Arbroath pupils curate at Signal Tower Museum

Primary 6 and 7 pupils from Warddykes Primary School have been working on an exciting project at Arbroath Signal Tower Museum.

ANGUSalive Museums, Galleries and Archives team has teamed up with Museums Galleries Scotland and Developing the Young Workforce to enhance young people’s understanding of working in the heritage sector.

The project highlights the exciting and varied roles within museums to give young people a flavour of the work they can do within the heritage sector and the activities that go on behind-the-scenes to bring exhibitions to life. As a variety of job roles within this sector require transferable skills, it’s important that these are highlighted and developed.

The young historians from Warddykes have discovered who works in their local museum and what they do, as well as what museum collections tell us about the past and how they can be used to bring history to life.

Markus Offer, Skills Development Manager with Museums Galleries Scotland said: "Museums Galleries Scotland and ANGUS Alive Museums, Galleries and Archives are delighted to have been working with Developing the Young Workforce and Warddykes Primary School. Through working in partnership to provide the opportunity for pupils to learn about the variety of roles available in heritage and the transferable skills that are required to do these jobs, we hope to inspire a more inclusive workforce in the future, one that accurately reflects our society.”

This project has culminated into a display of items from ANGUSalive’s archaeology collection, with objects chosen, researched and labelled by the pupils themselves. These include bronze age axe heads, a medieval ship’s nail and a piece of cloth found by archaeologists at Arbroath Abbey.

Caroline Taylor, Heritage Learning and Engagement Lead for ANGUSalive said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Museums Galleries Scotland, Developing the Young Workforce and the staff and pupils at Warddykes Primary School on this important project. I have been so impressed by the children’s appetite for learning and their skills in creating their own display. It was great to see our museum and the objects in our collection through their eyes.”

You can catch the display created by the local pupils now at the Signal Tower Museum until Friday 31 December 2021, Tuesday- Saturday, 10am- 3pm.