The University’s collections form a unique teaching and research resource for scholars and students worldwide. However, improving accessibility to these collections is a priority and the museums are finding a variety of innovative and exciting ways to attract and reach out to non-traditional museum visitors.
As part of their ongoing commitment to widening access, museum staff are thinking creatively about the design and delivery of their educational services to ensure that there is something for everyone. The museums organise an extensive programme of events and activities delivered within the museum environment as well as out and about in communities and schools. In November 2006, the museums were involved in Community Week, an initiative which gave trainee teachers the chance to participate in educational sessions at all the University museums to find out more about how museums and collections can enhance their teaching.
While each museum has its own education service, Susan Birch, Community Education Officer, works across the museums to develop ongoing programmes to increase access, particularly for adult, non-traditional users. ‘The aim is to develop a sustainable service by establishing lasting relationships and partnerships with local organisations and groups which will use the museums regularly as a resource’, she explained. During the past year she has successfully engaged with many community groups, carrying out 97 outreach visits, involving more than 1,700 adults and 300 children.
Children imagining the faces of ‘tree spirits’ at Harcourt Arboretum during one of the many hands-on events for families that were organised by the University's museums' outreach teams in 2006–7.
All the museums contribute to monthly object-handling and creative
activity sessions for children at the Oxfordshire Hospital School.
Helen White, Science Coordinator at the School, described the
remarkable benefits for children who would not otherwise be able to
visit the museums. ‘All the sessions have been a huge success in
bringing a wider hands-on experience to the children, and oft en they
encourage them to engage with other activities at the school. Susan and
her team are brilliant – they are flexible and switched on to the
particular needs of our children, for example their focus and
concentration levels.’
The museums are also active within local
communities; in May, as part of the ‘Meet the Museums’ initiative, the
museums set up object-handling sessions in the Westgate Shopping
Centre, and at the Cowley Road Carnival in July they ran
family-friendly hands-on activities which took their inspiration from
the collections, such as making fire drums and dancing dragons.
Although taking the museums out into the community can be
time-consuming in terms of organisation and planning, Susan Birch
confirmed that these are particularly effective ways of engaging larger
audiences, especially those people who might not otherwise visit the
museums. Also in May, the Natural History and the Pitt Rivers Museums
offered the public a new angle to museum visiting by opening their
doors at night. In a Different Light, which attracted more than
3,000 people, combined musical performances and interactive sessions
with an opportunity to explore the collections in a special way.
The
museums also provide a host of outreach activities for families and
schools. The education officers from each museum (who are funded
through the government’s Renaissance programme) meet once a week to
share feedback and plan ahead to provide the most comprehensive service
possible, avoiding duplication and competition.
The Pitt Rivers and the Museum of Natural History worked together on Making Museums,
a project for Year 6 pupils from schools in East Oxford. Around 300
children participated in the initiative, which gave pupils the
opportunity to go behind the scenes and find out about how museums
work. This included following an object through the research and
documentation process and learning about handling different objects.
In
the follow-up, museum staff visited their schools and worked with the
children to make their own museum. ‘The most effective model starts
with an organised visit to the museum. This is then followed by a
school or community visit by museum staff to incorporate their
experiences into the world outside the museum’, explains Andy McLellan,
Education Officer at the Pitt Rivers. ‘For us, the two-way nature of
this outreach work seems to be the most effective way of providing a
lasting learning experience and encouraging future engagement with the
museum.’
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