Northern Ireland Museums Council Learning and Access in Museums Case Studies from Northern Ireland Bringing together, for the first time, examples of a range of learning projects provided right across the Northern Ireland museums sector. Learning and Access in Museums 01 Case Studies from Northern Ireland Contents 01 Causeway Museum Service 3 Community Outreach Project 02 Derry City Council Heritage and Museum Service 12 Flight of the Earls 2007 Education and Outreach Project 03 Derry City Council Heritage & Museum Service 16 Good Relations Programme at the Tower Museum 04 Down County Museum 20 Downpatrick Young Archaelogists’ 05 Fermanagh County Museum and Cavan County Museum 24 Connecting Peoples, Places & Heritage 06 Irish Linen Centre and Lisburn Museum 27 Education for Employability 07 Mid-Antrim Museums Service 30 Making History Community History Programme 08 National Museums Northern Ireland 38 Coming to Our Senses 09 National Museums Northern Ireland: Ulster Folk & Transport Museum 44 Travelling Times Exhibition 10 National Museums Northern Ireland: Ulster Museum 47 Outreach Art Project 11 National Museums Northern Ireland: Ulster Museum Belfast Parks 51 and Belfast Zoo Rainforest 12 National Museums Northern Ireland: Ulster Museum 54 Sure Start Project 13 National Trust Castle Ward 57 Sort It Out! Conflict Resolution Programme 14 National Trust Florence Court 61 The Wedding Breakfast, Community Relations Programme 15 Naughton Gallery at Queen’s University 64 Community Alphabets Project 16 Naughton Gallery at Queen’s University 67 Silver Sounds 17 Naughton Gallery at Queen’s University 70 Talking in Colour: African Flags of the Fante 18 Newry and Mourne Museum and Dundalk County Museum 74 Cross-Border Archives Project 19 Newry and Mourne Museum and Dundalk County Museum 78 Newry- Dundalk Cultural Exchange 20 Northern Ireland Museums Council and PRONI 83 Second World War Website for Schools www.secondworldwarni.org 21 North Down Museum 87 A History of Bangor Programme for Key Stage 2 22 Railway Preservation Society of Ireland 90 The Guard’s Life Brake Van restoration project 23 Reminiscence Network Northern Ireland 93 Valuing Heritage by Valuing Memories 24 Somme Heritage Centre 96 AS and A Level History Conferences Learning and Access in Museums 02/03 Case Studies from Northern Ireland This document brings together, for the first The examples here illustrate the range and quality of what museums have to offer, their unique role in providing educational opportunities time, examples of a range of learning projects that are not available anywhere else, and the highly professionalized skills and expertise that museums and their staff bring to Education provided right across the Northern Ireland and learning throughout Northern Ireland. museums sector – be they nationally funded, Perhaps most importantly, they demonstrate the reach that museums run by local authorities, or owned and have within communities and the support they provide to people who want to, or may be inspired to, learn more about their own histories, managed by independent organisations heritage and cultural identities, and those of others. and charities. These programmes in museums also help people to develop skills that increase their confidence, self-esteem and employability. In doing so, museums have highly positive In bringing together this list, the Northern and far-reaching impacts on wider Northern Ireland society and economy, and contribute Ireland Museums Council has attempted to considerably to the Programme for Government. reflect the range and variety in the sorts of Learning resources produced through these case studies have ranged from exhibitions, to educational packs, to CDs and DVDs, to online resources, to films and documentaries, learning opportunities provided by museums to publications and photographs – every possible medium has been employed with the in Northern Ireland. aim of making history more accessible to people. The case studies here have been funded by a wide range of different sources. Much of the funding has come from the museums themselves and from their governing bodies. Departments, European funding, the Heritage Lottery Fund, private sponsorship, and the Northern Ireland Museums Council itself have all been important players. This range in funders illustrates not only how adept museums are at securing support for what they believe is important – it also shows how relevant they are to a wide range of different agendas. The range of case studies here is by no means exhaustive. It is a sample of what museums have to offer, and does not cover every museum in Northern Ireland or every project of value. Some museums have submitted more than one case study. There is no benchmark for museum learning projects in Northern Ireland, and the scope in what they have to offer, and the variety of audiences they reach, is such that it would not be a worthwhile exercise to judge one against the other. Hence, all those submitted have been included here. NIMC will continue to gather such case studies to contribute to the growing body of evidence. Case Study 01 04/05 Causeway Museum Service Community Outreach Project Target audience Community Groups, Primary Schools, Post-Primary Schools, Further Education, life long learning, tourists Partners Coleraine Borough Council, , Limavady Borough Council, Ballymoney Borough Council Moyle District Council Main Funders Heritage Lottery Fund 01 Contact Causeway Museum Service Officer: Helen Perry Tel. 028 7034 7234 / 028 4461 5218 Websites Causeway Museum Service: www.colerainebc.gov.uk Community Archives: www.commanet.org www.ni archive.org and www.storyfinders.co.uk; Limavady Heritage Trails: http://www.limavady.gov.uk/interactive-map/ Causeway Mountsandel: www.mountsandel.com Museum Service Community Outreach Project The Causeway Museum Service (CMS) develops and delivers museum services across four council areas: Coleraine, Limavady, Ballymoney and Moyle. CMS works with four Accredited museums: Coleraine Museum which delivers an extensive temporary exhibition and workshop programme in Coleraine Town Hall, Green Lane/ Limavady Museum, Ballymoney Museum and Ballycastle Museum. The Causeway Museum Service is currently developing a new regional museum in the centre of Coleraine, and delivers extensive collections management, access and outreach services across the region. The Causeway Museum Service Community Outreach Project was funded on a three-year basis by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the four councils, from 2005 – 2008. It focused on five cross community projects delivered across the Causeway area, underpinned by a regional skills and knowledge sharing network. The planned objectives of the project were: _ To build community engagement with local heritage, encouraging a positive sense of ownership and identity. ‘Teachers remarked how using the boxes _ To promote awareness and appreciation of local heritage and identities to added an extra dimension to their work a wider audience. _ To provide opportunities for knowledge sharing and skills transfer within in the classroom, and how the children the community. enjoyed the experience of interacting _ To demonstrate the scope and potential of the Causeway Museum Service’s contribution to the wellbeing of our local communities. with older people and with objects to _ To develop community participation in the development of the Causeway learn about the past.’ Museums Service. Northern Ireland Museums Council Case Study 01 06/07 Causeway Museum Service Community Outreach Project The Community Outreach Projects were: On completion of this pilot phase the Project was subjected to an extensive Age Concern – A cross community Reminiscence and Living History project working evaluation, all of the results of which cannot be included here. Evaluation methods in partnership with two local primary schools; included twelve semi-structured interviews with community participants; face to face interviews with three teachers who were involved in the Mountsandel and Age Ballymoney villages – A cross community project based on exploring the history Concern projects; one focus group with Age Concern participants; three telephone of the area. interviews with other stakeholders; and a focus group session with Museum Service A cross community project that developed Limavady Heritage Trails; staff. Evaluation forms completed by pupils and teachers as part of the Age Concern Day in the Life of Mountsandel – A two year cross community schools programme and Mountsandel Projects were analysed. producing an e-learning resource in partnership with the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment, Conservation Volunteers, and Environment and Heritage Service (now the Northern Ireland Environment Agency); Reminiscence and Living History North Antrim Masonic Lodges – A project to document and conserve the collections Age Concern Project of and present an exhibition on the development of Boyd’s Ballycastle; Regional Network – The establishment of a Regional Network for sharing skills Through this project, the Causeway Museum Service and Age Concern between the museum service and communities. worked together to develop: _ A series of loan boxes of items from the charity’s handling collection, on the subject Due to the of the recent past. The loan boxes were piloted in two schools, where two classes success of this A wide range of resources were produced, are still available and underpin from each school worked with them over the period of a term as part of the Recent