Outreach is a key part of the Search & Learn Project, and the museum has been working with a fledgling organisation Museum To You since March 2023 to help achieve this ambition. Co-Founder Frances Webb has kindly provided this update on our joint activities:
We are bridging the gap between the Museum and the local community, focussing on people who cannot access the Museum in person. We do this through taking a series of interactive multi-sensory presentations based on an individual theme. These presentations are created using information and items from the Museum’s archives and incorporating tactile and scented items with photos and audio recordings. We visited nine care homes in the Somerset area in October and November.
Our latest theme was Tea Drinking in Wells. We took a variety of teas for people to identify, an audio recording from an archaeologist talking about the porcelain china found in the museum’s garden and photos of Tea drinking through history. We also went through a Chinese Tea Ceremony and attendees were able to try some jasmine pearl green tea- the verdict was unanimous- yuck!
It was a privilege to witness the presentations stimulate memories and generate discussions between people. Residents in the care homes were delighted to have been thought about and included in accessing their cultural heritage. The experience was a great success, and everyone is looking forward to Museum To You’s next visit. Feedback from the sessions has included:
The audio was fascinating, and I learnt a lot about the museum - Anne.
I really liked hearing about the teas and talking about history - Eire
Amazing day, very interesting. We learned a lot. Are you coming back again, please make sure you book in, I am very happy that you will be coming back to show us more things from the museum again – Sheilagh
I remember Wells Museum and it is nice to see some things from the Museum again - Jane