#008 - July 2016
Dorset County Museum Volunteer Newsletter Dates for Your Diary: LUNCHTIME CONCERTS (1.00pm to 2.00pm) Thurs 14 July-
Dorchester Piano Quartet Thurs 28 July- The
Qwangle Wangle Choir: Inspired by Dorset County Museum’s nostalgic and evocative exhibition of railway posters, Speed to the West. The Quangle Wangle Choir will sing of travel, whether by rail, sea, shanks’ ponyor to the afterlife.
VOLUNTEERS EVENT
Wed 20 July 5.30pm-7.00pm Victorian Hall
Main Exhibition: ‘Speed to the West: A Nostalgic Journey’ until 7 January 2017
In the Tea Room: Rob Pountney’s Wessex Landscapes In the Victorian Gallery: EXTENDED to 9th July‘Commemoration of the Dorset Yeomanry’
Welcome to Issue no.8 of DCMVOX… We have now passed the longest day and are still living in hope that the sun will shine soon! I’m sure you will all agree how great it is to have Jon back in the Museum. Please be reminded Jon is still on a phased return and will be working less than full time hours until further notice. Please contact Anna if you need to speak with Jon, otherwise please continue to contact Jenny and Helen for all collection related enquiries. It is likely that, starting from next month, DCMVOX will be issued every other month. This decision has been reluctantly arrived at to accommodate the increased workload of staff and to ensure the quality of the newsletter remains constant. If any volunteers would like to take on DCMVOX to ensure it remains a monthly newsletter, please send an email Gabby on development@dorsetcountymuseum.org. What would you like to see in next month’s issue? Please email your suggestions to Gabriella Crouch: development@dorsetcountymuseum.org by Mon 25th July. Any suggestions welcome!
Unidentified Photo Exhibition Review By Valerie Dicker The unidentified photo exhibition in the Tea room caused a great deal of interest, even as we were setting it up. Over half were identified, although people came up with at least eight different places for the Pub and two other photos were identified as being from outside the county. We are grateful for the help that Ken’s team gave in setting up and to all the people who went to so much effort to identify them. Also, thank you to George Wickham for enlarging and printing the original photos and postcards.
Tomorrow’s Museum for Dorset Update Where we are… The project team met as usual at the beginning of June and were updated on the developments of the building, activity plan and business plan. All of which are on track and on schedule. Good progress is being made by all the consultants. Various site surveys are currently being undertaken. The Tomorrow’s Museum for Dorset project is the name of our current redevelopment project. This project has preciously been referred to as the Collections Discovery Centre or CDC project. This was the name given to our HLF application and was never intended to externally identify the project. We ask that for all external conversations the project be referred to as Tomorrow’s Museum for Dorset. Please follow @tomorrowsmuseum on Twitter and Instagram for the latest developments
Where we’re heading… The Design and Project team will continue to meet to ensure all elements are on schedule. Stage C designs from the Carmody Groarke architects will be reported later this month. Exhibition interpretation will continue to be developed alongside staff and volunteers.
The priThurs 14 July Dorset County Museum, High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1XA Tel: 01305 262735 - www.dorsetcountymuseum.org
Visitor Quote of the Month: ‘This is absolutely my favourite local museum, please cherish its’ special character.’ Light touch Review of Corporate Governance at DCM 2016
Volunteers Needed
The Board of Trustees has commissioned a review of Corporate Governance at the museum. This will be looking at overall strategies and roles within the DCM. Staff and volunteers do a wonderful job but are often stretched simply for lack of resources. If our exciting project, Tomorrows Museum for Dorset, is successful, the business will expand considerably. It is therefore important that the organisation is prepared and fit for the extra demands on it that will inevitably accrue. The review will be led by Roderick Knight, a member of the DNHAS, who has had considerable experience in governance issues during his lifelong employment with the departments of Social Services and Healthcare. He will be assisted by two trustees, Clare Randall and Andy Fleet, and supported by Peter Down, Jeremy Pope and Peter Foster on an ad hoc basis. In order to gain a better understanding of the museum and how it works, the three members of the team intend visiting all the departments and having informal, one to one, discussions with members of the staff and volunteers. It should be stressed that this is purely a fact finding exercise. Only then can we hope to improve the working of the museum, help people to understand their role within it and improve the structure of it.
Front of House and Tea room
FESTIVAL of ARCHAEOLOGY 2016 at Dorset County Museum
The Festival of Archaeology is a national event which involves over 1000 events being held across the UK between 16 and 31 July .
Here at Dorset County Museum you can get involved with the following events: Tue 19—Museum Store Tours Wed 20— Archaeology Day Sat 23 and Sun 24— Viking Invasion Tue 26—Museum Store Tours Wed 27—Tours of Roman Dorchester Sat 30—Family Archaeology Day For further information, please pick up a leaflet in the Museum or find further details on www.dorsetcountymuseum.org
We continue to require cover, particularly over the summer weekends. The museum is open on Sundays from 24th July to 11th September inclusive. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in having some shifts with one of our most lively teams, please get in touch with Jill Minchin on volunteering@dorsetcountymuseum.org
or Jim Farrell on shop@dorsetcountymuseum.org
COMPETITION British ‘Archaeology’ Bake Off As part of the Festival of Archaeology 2016 we are holding a baking competition. To win you must submit a photo of your ‘archaeology’ themed bake. Think of archaeology in your most show stopping way! It could be a dig, a discovery, a heritage site, an archaeology hero. Equally, it could be cake, biscuit, or even pie or other baked goodness. For full terms and conditions and details of how to enter go to: http://tinyurl.com/archaeocake GOOD LUCK
At the moment we are busy setting up placements for two university students, Jamie Connolly and Robert Parkinson; been successful in the interviews for the Summer is upon us, not that you’d really be Front of House Assistant posts and will help both will be visiting the various sure of it, and the rainy weather has meant departments to gain an insight into the to train any new volunteers. that our Visitor Services Team (Front of behind-the-scenes work of a museum. We are actively seeking existing volunteers House and Tea Room) has been stretched We continue to receive applications from to come in on a Sunday in July/August/ almost to breaking point dealing with the September to help with the Front Desk for would-be volunteers; at the moment I am floods of visitors on wet days. our additional open days. If any volunteers working on four new applications, and We are delighted, therefore, to welcome or Trustees feel able to help on Front Desk completing placements for two others. We Maria Kalograni and Julie Walters as or in the Tea Room for a session, do please can never have enough volunteers! new members of the team – but we still contact either Jim or Kath Fox to discuss Jill Minchin, 30 June 2016 have vacancies there, so do encourage dates. people to come and join us.
Welcome to our new volunteers…. Two of our current volunteers, Clare By Jill Minchin, Volunteer Co-ordinator & Trustee
Backhouse and Nathan Aldridge, have
If you would like to receive this newsletter by email please send your contact details to Gabriella Crouch on development@dorsetcountymuseum.org