Your Heritage
The museum, which houses a collection of early scientific instruments in the world’s oldest purpose-built museum building, used our funding to extend and deepen the reach and impact of a special exhibition.
The Renaissance Globe Project developed an education programme to accompany and enrich an exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of the remarkable cartographer and ‘cosmographer’ Gerard Mercator. Through a partnership with a range of other local museums and schools, the project facilitated workshops for secondary school children, families and adults with learning disabilities at a variety of venues across the city. A team of volunteers were recruited to help prepare the activity materials and deliver the sessions, developing skills and subject knowledge in the process.
Over the summer, the workshops enabled thousands of children and adults to engage with the importance of the globe in the history of science, through activities which included model globe-making, research into the period and experiments with navigational instruments. People learned how traditional craftsmanship and the new technologies of print and trade combined to create a communication revolution, not unlike the digital revolution we are experiencing today.
One of the volunteers commented:
"It was satisfying to see a project through to its conclusion and to be involved in all aspects – painting globes, object handling tables, helping with artwork, and being asked by staff for ideas."
More information on the project web page.