Open Museum Annual Report

Holywell Primary School regularly borrows from the Artworks scheme but in summer 2005 borrowed especially to support School Focus Week 2005,

“To enhance the Schools own collection of works we were able to borrow thirteen additional pieces from Leicestershire Artworks.  These pieces formed a central stimulus for the work of the children across the school and were chosen to stimulate thought, discussion, creativity and imagination…..

The availability of an art loan service in Leicestershire enabled us to provide the children with a visual, tactile ands sensory experience from which they were able to explore art for themselves gaining an appreciation and enjoyment of this element of the curriculum”.

Comments from a teacher at Holywell Primary School

The Community Education department of Longslade College is a new user of the Moving Objects scheme. They borrowed their first display in December 2005 and have subsequently borrowed 3 further displays from the Open Museum, and have booked a further five over the next academic year.

The displays have been used to support the college’s work with people with learning disabilities and the ‘What a Waste’ and  ‘JunKit’ displays have been used in 2005 to inform creative activities.

The displays are also used to stimulate discussion and interest in the relaxed and social atmosphere of the centre’s cafeteria which staff report is an effective way to stimulate learning in a non-threatening environment

“Thank-you. They display was excellent. We based lessons around it [the display] for people with learning disabilities. They were really enthusiastic. We’re really looking forward to the next display. The support materials were really useful”. Comment on the use of ‘What a Waste?’

Loughborough College have borrowed the ‘Not What it Seems Display’, created by a group of mental health service users and based on their experiences of being ‘pigeon holed’ and labelled by society.  A student has borrowed the display to supplement a presentation she made to fellow students and staff about depression.

The JunKit display, containing artwork made from discarded and recycled materials was used at Syston Library to support Family Learning Week and in particular their ‘LitterArty’ activities. LitterArty was an event run by the library in collaboration with Charnwood Arts for families with older children involving creating art from recycled and reclaimed materials.  The display inspired participants and the Library Development Worker said that she had wanted the display to ‘get families talking together’, ‘involve families in activities’, ‘raise awareness’ and ‘increase people’s knowledge’.

Resource Box lent 8 birds from the Natural Science section of Resource Box to the Royal National Institute for the Blind.  A member, completely blind instigated the loan, asking what a Robin looked like when the group was talking about traditional Christmas images and customs.  A member of staff from the RNIB contacted Resource Box to borrow a Robin but in the end chose 8 birds ranging from an owl to the smallest garden birds.  This allowed a group of blind and visually impaired people to compare the scale, shape and feel of a range of bird species.  The group was so inspired that those who are visually impaired continued with an art project and created a series of illustrations, helped by their increased understanding of the shape and qualities of real birds, and produced a calendar of bird paintings that was printed and distributed.

Each year, Resource Box loans around twenty-five natural history specimens /habitat based loans to Cropston Education Centre, run by Severn Trent Water, and has done do since the centre opened.  A teacher is co-opted to the centre for two years and each one has commented on how valuable the Resource Box loans are to support sessions conveying the variety of wildlife around the reservoir and Bradgate area and the importance of the environment