Mountjoy Museum Takeover! Student Curators in charge at the bridport museum
Ash Class from Mountjoy School in Beaminster took over the reins of Bridport Museum this morning for a personally curated exhibition. The group has worked very hard over the last month handpicking pieces from the museum or its archive that they wanted to champion. These were items that spoke to them, or that resonated in some way with the student. They then wrote new signs to go up next to those pieces, to explain what the artefact was and why they had selected it. They told us what the piece meant to them, or how they felt it should be seen by others.
Then they wrote backstories, unseen chronicles and fascinating details about these artefacts that you might never have known. Some of which might even have been true. These stories, facts and alternate histories stood the group in good stead, so that when visitors came to the museum this morning, they were treated to anecdotes, explanations and, in some cases, whole lectures about the students’ chosen pieces.
Just a few of the things the unsuspecting visitors to the museum discovered today included:
Rope from Bridport had gone across the world, into the goals at World Cup finals, and even into space!
Roman Lunula pendants brought good luck and protected soldiers and their horses from harm.
The stuffed tiger known as Hunter X has pursued zombies through the jungle.
Captain Codd wore ‘Gladys’, the haunted dress, whilst spying on the people of Bridport in the 1800s.
The Museum lift can transport you anywhere you like - even backwards and forwards through time.
The Kids in Museum programme is a brilliant initiative, started in 2003, with Museum Takeover Day itself now in its 15th year! We may be a little biased, but we think this year’s guest curators were the best ever.
The group had an amazing time and so did anyone who visited during their all too brief tenure as Museum Takeover curators. We can’t wait for next year. Huge thanks to Michelle and all the staff at the Bridport Museum for making this project so accessible, inclusive and downright fun. Thanks also to all of our brilliant volunteers who gave up their time to help support the students in their writing and with talking to the visitors on the day - Becca, Lizzie, Ambs, Philipa, Raja, Til, Tansy, Diana and Andrea, we could not have don it without you, you are awesome!
So, next time you visit the musuem, remember look for the objects that speak to you, and be careful when you use the lift - you never know where you might end up!