STICK Old Tools, New Uses
The
STICK Old Tools, New Uses project, which aims to help
Scotland’s museums evaluate their domestic technology collections,
with the aim of more effective understanding and use of those
collections. National Museums Scotland and STICK have brought
onboard a charity partner, Tools for Self Reliance, which will give
tools identified for disposal and second life in Africa.
The Journey Beyond
Our strategic partner,
East Ayrshire Museums, ran an exhibition over summer 2010
called Journey Beyond, which looked at life and death in
prehistoric Ayrshire in comparison to Ancient Egyptian practices.
This was made possible with the loan of some key pieces from
National Museums Scotland’s Egyptian collection. An exhibition
including contemporary applied art from National Museums Scotland
will be on show for autumn 2010.
Workshop at McLean Museums and Art Gallery
A one-day workshop held at
McLean Museum and Art Gallery in Greenock. This was organised
by Inverclyde council as part of a larger training programme for
local museum professionals in the area and funded by a Museums
Galleries Scotland small grant. 17 participants from all over
Scotland took part in a Pest Management workshop with great
success.
A History of the World
We work with the museums sector across the UK, most recently
contributing to the BBC4 collaboration with the British
Museum, A
History of the World in 100 Objects. You can find out more about our contribution here.
Visits and workshadowing
In the last five years we have been able to host some
behind-the-scenes visits and workshadowing placements, through our
involvement with Tayside Museums Forum and
the East of Scotland Museums
Partnership. In March 2010 we hosted a Collections Officer from
East Lothian Museums Service, who was able to develop her knowledge
volunteer management through her time with National Museums
Scotland, “This has given me a better understanding the role of
volunteers within a museum and the reciprocal benefits of
volunteering. I now feel able to build on and formalise our
volunteer programme”.
The Lewis Chessmen: Unmasked
The Lewis Chessmen exhibition is an
example of one of our UK-wide partnerships, with venues in
Shetland, the Western Isles and Aberdeen hosting part of the tour.
Objects have been loaned from the British Museum and there have
been opportunities for all organisations involved to benefit
through sharing knowledge, expertise and resources.
BT Connected Earth
National Museums Scotland is an active partner in the BT Connected Earth project,
which draws together museum collections across the United Kingdom
illustrating the development of communications technology.
Our Communicate! gallery in the
National Museum of Scotland is a key part of this network.