Museum taken over by children

Glencoe Folk Museum handed over its site to the pupils of the upper composite class at Glencoe Primary School.

This event was part of the national Kids in Museums Takeover Day, when children and young people take over museums, galleries, historic homes, archives and heritage sites across the UK.

Usually this takes place in November, but because the museum closed at the end of October for their exciting redevelopment project, they decided to do it earlier.

The charity Kids in Museums wants to help children and young people learn new skills, as well as support museums to engage younger audiences.

The pupils worked in groups on a rotational basis doing various jobs on behalf of the museum.

They took turns on the front desk welcoming visitors, answering questions, taking payments and pricing shop stock. They scoured the museum for pest traps and use an information fact-file to identify if the insects were hazardous to objects.

Last year, over 50 museums were taken over.

Parris Joyce, learning and engagement officer at the museum, said: “It brings a real buzz to the museum as kids get involved in all aspects of museum work and it offers visitors something fun to observe as they watch kids act responsibly and
professionally.

“One fantastic outcome of the Takeover Day was that lots of local family members of the pupils participating in the event visited the museum on the day to see them in action.”

Thanks to teacher Louise Kernaghan, Parris gathered some feedback from the P4-7 class. “It was a great experience to try the jobs and help the visitors. We had to be on pest control and pick up bug traps and identify them,” said Miley.

Leah added: “My favourite part was working behind the desk with Catriona (the museum’s curator).”

Finlay summed up: “We had to be responsible, and we worked on our teamwork and communication skills to do all the jobs well.”

Glencoe Folk Museum’s learning and engagement officer Parris Joyce has been working closely with local primary schools, visiting them in their classrooms, and welcoming them through the museum doors, to engage them with their heritage using objects and hands-on learning to help bring history to life.

Thanks to the generous funding from National Heritage Lottery Fund, the team at Glencoe Folk Museum will be busy during the museum’s closure creating more learning resources and opportunities for visiting families and schools, both at the museum itself and online on their new website.

Headteacher of Glencoe and St Bride’s Primary, Malcolm McGregor, said: “I foresee a strong relationship going forward between my schools and Glencoe Folk Museum, adding value to our curriculum and inspiring our children in recording their own story for future generations.”