From its beginnings as a building to house a small collection of objects bought by the government from the Great Exhibition of 1851, the V&A has grown into the national museum of art and design. The South Kensington site is a collection of buildings, covering some 12-and-a-half acres, constructed over a 50-year period. These buildings form a vast and labyrinthine museum, showing a wide-ranging collection of objects, and they are the focus of a long-term development scheme called V&A FuturePlan. This aims to renew the 150-year-old museum, bringing it into the 21st century while still retaining the history and quality of the original building. FuturePlan developments will provide enhanced welcome and orientation facilities as well as a significantly extended education programme. It will also revamp the collections with a clearer layout and more imaginative and informative displays. The British Galleries have already shown how the V&A's rich collections can be displayed. Under V&A FuturePlan, displays of the collections will be radically recast to evoke the cultures from which the objects come. State-of-the-art information technology and labelling will engage visitors with the works on many levels. The qualities of the original building will be emphasised to reveal the Museum's remarkable architecture, and previously hidden spaces will be opened up. The scheme will result in a truly 21st-century museum of art and design that will be an invaluable resource for students, educators, the creative industries and general visitors alike. Current projects include an innovative new centre for education, which will double the space allocated to learning in the Museum, new galleries for Ceramics, and a new suite of galleries to house the V&A's unparalleled Medieval and Renaissance collection. You can be a part of FuturePlan by making a regular or one-off gift and make a real difference to this essential project. Large or small, any gift will help us. There are also opportunities to direct your support to specific galleries and projects; please contact us for more information.