come in," she said.

"We have been waiting for them for a long time and we are delighted to have it at last."