museums – Page 5 – Industrial Heritage Networks

Emergency and Risk Management Network: Extreme Environments Training for Museums, 5 November 2024

October 28, 2024mikenevell

Join Museum Development Midlands (MDM) and Anita Hollinshead for this session exploring extreme environments and their impact on conditions in museums, collections, visitors, and staff on 5th November. The free workshop will include a number of case studies and measures that can be put in place to minimise risks.

Delegates will be encouraged to share their own experiences of extreme weather conditions, including high temperatures, flooding, and storms and the impact of climate change on collections management, all issues familiar on for industrial heritage sites. This workshop is part of MDM’s Emergency and Risk Management Network, helping museums prepare for emergency situations and develop skills in risk management and mitigation.

Places are limited to a maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to delegates from non-NPO and non-National museums in the Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation. You’re welcome to book a place if you are not from a priority museum, including non-Accredited museums, on the understanding we may ask you to release your place if the event becomes oversubscribed. Fololow this linbk to book the free trainbign session: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/emergency-and-risk-management-network-extreme-environments-tickets-1028753909637?aff=oddtdtcreator

GLIAS to Show Historical Films of London’s Industrial History

October 11, 2024mikenevell

The Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society in conjunction with the Cinema Museum and Huntley Film Archives are running an evening showing films from the John Huntley Archive about London’s Industrial Heritage. The event will take place on the 27th November 2024, presented by Amanda Huntley, and there will be an optional tour of the museum afterwards.

John Huntley (1921 – 2003) was an English film historian, educator, and archivist. Born in Kew, London, he started in the the film industry as a teaboy at Denham Studios around 1938. He later worked for the British Filn Institute from 1952 to 1974, first for the information department, but from 1955 in distribution. In 1984 he and one of his daughters, Amanda, set up Huntley Film Archives. This is an archive of documentary, educational, industrial, medical, travelogue, and feature films, containing films of the lives of ordinary people around the world. For more details on the archive follow this link: https://www.huntleyarchives.com/aboutus.asp

To book your £10 ticket for the event follow this link: https://ticketlab.co.uk/event/id/28012.

Tees Valley Museums Consortium Win ‘Best Museum Youth Group’ in Kids Family Friendly Museum Awards 2024

October 9, 2024mikenevell

Tees Valley Museums Consortium has won one of this year’s ‘Kids in Museums’ awards for Best Museum Youth Group. The consortium’s Young People initiatives include their Young Producers strand. These are a group of 16-25 year olds who have a say and plan events and exhibitions at their museums. They currently have two active Young Producers groups – based at Hartlepool Art Gallery and Preston Park Museum. Further Young Producers are planned for the Stockton and Darlington Railway route and in Middlesbrough.

The Tees Valley Museums Consortium consists of the museum services of Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland. It was formed in 2017 to develop collaborative working for the purpose of delivering better services to the public. The five museum services of Tees Valley Museums Consortium hold extensive collections of art, archaeology, social, industrial and maritime history, as well as a wide array of world cultures. The museums work together to promote pride in the history of the Tees Valley.

Kids in Museums is an award-winning charity dedicated to making museums open and welcoming to all children, young people, and families. They support and champion family friendly organisations through wide-ranging initiatives, including the Family Friendly Museum Awards and Takeover Day. They invite heritage organisations to sign up to their Manifesto, which sets out simple guidelines for making museums easy to reach for all ages. For further details visit their website: www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk

For more details about the Tees Valley Museums Consortium and their Young People initiatives follow this link: https://teesvalleymuseums.org/young-people/

Industrial Heritage Network Meetings in Person – Autumn 2024

September 30, 2024October 7, 2024mikenevell

The next round of in-person Industrial Heritage Network (IHN) regional meetings will be taking place this autumn. These regional network meetings take place twice a year in the spring (online) and in the autumn (in-person). They are a chance to bring together volunteers and professionals from industrial heritage sites around England to exchange experiences, catch up with the latest news and practices, and make or renew contacts. There are ten regional networks in England run by the IHSO project at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, and funded by Historic England, with the support of the Association for Industrial Archaeology.

The first four in-person IHN meetings will be held this autumn for the following regions:

North West England, Catalyst Museum, 25th October 2024.
Cornwall & Devon, East Pool Mine, Redruth, 7th November 2024.
South West, Westonzoyland, 8th November 2024.
West Midlands, Claymills, 22nd November, 2024

Further dates for other regions will be published in October. Regional network members will be emailed details of the venues and how to attend. For further details contact the Industrial Heritage Support Officer for England: mike.nevell@ironbridge.org.uk

Accountability for Museum Collections – Briefing for Trustees and Senior Managers

August 6, 2024mikenevell

In response to recent scrutiny of the sector’s accountability for the collections in its care, the Collections Trust through Museum Development Midlands is offering a concise briefing, aimed at trustees and senior managers who want to review the policies and procedures in place at their own institutions. This online breifing will take place on 18th September.

This workshop is open to Trustees and Senior Management of all museums, including industrial heritage sites, regardless of Accreditation status. The UK museum sector has a well-established standard for collections management, Spectrum, which is embedded into the Museum Accreditation standard. This one-hour briefing will cover the core principles of three relevant Spectrum procedures: inventory; audit; damage and loss.

To book follow this link: https://www.mdmidlands.org.uk/events/accountability-for-collections-briefing-for-trustees-and-senior-managers

London Museum of Water & Steam Need Public’s Help to Raise Final Funds for Engine Project

August 2, 2024mikenevell

The London Museum of Water and Steam are running an urgent appeal to raise the final funds for ‘The Great Engine House Project’ which ains to restore the Grade 1 listed Great Engine House. This is home to the gigantic Grand Junction 100 Inch and 90 Inch engines.

They have already been promised a funding grant for the entire project of £2.8 million, but they will need to raise a percentage of the grant by crowdfunding £50,000 by mid-August. So far, the London Musum of Water and Steam have raised over £17,000 through their crowdfunder, but are struggling to raise the target by the grant deadline.

To contibute to the fund raiser follow the link here.

Unless work is undertaken in the next two years to stop the decay of the Engine House, then these historically significant engines could be be lost, and central parts of the museum building will have to be closed. The project aims to return the 90 inch engine to steam, which will make the Museum more financially resilient by vastly enhancing the Museum’s visitor experience.

The museum is housed in a Georgian water pumping station in Brentford, West London, and was built around a collection of stationary steam engines which pumped clean water into the homes of millions of Londoners between 1838 and 1944. For more details about the museum follow this link: https://waterandsteam.org.uk/

*90 Inch engine levers. Image courtesy of London Museum of Steam & Water.*

Waterworks Museum Hereford Celebrates 50 Years

June 20, 2024mikenevell

Fifty years ago, a group of heritage enthusiasts founded the Waterworks Museum at the Hereford Victorian Pumping Station, built to supply clean water for Herefordshire. Now a thriving Museum, it has one of the country’s widest collections of pumping engines, including early beam and hot-air machines.

The vision of founding member Stephen Southall with colleagues William Herbert Austin, Herbert Penhale and John Townsend was all about telling the story of water supply and preserving and restoring machinery and engines for public enjoyment. The Victorian building has been restored and includes the original Worth Mackenzie steam engine which used to take water from the Wye and pump it to the adjacent treatments works

*Beam engine image coutresy of The Warertwork Museum.*

The Museum first opened its doors in April 1975. Ever since, we’ve been caring for the collection and welcoming visitors to this very special place. Our collection has grown to include additional water treatment exhibits and buildings and this tradition continues into 2024 with the inauguration and formal opening of two newly restored exhibits, the Sisson Engine Set and the Brockhampton Set.

Throughout this 50-year period, the museum has been supported financially by two benefactors, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and the Southall Trust. We remain extremely grateful for the encouragement and endorsement of our benefactors and their continuing long association with the museum. The Museum is run entirely by volunteers and receives no public funding.

“What is astounding is the fact that this wonderful industrial heritage museum remains open and comes to life through its dedicated volunteers” says Jill Phillips, Chair of Trustees & Governance Director. “This was recognised in 2023 with the highest accolade for any volunteer community – the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. I am enormously proud and grateful to the efforts, skills and passion of volunteers both past and present. “

*The Mayor odf Hereford opening the new engine display. Image courtesy of The Waterworks Museum*

On Sunday 26^th May The Right Worshipful, The Mayor of Hereford, Councillor Kevin Tillett led the celebratory opening of the magnificent Victorian building and working engines. In the afternoon, Richard Curtis, former Museum Chairman, officially opened the Sisson Engine display. It was built in 1953 for Reading Technical College (now part of Reading University) to train students and apprentice engineers in the efficient use of steam power.

On 11^th August the Trust will be celebrating with visitors the opening of the Brockhampton Set display. Volunteers will be getting engines working and up to steam for opening from 11 am through to 4pm.

Museum Development North Open Grants

April 24, 2024April 23, 2024mikenevell

MD North has three grant schemes available for museums. The Open Grant programme is now open until 7 June. The grant is available to the following types of museums: museums in the north of England which are Accredited, hold provisional status, or are formally Working Towards Accreditation; museums that are not Accredited, or not formally Working Towards it, can be part of a project involving a partnership of museums, but an Accredited museum must be the lead partner.

Museum are invited to apply for grants of up to £5,000 for projects that help your organisation meet or go beyond the requirements of the Accreditation Standard and deliver against the Arts Council England’s Investment Principles:

Ambition and Quality
Dynamism
Environmental Responsibility
Inclusivity & Relevance

For details on how to apply for this grant and for other MD North grants follow this link: Open Grant

Thefts Cause Temporary Closure of Island Warehouse at National Waterways Museum

March 9, 2024March 5, 2024mikenevell

Eleven exhibits missing from the National Waterways Museum in Cheshire are thought to have been stolen from its collection between Friday 9th and Monday 12th February 2024. The Canal and River Trust, who run the museum said that a recent ‘significant’ cataloguing exercise had allowed it to quickly spot that exhibits were missing. The museum’s Island Warehouse room, where smaller objects are displayed and where the thefts are thought to have taken place, has been temporarily closed.

A security review is now being completed and the museum is working with police to recover the items. The Canal & River Trust, which operates the museum, has released a document which details the missing exhibits. Included is a model boat, along with several small model engines and three large ‘Tilly’ lamps.

The Canal & River Trust said that “We understand that a closure of part of our museum is disappointing for visitors and thank everyone affected for their patience and support. We hope people appreciate how serious such a theft is and the importance of the investigation and security review currently taking place.”

Anyone with information into the missing items is being urged to speak to police.

The museum’s collection includes the majority of the UK’s inland waterways Collection, more than 15,000 objects and more than 50 boats. For more details follow this link: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/news/theft-from-the-national-waterways-museum-ellesmere-port

‘Kids in Museums’ Family Friendly Museum Award 2024 Nominations Now Open

March 4, 2024mikenevell

Judged by families, this award celebrates museums, galleries, and heritage attractions that go the extra mile to provide an excellent family friendly experience. Nominations open on 19 March 2024 and close on 3 June 2024.

Each year Kids in Museums awards the prize to one museum, gallery, historic home, or heritage site that has made outstanding efforts to welcome children and families and respond to their feedback. It is the only museum award in the UK to be judged by families. The overall winner of the Family Friendly Museum Award 2023 was Craven Museum in Skipton Town Hall, with five other categories celebrating family friendly museums.

To learn more view the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award.

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