FEATURE
THE COFFIN WORKS embracing change and exploring new opportunities Since the Coffin Works first opened its doors to share the history of Newman Brothers’ coffin fittings manufactory in October 2014 its guided tours have, for the most part, been the only way to experience the museum. This has won the museum and its volunteer tour guides many awards, including the notable Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services. However, when Covid-19 forced the Coffin Works to close its doors and reopen with government guidelines in place, it took the bold decision to change this award-winning model. Without this change it wouldn’t have been profitable to run hourly guided tours based on the rule of six and this also mitigated against the risk of losing tour guides, due to shielding. Following a brief period of reopening, the Coffin Works conducted an online survey which overwhelmingly indicated that most people wanted to experience the museum by themselves, but also have the option of a guided tour. On 25th June 2021, the museum re-opened with a hybrid model consisting of a guided tour at 11am, and self-guided entry 12pm-4pm, and they haven’t looked back since! Offering the chance to take the museum at your own pace has made the museum much more accessible to families; those with language barriers; those who have time restraints (this includes people on day trips to Birmingham or people who may physically or mentally struggle to spend over an hour focussing on a guided tour); and those who simply do not like guided tours. The Coffin Works is really pleased with the success of this new model; being able to welcome a whole new range of visitors and still provide their famed guided tours means they are achieving the best of both worlds. Their latest reviewer said: “My boys are both autistic. It’s not easy to get to attractions unless it’s special days in holidays, but today was fantastic for them. Volunteers were all great, the kid’s activity was spot on and everything was autism friendly whether it’s intentional or not. Will definitely be back!” In July 2020 the Coffin Works was awarded a prestigious Museums Association’s Sustaining Engagement With Collections grant of £21,500, to make innovative adaptations to the museum. The
process was extremely competitive, with only a 10% chance of success, so they took confidence that the funders had faith in their resilience and vision. This grant enabled the museum to add certain enhancements to their self-guided model, ensuring their award-winning visitor experience was not just maintained, but exceeded. This involved creating a digital Mobile Tour; an introductory information booklet for each visitor; natural barriers to guide visitors round the new one-way system; object and oral history QR codes; and a new interactive area, which all visitors, adults and children alike, seem to love! Most importantly for the self-guided model and enhanced visitor experience, they created the volunteer role of ‘Room Enabler’. Room Enablers primarily provide a friendly face to all the Coffin Works’ visitors. They give every visitor a warm welcome to each room, answer any questions and provide as much - or as little! - information about that particular room as the visitor wants to know. This is a role that allows volunteers to slowly build up their knowledge room by room, to engage with visitors and to inspire them to learn. Being a Room Enabler is also an excellent gateway into Tour Guiding, providing a chance to build your knowledge and confidence before jumping straight in to guiding. The Coffin Works’ volunteers are a friendly, passionate and engaging bunch. The Coffin Works welcomes anyone and everyone who wants to give volunteering a go and are happily flexible around your own schedules and commitments. They are currently recruiting Room Enablers, so if you have a passion for Birmingham and its history, for meeting new people and for being part of a brilliant team then do get in touch by emailing volunteers@coffinworks.org. The Coffin Works hopes to welcome you soon, either as a visitor or as a new member of the team! n By Claire McGibbon, Volunteer & Operations Co-ordinator, Coffin Works SPRING 2022 • issue 68
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