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Epping Forest District Museum took part in the Kids in Museum national initiative, Takeover Day, welcoming students to the museum and virtually.
On Friday 12 November, 12 students from King Harold Academy took over the museum for the day running tours and activities for Council dignitaries and visitors and pupils from Upshire Primary School.
Alongside this the museum also hosted a virtual takeover with students from Cardiff and Essex universities.
At the museum
Pupils from King Harold Academy, in Waltham Abbey, had 2 preparation sessions to learn about the how the museum is run and to plan what games and activities they would deliver on the day. All their activities were inspired by the current exhibition ‘Game Plan’.
Virtual takeover
Alongside King Harold Academy pupils, students from the universities joined online to participate in Q&A sessions, collections care training and learning about the variety of careers within the museum.
They reviewed and analysed objects at home in the same way staff would at the museum and participated in a live review of items, learning about the materials and reasons for the objects being in the collection.
Photos from the day
Takeover Day
The museum has taken part in Takeover Day for the last 7 years. This was the first year university students have been involved; due to the success of these virtual sessions they will be repeated for future takeover days as well as looking for opportunities to offer the students in person.
My favourite part
One pupil from King Harold Academy said:
My favourite part was meeting new people and sharing my knowledge with them. I would like to come to the museum more and maybe even help as a volunteer and start working here when I am older.
Skills and confidence
Chairman of the Council, Councillor Helen Kane said:
It’s always a joy to be part of Takeover Day. The students are fully engaged with every element of the day. They gain new skills and grow in confidence from their experience. It’s a pleasure to see how their hard work has paid off.
I was surprised, at first, to see that they had so much enthusiasm when showing us around and talking, with so much knowledge, about the different objects on display. They made us feel very welcome.
Well done King Harold students and many congratulations to their history teacher.
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