Students from Greenfield Community College rose to the challenge as they enjoyed ‘Take Over’ day at the Locomotion railway museum in Shildon. This was a fantastic opportunity for young people to get a taste of working roles, get ‘hands on’ and have a creative voice and to work with a national museum to see behind the scenes.
The Your Voice, Your Say group of Year 9 students were excited to contribute to the running of the museum through a National initiative promoted by ‘Kids In Museums’, a London based organisation that encourages museums to learn from young people and make valuable connections with the community.
They offer the opportunity as a “unique chance to learn outside the classroom to develop new skills and discover what it’s like to work behind-the-scenes at a museum … it helps to boost participants’ confidence and gives them a sense of ownership over their local museum and heritage.” It is also Locomotion Museums 15th birthday, so what better time to celebrate.
The students involved have been working with Greenfield Arts to develop their voice over recent months, having a say and working creatively with artists. They have already produced creative writing and a film which depicts the heritage of Shildon which was shortlisted for the Terry Kelly poetry award. This has given them a valuable insight into their local heritage and sense of identity which they were keen to share at Locomotion.
Katy Milne, Director of Arts Creativity at Greenfield Arts was very proud of the students involved.” The group were very excited to be given the opportunity to lead activities they have designed within Locomotion. It was rewarding to see them use new found confidence, share their creative outcomes and use their initiative to engage with the public about heritage and identity, well done!”
Thank you to staff at Locomotion for making this a valuable and enjoyable experience.
