Happy Museum thematic case study Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 2 Contents Introduction and relevance 2 About our Story for Change 3 About this case study 4 1. Be smart about the use of resources 5 2. Extending the role of the senses 9 3. Being a good host and a broker of relationships 10 4. Active stewardship and the role of making 11 5. Lead by action and example 13 6. Making an impact 14 7. More about the Happy Museum ‘Story of Change’ tool 15
This case study is relevant to: This case study is about how museum and galleries used Happy Museum thinking to have a new • Senior management teams perspective on the resources available to them. This • Learning and community was not just about taking measures to reduce the engagement teams impact of activities on the environment, but about • Curators thinking creatively about the full range of resources available – materials, money, energy, spaces and people’s time. In the process, these organisations built up their resilience and improved the wellbeing of those involved. Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 3 About our Story of Change
Since 2008, the Happy Museum ‘why?’ – the overall purpose of a project has been testing a set project – and working backwards. of working principles related Moving to a focus on wellbeing to wellbeing through small and sustainability is not something commissioned projects. The that can be planned and executed funded projects used a ‘Story in the way a construction of Change’ tool to define their project can be. Thinking about a sustainable wellbeing vision for convincing narrative that will take the project and to plan the route us in that direction and sharing it to achieve that vision. Story of helps everyone to align around the Change is also known as Theory new direction. of Change; Logic Modelling is a similar approach. Using a story More about our Story of Change of change challenges ‘business as can be found on page 15 and usual’ thinking by starting with the online here
Principles How? The ‘drivers’ of What? The activity you Why? The difference success deliver we want to make • Measure what matters How you go about setting The activity you deliver, This is the reason we’re up a Happy Museum working internally and/or here, the outcomes a • Be an active citizen approach: the drivers for externally, in partnership Happy Museum can • Pursue mutual change, commitments, set with staff, volunteers, achieve. The difference relationships up and investments that participants and audience. we make to everyone, underpin the approach. staff, volunteers, • Create the conditions participants and for wellbeing audience. • Learn for resilience • Value the environment and be a steward of the future as well as the past Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 4 About this case study
This case study looks at what Museums define themselves Happy Museums do. It’s about as stewards of the past – and how they re-imagine their use we believe they can also be of resources and explore the role models when it comes to relationship between wellbeing stewardship of the future by and environmental sustainability. taking a lead in environmental Going through this process helped responsibility. The experience many of them not only to save of the museums and galleries money but also to improve the featured in this case study is that wellbeing of audiences and staff. smart thinking about resources Creative thinking about resources fulfils this responsibility, but encouraged these museums to look also makes them more resilient beyond budgets and business as and better equipped to address usual to the full range of resources the challenges and economic open to them – materials, money, constraints that they face. Some energy, spaces and people’s time. had no choice but to be creative This kind of creative thinking also about materials because there was reduces the impact of activities on no funding. To be a sustainable the environment and the demand organisation in the long term on limited natural resources. means using all sorts of resources better. Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 5 1 Be smart about the use of resources Smart use of resources is not just about recycling. “Natural and financial capital Happy Museums think about resources in the broadest is finite, human capital can be sense. Some museums and galleries used people’s time thought of as infinite.” more effectively so everyone in the supply chain was able to make more of a difference. Some used their space to the full. We use the project management triangle concept to make the most of our assets by thinking about time, resources and scope as being closely related.
Derby Museums’ ‘Re:Make’ project People’s time; a looked on community involvement as a resource – local participants ‘limitless’ resource were invited to become designers While natural and financial capital and makers of the fixtures and is finite, human capital can be fittings of the Silk Mill during its thought of as infinite. Using people refurbishment. The Silk Mill team power is not only efficient, it builds also found that the participants better relationships too. were taking things out of the museum’s skips to use in their designs – and as a result became more aware of recycling and upcycling. Derby Museums found that more personal relationships resulting from their new interactions. Now they make sure every time they do something, it creates multiple benefits either now or in the future. Read our case study on Derby Museums here Ceredigion Museum in Aberystwyth used Happy Museum funding for a project called ‘Harvest the Knowledge’, in partnership with Tircoed, a woodland and rural communities Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 6
charity. The people resource for and material culture, leading to this project were five young people ‘flow’ – immersive engagement who were trained in craft and with an activity, with an associated enterprise skills. These apprentices positive impact on wellbeing. made a range of kitchen crafts for sale in the museum shop that Bilston Craft Gallery offers a were inspired by and related to popular specialist creative play objects in the museum’s collection. programme for children up to 7 Through the project, all involved years old called Craftplay, which benefitted. The young people were has its own dedicated indoor given training and the museum space. Bilston’s Happy Museum developed a lasting partnership project focused on developing its with Tircoed and a new source of unused outdoor space as a new revenue, through the sale of the resource for use by school groups. kitchen crafts. Craft experts were recruited to train Bilston staff to make outdoor Read our case study on play objects and the space was Ceredigion Museum here improved and developed. The space and activities were tested by pupils and staff of a local school. The “Often outdoor space was Space as a rich ‘new’ outdoor space has enabled an unused or underused the gallery to increase its offer resource to local schools and the public. resource.” Many of the museums and Building on this, the gallery is galleries funded by the Happy developing a pop up craft space to Museum project used new space bring craftplay to parks and open (or existing space in new ways) to spaces. maximise benefit. Often outdoor Read our case study on Bilston space was an unused or underused Craftplay here resource. This meant a significant increase in the capacity of the Abergavenney Museum’s Happy museum or gallery. Again, this Museum project tested a new approach to efficiency brings approach to co-curation with bigger benefits, as we begin to local vulnerable young people. see the link between surroundings Two crafts experts led workshops and the outdoors, with making in weaving with eight young carers and bee-keeping with 20 primary school children with special needs. The traditional skills workshops took place both inside the museum and outdoors. This experience with outdoor working – with links to local natural and cultural heritage – led to a decision to develop this ‘resource’ and increase the museum’s outdoor offer. A learning assistant with Forest School skills has since become actively engaged with the museum. Through the project, Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 7
the museum also developed links with the local transition group and Recycling for other environmental organisations. austerity, ethics Teachers reported the children being ‘gripped’ by bee keeping and and aesthetics? teachers described how absorbed Many Happy Museums found they were – examples of the state creative ways to use recycled “The Museum has had zero of ‘flow’. The young carers talked materials. Others had no choice budget for new displays and about the relaxing and addictive but to be creative about their use exhibitions. This has made us nature of working with hands. of materials because there was resourceful, we upcycle and Read our case study on no funding. Moving away from recycle where we can.” Abergavenny Museum here consumption is one of the bigger Happy Museum messages, shared The Garden Museum in London Jo Rooks, Museum of East in the wider world in concepts Anglian Life was another to spot uptapped like ‘Stuffocation’ and sustainable outdoor space. With the support prosperity. of Lambeth Council, the museum took over some public land outside One of these was the Museum of the premises d to use as additional East Anglian Life, in Stowmarket, growing space. The museum used Suffolk. (It was the museums the plot to teach children from innovative work on wellbeing, a local nursery school and older community engagement and people (some with dementia) impact evaluation approaches from a local Healthy Living Club that inspired the creation of the to plant a hardy, native winter Happy Museum Project). Financial cutting garden that would become necessity led the museum to be a permanent part of the museum. creative about resource use, as Jo Rooks, Museum Learning Officer, Read about the Garden Museum explains: “Basically, since the 1960s project here the Museum has had zero budget for new displays and exhibitions. This has made us resourceful, we upcycle and recycle where we can.” This attitude of thrift also influences the design activities aimed at audiences. “When we have a steam tractor [show] weekend, we get the tractors to crush stones and repair any potholes we have.” Read our case study on the Museum of East Anglian Life here The Story Museum is independently funded and has gradually been transforming a large, dilapidated building in the centre of Oxford. The museum used Happy Museum funding to develop its vision of being ‘happy Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 8
from the beginning’, with a focus funding available for investing in on wellbeing and sustainability. people’s time. The project was One of the co-directors was a deliberately labour intensive. To founder of Friends of the Earth create the 200 different cultural and the museum team felt that prescriptions – the project team sustainability was something they and museum staff working with had in hand. “But one thing we four local schools and by over 100 learnt through the refurbishment members of the public. Visitors to and building process was that this the ‘Paper Apothecary’ described wasn’t always taken as read by all how they were feeling to the our contractors,” says Kim Pickin, apothecary’s resident chemists and co-director of the Story Museum. were given an appropriate cultural “Things improved throughout the prescription. The apothecary was process and the builders started enormously successful and was coming up with their own ideas. widely covered in the local media. We’ve managed to incorporate Some 37% of visitors said they “37% of visitors said they felt much more ‘upcycling’ into the felt ‘happy’ after their cultural ‘happy’ after their cultural fitting out than we originally treatment, while 15 % felt ‘very treatment, while 15 % felt thought would be possible – we’ve happy’ and 12% felt ‘inspired’. ‘very happy’ and 12% felt used people who are good at being The project is being adapted ‘Borrowers’ and the spaces and and revived in other parts of the ‘inspired’.” exhibitions are also made out of country by other museums and odds and ends.” Recycling and galleries. upcycling support the museum’s aesthetic, as well as its vision as Read our case study on The an organisation. The decision to Beaney here pursue sustainable refurbishment Participants in Derby Museums and material sourcing has released ‘Re:Make’ project began taking creativity and engaged staff and things out of the museum’s skips suppliers. to use in their designs for the Read our case study on the Story museums furnishings and fittings Museum here – and as a result the museum team were reminded of their Another museum to use a commitment to recycling and focus on recycling to unlock upcycling, which had slipped down other benefits was The Beaney the agenda. House of Art and Knowledge, in Canterbury. The Beaney used Happy Museum funding to commission a ‘cultural apothecary’, a full-size antiquated apothecary’s shop made out of card and other recycled materials, staffed by performers who dispensed cultural ‘happiness prescriptions’ to some 6,700 visitors over a two week period. Using recycled materials was an important part of the aesthetic – and it also reduced costs, making more Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 9 2. Extending the role of the senses By joining things up, museums are not just becoming “Other Worlds had a more financially efficient and sustainable, they are remarkable level of working with many of the other Happy Museum engagement, with 6,000 principles about sharing and wellbeing and resilience. written contributions in 18 days.” Many Happy Museums have Museum North, different object explored how the act of making handling approaches were tested. (creative and craft activities) – and Using veterans to support object the experience of ‘flow’ – helps handling at TimeStacks was the people to engage with and care most successful approach the for their surroundings, especially museum tested, “This highlighted the natural world. One of the key to us the importance of first- principles of the Happy Museum hand or eye-witness testimony project is to encourage ‘active to the experience on site and we stewardship’ – a term we use to have built upon this since the describe the link between making, project completed,” says Head of caring and an impact on wellbeing Exhibitions Zoe Dunbar. “There are and the environment. now more veterans in the galleries sharing their stories and object Read more about the Happy handling still forms a strong part of Museum principles what we do.” At the Beaney House in Read our case study on the Canterbury, ‘cultural prescriptions’ Imperial War Museum North were given out in a full scale here apothecary’s shop made out of recycled materials. The Paper At the Story Museum in Oxford, Apothecary was designed to visitors were asked to make use of appeal to visitor’s senses and a ‘mood tree’, putting a coloured emotions. At the Imperial War leaf representing their mood on the tree when they arrive and another when they leave. This way, museum staff could get a visual snapshot of the difference that the museum experience had made to visitors. Some Story Museum exhibits allow visitors to write their reactions and comments onto labels and tie them on or next to an exhibit. The museum’s first exhibition, Other Worlds, had a remarkable level of engagement, with 6,000 written contributions in 18 days. Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 10 3. Being a good host, and a broker of relationships Relationships are an asset. Happy Museums that “We encourage museums and developed partnerships, acted as a host to other galleries to act as hubs and use organisations and a broker of relationships, enjoyed the multiplier effect to create mutual benefits as well as developing resilience many different relationships among all the parties. between organisations, groups and individuals.” We encourage museums and including the environmental galleries to act as hubs and use group, Greening Godalming; the the multiplier effect to create Story Museum, which developed many different relationships links with Oxford’s Transition between organisations, groups and movement; the Chilterns Open individuals. Air Museum, which also developed links with their local Transition Examples of being a good host, group; and London Transport and acting as a broker or a hub Museum, where the project include: Godalming Museum, created a conversation hub for which developed new partnerships homeless people. with a range of local organisations Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 11 4. Active stewardship and the role of making The concept of ‘stewardship’ is something that all “Every time I went home after museums will understand. Happy Museums take this weaving I was chilled out and further into the realms of active stewardship, which happy.” begins with a focus on wellbeing and taking a lead within a community. Young carer The stewardship concept goes well The young carers involved in beyond preserving collections to Abergavenney Museum’s Happy seeking environmental stewardship. Museum project got a lot of For many, this also means pleasure from weaving. “Every exploring the relationship between time I went home after weaving making, material culture, our I was chilled out and happy,” surroundings and the outdoors. said one participant. Another referred to the power of the “busy with your hands thing” to create a sense of wellbeing. For the participants this was a rare taste of ‘flow’, the satisfiying and immersive state of “energised focus” identified by psychologist Mihaly Czikszentmihayli. The younger group of participants were observed to be “gripped” and fascinated by their involvement in a bee keeping project. Bilston Craftplay also noted the change in children’s behaviour as a result of being given creative freedom. The local school groups involved in the unstructured outdoor sessions showed greater innovation in their play. Using a wooden railway set they started “going off the tracks”. Bilston also showed “active stewardship” by encouraging school groups to walk to their Craftplay sessions. For Ceredigion Museum making an explicit link between their Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 12
collection, the outdoors and them, were told and the link made “In some ways it has been stewardship of the environment between the products and the transformative – here was was a powerful experience. In museum’s collections. Curator Alice an initiative that was not just commercialising the products Briggs believes the project has had about the past, but that also made by young apprentices, the an enduring legacy. “In some ways museum took care to emphasise it has been transformative – here shows how we can live in the that they were made by local was an initiative that was not just future.” craftspeople using local materials about the past, but that also shows sourced from properly managed how we can live in the future.” Alice Briggs, Ceredigion Museum woodlands. The stories of the makers, and the tools used to make Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 13 5. Lead by action and example Museums have two opportunities to persuade, firstly by what they do and secondly by how they do it. Museums and galleries can use their ‘position’ in the community to show leadership, either through their expertise on a subject and putting on exhibitions and events, or by showing civic responsibility through their actions.
With its second Happy Museum exhibit linking local history and “The idea is to question the project, The Lightbox in Working geography with the theme of demonstrated leadership with environmental sustainability. The continual upgrade culture we a project on environmental group developed the concept of a live in.” sustainability. Called ‘Waste Not ‘Living Landscape’ gallery, which …’ the project asked local people was then built with the help of Rib Davies, The Lightbox about the objects they have been local artists and craftspeople. The keeping and repairing rather than leadership went on to review the replacing. “The idea is to question museum’s environmental impact the continual upgrade culture and then committed to investing we live in,” says special projects in low energy lighting. manager Rib Davies. The exhibition displayed the objects and showed Read our case study on of three minute films about Godalming Museum here the objects and their owners. By shifting its focus from historic There was also an environmental buildings and agriculture to stall with information about promoting traditional crafts sustainability and alternatives to and sustainability skills, the upgrading. Chiltern Open Air Museum Read about the Waste Not showed leadership and “active project here stewardship”. Reviving the concept of ‘make do and mend’ is essential Godalming Museum has taken on if our society is to reduce the drain an explicit role as a civic institution on natural resources. of good environmental practice. There are now labels up around the museum on energy use and where waste goes. Environmental sustainability as a theme for the museum grew out of a Happy Museum project on co-creation. Working with local people and organisations, the museum developed a new interactive Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 14 6. Making an impact Focusing on what museums do around wellbeing, resilience and sustainability changes their role. They can become more embedded in the fabric of society while also making more of their unique resources.
Reading Museum used a In a subsequent project called “The museum became community history project to pilot Where’s Reading Heading?, a trusted advocate and a new approach to working closely the museum became a trusted influential agency to support and engaging with communities. advocate and influential agency The project focused on the most to support its communities to be its communities to be active in deprived areas of the city. During active in shaping public policies. shaping public policies.” the Hidden Histories project, 60 The project created promising different participants worked with new partnerships with IMUSE, the community groups, museum RISC, Reading 2050 and local staff, local historians and others to environmental groups, and by research past lives of these areas. being a key partners in the Temporary ‘pop up’ exhibitions local development plan, the were set up in the neighbourhoods museum has the potential to and colourful ‘pocket history’ bring communal memory to to pamphlets were created – more the development of plans which than 15,000 were distributed. The advanced wellbeing within a project was a great success and as sustainable environment – a role a a direct result of the project the that could inspire other local museum was invited to contribute authority museums. to ‘Reading 2050’, a multi-agency initiative that is part of the central Read our case study on Reading government’s Foresight Future of Museum here and more about Cities programme. Where’s Reading Heading? here Being smart about resources means making every museum activity go further – into the future in this case. The museum’s role has evolved into being a community historian and conscience. Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 15 7. More about the Happy Museum’s ‘Story of Change’ tool
The projects funded by the Happy Museum project used a ‘Story of Change’ tool to define their vision for the project and to plan the route to achieve that vision.
The purpose of this tool (which defining the success factors for a is similar to theory of change, or project, a strategy or a change of logic modelling) is to make sure we direction. The tool is also valuable start by focusing on the difference for helping to communicate a we want to make rather than vision to staff, volunteers and on the activities we may use to all stakeholders, as well as the achieve those ends. Using a Story thinking that underpins it. of Change challenges ‘business as usual’ thinking by starting Read more about the Story of with the overall purpose and Change tool working backwards. The process of ‘measuring what matters’ can then start at the planning stage – by Happy Museum thematic case study: Smart use of resources, building resilience and stewardship of the future 16
See below for our own Story of Change which shows success factors for Happy Museums. An online version contains links to further case studies and resources.
Principles How? What? Why? Drivers Delivery Difference we make
Measure what Share a wellbeing Use time, resources matters vision and scope creatively To re-think what Share a Story of Measure what matters Change matters to people
Be an active citizen Encourage active Work engagement experimentally To create happy, Anticipate challenge Use everyone’s resilient people and change potential
Pursue mutual Share ownership Work across relationships Ensure mutual benefit hierarchies and teams To create happy, resilient teams
All of which help re-imagine museums for better community LIFE*
Create the conditions Consider Be a good host Communities are: for wellbeing playfullness, creativity, Broker relationships • Learning activity and aesthetics Learn for resilience • Interacting • Feeling happy, satisfied and Value the Consider the social Use the museum’s worthwhile environment and be a and financial benefits unique resources. steward of the future of being green • Environmentally Lead by example: care aware as well as the past of people, place and planet
* The Happy Museum Project is conducting a national LIFE survey, where LIFE = Learning, Interactions with others, Feelings and emotions, and Environmental awareness. More: www.happymuseumproject.org