I'd like
to start today's post by apologising for my recent failure to post anything for
ages. Birthdays, hangovers, lack of funds and failure to get into exhibitions
has meant that I have been lazy and failed to keep up the regularity of my
postings. To make this up to you, instead of flowers and chocolate, I am going
to give you a rundown of my recent historical activities- lucky you!
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'Oh! What a treat, another blog to read!' |
The
Geffrye Museum, Shoreditch:
Tucked away
on Kingsland road is the Geffrye Museum which is dedicated to showing the
visitors what English middleclass homes looked like throughout the centuries.
The building itself is impressive- former almshouses owned by the ironmongers
guild, one of which you can visit fairly frequently to see what life was like
for poor people in the 18th and 19th centuries. The main focus of those who run
the Geffrye is to provide an educational experience for children of all ages
and abilities. While we were there, we took part in one of the many activities
offered to the children when they visit with their schools. We were given an
object and asked a series of questions about what we thought it was, its
purpose, what time period it was from, etc. After much discussion as a pair, we
eventually worked out that the replica statue of the nun-like lady was a salt
holder from the Tudor period! This was very engaging and lots of fun. The
Geffrye is very skilled at making the experience enjoyable for the children
through interactive talks about the rooms while looking at them, handling
objects and allowing children to discover for themselves about the history of
the house by using ipads to research objects. As I child, I would have really
enjoyed the inclusive ways the museum makes children feel interested and furthers
their understanding of history in the home.
However,
as an 'adult' visitor (I use the word 'adult' loosely as I still partake in
burping competitions and enjoy dressing up as medieval lady, see Museum of
London photos) I found the museum underwhelming. The narrow corridors meant that
I felt I was constantly in someone else's way while looking at the rooms,
meaning I rushed through the museum and took little in. Without moving the
rooms to a larger space, there isn't really nay resolution to be found. I would
recommend the Geffrye as it is an interesting museum but be prepared to murmur
'sorry' and 'excuse me' every few minutes as you attempt to squeeze past
others.
Geffrye Museum
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The Geffrye Museum, photograph taken by the wonderful Gillian Gryz |
The
Museum of London, London Wall:
Having
visited this particular museum a couple of times before, I thought I knew what
to expect: a literal walk through London’s colourful history from archaeology
to present day, focusing on a range of topics throughout with many
interactive activities as you went along. Due to prior commitments, I had to
rush through the museum in the space of an hour, meaning I was not as fully
engaged as I could have been. Saying that, the majority of the museum did not
disappoint. To my shame, I am not hugely interested in archaeology and so
breezed through that part which then led me to the Roman and Anglo-Saxon part
of the museum which has been called 'Our Londinum 2012'. Immediately, my
attention was drawn to a case with a magazine showing 'Will and Kate' and a placard
and roman coins saying 'Wealth'. Confused, I turned to my friends and asked
them whether they understood what was meant by placing a magazine and Roman
coins together. With no clear answer, I looked at the other objects in the
cabinet and saw that they too were making dubious links between the modern day
and Roman Britain. As I continued through the exhibit, I was in a state of
confusion and annoyance at the blatant dumbing down which have been used to
make it relevant for children. This included displaying a Roman kitchen with
accurate equipment then a packet of coffee and a spray can of oil as well as
showing Roman tools and a modern hard hat with the placard saying 'Do you think
Romans cared about their safety?'
But this
isn't the worst example of trying to make history relevant we saw. In one part
of the exhibition, a film showing two young people discussing how the Romans
were similar to us today was shown on loop. In theory, this would have been a
very good tool to make history relevant for younger people, who doesn't like
watching things?! However, despite their good intentions, the film was
patronising, at time irrelevant and over simplistic. There was about 30 seconds
of comparison e.g. 'I wear earrings, so did the Romans', then 2 minutes of
footage of one or both of the teenagers walking about the street, sharing fags
and having a casual conversation about where to go for lunch. It was poorly
edited and not at all engaging in a positive way. From my understanding, 'Our
Londinum' was created through working with Junction, the museum's youth panel.
In my teenage years, I would have felt patronised and put off (as I do now) if
I came across this attempt to make it relevant for my age group so I find it
interesting that it was the youth who helped to create the exhibition. I would
be fascinated to see how much say they had over the creation of the juxta-posed
object, over simplistic placards and awful film and to what extent it was the
museum trying 'to be down wiv da kidz.' From watching this behind the scenes
interview with members from Junction, it would appear that the 'kidz' are partially
to blame for the modern objects. I wonder whether they realise they are dumbing
down the exhibition or whether they thought that it would be effective? I have
concerns that some younger children might come away from that exhibition thoroughly
confused about Roman society and asking their parents ‘Did Romans have fake
nails?’. This is just my opinion but without the modern objects it is just easy
to see the similarities and differences between both societies without dumbing
it down.
Saying that, I really enjoyed the video of the re-enactment of the gladiator
fights as it really highlighted the differences between our societies without
spelling it out so bluntly. The rest of the visit was very enjoyable,
particularly the Pleasure Gardens and the Wellclose prison cell in which you
can see the inmates names scratched into the walls. The Museum of London is an
excellent museum but needs to be cautious not to patronise teenagers through
dumbing down history to try to make it more relevant.
Yah
get me bruv?!
Museum of London Gallery
Youtube of how they created the exhibit
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Peasant and muddled medieval lady chilling in a tunic, photographed by Gillian Gryz |
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'Home sweet home' Anglo Saxon style |
archaeolog
archaeolog