Workshops

Free Time project visit Dorset County Museum

Alice being interviewed

Over fifty young people from Thomas Hardye School met with the older volunteers behind this project for a very enjoyable  visit to Dorset County Museum.

Dr Tim Ennion, Deputy Head at Thomas Hardye, told us how; “The young people come away really inspired and had been talking about it after the event. They’d all found it to be incredible museum and project was really inspiring them.”

Dr Ennion, felt the visit had been very good icebreaking introduction as it had not only brought the older and the younger volunteers together, but had also brought the young people from the school together for the first time. As students who will be involved in this project will not have necessarily met at classes before. The session had proved to be a very effective icebreaker for not just the older volunteers to meet the younger volunteers, but for young people to meet and talk with each other.

During the visit year 9 students did a superb job interviewing both young and old at the Museum. This material would be edited together at a later date with the help of Mr Richardson.

The visit had been superbly organised by Pippa Brindley, Learning Manager at Dorset County Museum. Pippa had broken up the visit into three areas; 1, how to develop critical question; 2, how to gather evidence and the reliability of evidence; and thirdly how to show off the data that is collected and how to exhibit work. Pippa said; “It was good to see the museum being used this way and how this project was looking at history outside the conventional way.”

young people interviewing at DCM

Young people interviewing at DCM

One of the older volunteers, Jackie Allan, talked about her very favourable impressions of the young people. For instance how one young man had put himself up to introduce the session but his mind went blank as soon as he started, but he did not give up and continued to put himself in this position. He later was one of those conducting interviews, and it was rewarding to see him keep trying.

Joe Stevens the project coordinator offered thanks from everyone how took part to Pippa and the museum for making it such a rewarding and enjoyable session.

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