WPI Update: Museum of London & Continued Project Work
A big thank you to all of the fellows and other ITP followers who have contributed so far to the WPI students’ research into the role of the curator worldwide, gender composition of the museum workforce, and training opportunities on offer to ITP fellows. The students – and the ITP team – really appreciate all the information, ideas and advice provided so far. Their research up to now has included surveys, emails and phone calls, as well as a fair bit of reading, both print and online! If you have any resources, tips, links etc on these topics that you think could be helpful to the group, they would love to hear from you! Please email itp@britishmuseum.org
They’ve only got two weeks left to complete the project, so every little helps!
Below, they have written to catch you up on what they’ve been seeing out and about in London over the past week…
Written by Sarah, Edward, Jessica and Ryan: Worcester Polytechnic Institute ITP Placement Students 2018
Installation view, Votes for Women, Museum of London
This week we had the opportunity to visit the Museum of London and see the exhibition Votes for Women. We learned about famous suffragettes like Emmeline Pankhurst, Louise Mary Eates and Emily Katherine ‘Kitty’ Willoughby Marshall. It was inspiring to see such strong-willed women in history. In addition to visiting this exhibition, we also explored the rest of the museum, which documents the history of London from 450,000 BC until now. Their displays feature interactives, digital technology and even a wall of LEDs.
Emmeline Pankhurst’s hunger strike medal
While at the Museum of London, we had the chance to see some of our fellow WPI students working on their own project. The WPI team working with the Museum of London is centred around making interactive activities for young visitors to stay involved and have fun. As part of our visit, we decided to take part in their activity and find some simple machines throughout the museum. It was a great experience to see what our other classmates have been working on during our time in London.
Meeting other WPI students at Museum of London
With our limited time in London drawing to a close, we have also been exploring other sites on our own. This weekend, Sarah went to the Tower of London. Although the Crown Jewels were stunning and impressive, her favourite part was seeing how the uses changed throughout the centuries. Jess visited HMS Belfast and was amazed to see how a naval ship could be re-purposed as a museum.
Jessica, Ryan, Edward and Sarah