The specially commissioned building offers customised advanced booking tours to the general public and academics in a bid to better educate people interested in domestic and international artefacts.

Cllr John Procter, executive member for Leisure, said: “The Discovery Centre is an absolute treasure trove of objects from all over the world from a wide variety of eras. This incredible new building allows us to make all these articles more accessible to everybody.”

The centre comprises a Natural Sciences section, which showcases insects, mammals, birds, shells, minerals and fossils; a Social History area complete with items such as mangles and old toys; a Firearms and Armour section; large Coin and Medal collection, as well as a photographic archive of The Yorkshire Post.

Clothing dating back to the 17th century makes up the Costume and Textiles section.

The international section, World Cultures, traces the history of peoples through sculpture, domestic items, weapons and other artefacts, while cultures such as the Greeks and Egyptians are explored in the Archaeology collections.

The centre also features purpose-built education rooms fitted with interactive white boards.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) provided £4.5m towards the scheme, with the remainder coming from Leeds City Council and the Aire Valley Team.

HLF regional manager for Yorkshire & The Humber Fiona Spiers said: “The centre will help open up Leeds City Museum’s resources to a wider audience, showing people how relevant they are to our understanding of modern-day life.”

The Discovery Centre will host a series of heritage open days in September.

Photograph: courtesy of Buro Happold/Angus McDonald