Archives
Secrets of the Royal Bedchamber
50 years of conservation work and three years in the planning, Hampton Court’s new exhibition Secrets of the Royal Bedchamber takes visitors through some 23 rooms and 100 years of history to showcases six beautiful and rare royal beds and… Read more
Integrate Collections Management, Save Costs
If you’re struggling with the difficulties posed by managing several different types of collection within one institution, you are most certainly not alone. Read more
How to make the UK’s culture and architecture accessible for all?
As a wheelchair user myself, and as someone with a background in the visual arts and a keen interest in history and architecture, I have often found accessing heritage sites a challenge. Therefore as Programme Director for Accentuate - the… Read more
Ship plan scanning at Brunel’s ss Great Britain
There are over 67,000 items housed in the Brunel Institute at Brunel’s ss Great Britain, making one of the world’s leading maritime collections. The majority of this collection was donated by the distinguished maritime historian; David MacGregor. Read more
Digital interpretation with no internet access
Info-Point is a new twist on established technology. It solves the problems of providing digital content to visitor's mobile phones:… Read more
21st Century Heritage Interpretation in a 17th Century Market House
Grange Court is a Grade II* listed timber-framed market house in Leominster, North Herefordshire. Built by John Abel in 1633, the building is a local treasure and has an eclectic story. Grange Court is currently going through new change to… Read more
Sound Galleries: Musical Torchlit Trails at the Pitt Rivers Museum
Since the invention of the phonograph in 1877, sound collections have grown enormously, leaving curators with the difficult problem of how to store, organise and deliver sound. The Pitt Rivers Museum, the University of Oxford’s museum of anthropology and world… Read more
Haptic interactive technology brings visitors closer to museum collections
Manchester Museum has actively pursued a philosophy of making more of its collection available for visitors to handle and touch through object handling sessions and tactile displays. It is well known that this approach benefits all visitors, as the sense… Read more
Award-winning MicroTiles technology
Christie’s new ‘coffee table’ style Book of Shapes showcases projects around the globe that redefine the use of display technology— in everything from museums and attractions, retail stores and corporate spaces. Read more
Crime Punishment Virtual Tour provides access so the physically impaired
Nottingham Trent University has created a fully interactive visual art instalment for The Galleries of Justice Museum to assist with inaccessibility for physically impaired users. The virtual tour forms part of the guided Crime Punishment tour and aims to be… Read more
Museums have the chance to get creative across Europe
Hardly a week goes by without more news of slashed budgets in the cultural sector. Just last month, the New York Times reported on government funding cuts that forced the national theatre institution in Amsterdam to close its doors to… Read more
The British Library georeferencing website puts historic maps in their place
The British Library has found that the public appetite for interacting with maps - while contributing to cultural heritage collections - has proven insatiable. The Library holds nearly 4½ million atlas, maps, globes, and books on cartography, dating from the… Read more
Secrets of Roman Silver Uncovered After 90 Years
New technology has enabled archaeologists from National Museums Scotland to digitally reveal the true size and scale of a Roman plate, parts of which were buried in a silver hoard at Traprain Law more than 1500 years ago. Read more
Conservation Students – What do they even do?
Student Conservators @ Melbourne (SCM) is an association created and run by a small group of conservation students at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Through local involvement and social networking, the group looks to enhance students’ academic experience as well… Read more
What is the future for museums throughout Europe?
Twenty years ago, Friedrich Waidacher wrote in his publication “Handbook of Museology”: "Museums have a nearly insurmountable ability to survive. Hardly ever a museum ceases to exist, but many museums are founded."… Read more
What impacts will HLF’s next Strategic Framework have on the sector?
The Heritage Lottery Fund has been a major influence on the way we work within the heritage and museums sector in the 19 years since it was established. The funding body’s aims, its application system and guidance have set benchmarks… Read more
Disposing of Museum Collections – Should it stay or should it go?
In a recent edition of the Museums Journal, Maurice Davies ponders the need to define a USP for museums. As far as I’m concerned – and I’m sure I’m not alone in this – they already have one: their collections. Read more
Director of the NHM and Chair of the NMDC reviews 2012
2012 was undoubtedly a great year for showcasing UK culture to the world, and indeed to the people of the UK. It was the year the world watched as the UK unashamedly celebrated our social, political, scientific, technological, artistic and… Read more
Museum Marketing -Taking a risk
With museums nationwide facing increasing budget cuts and visitors reducing spend on leisure, arts marketing teams are finding that they can no longer rely on traditional methods alone to attract much needed audiences. Read more
Challenging times ahead for the country’s museums following the announcement of further cuts
Museums are very diverse beasts. There are very few dinosaurs left in the museum world (apart from in displays) but that does not mean that there is not an incredible range of business models. Some small independent, volunteer run museums… Read more