Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Launch! Blast off!
Last Saturday we launched our exhibition, 'Illness and Medicine'! It was a great night with loads of friends and family there to support us. The project team delivered a brief presentation before cutting the ribbon and opening the exhibition to the public. The handheld audio-guides proved really popular, as did the touch screen computer! It was fantastic to see everything fall in to place after several months of hard work! Here's a few photos of the night!
Saturday, 2 April 2011
SUUUP
Today we have arranged the objects in our exhibition! WOOOOO! We all really enjoyed this task, it was another chance to work as a team. Also it really gave us the feeling that our work has made an impact.
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Here we go again
It's been a while since our last update, so here's one to cover the last three months, written by two inexperienced members of the group; therefore go easy on us. Good plan, ay?
After the Christmas holidays, we had a mammoth 5 hour session, in which new arrivals (us 2 + 3 others) enjoyed the buffet for the first time! In this session we started to plan floor arrangements and digital outputs. However, looking back at the blog's main page, I realise you've heard the outcome of this: the animation, but we also decided on creating some voice recordings to explain about the objects in the display.
Since then we've had a fair few more sessions, including several visits to the stores and object handling sessions. We've also developed the animation plans, including throwing around ideas for a main character and rejecting Barney the dinosaur as this... as depressing as this might be.
Just 2 weeks ago, we had a professional animator, Christian Darkin, come to help get some further ideas about our animation. Since then, he has sent sample images from the animation for us to view, and it looks amazing! But that's as much as we're telling...
On the same day, we also had a photographer to show London what we do in a session:
Christian, the animator
Idea discussion for animation
Hard at work with planning
After the Christmas holidays, we had a mammoth 5 hour session, in which new arrivals (us 2 + 3 others) enjoyed the buffet for the first time! In this session we started to plan floor arrangements and digital outputs. However, looking back at the blog's main page, I realise you've heard the outcome of this: the animation, but we also decided on creating some voice recordings to explain about the objects in the display.
Since then we've had a fair few more sessions, including several visits to the stores and object handling sessions. We've also developed the animation plans, including throwing around ideas for a main character and rejecting Barney the dinosaur as this... as depressing as this might be.
Just 2 weeks ago, we had a professional animator, Christian Darkin, come to help get some further ideas about our animation. Since then, he has sent sample images from the animation for us to view, and it looks amazing! But that's as much as we're telling...
On the same day, we also had a photographer to show London what we do in a session:
Christian, the animator
Idea discussion for animation
Hard at work with planningThat's almost everything we've done since January, so Good Day to you!
Monday, 24 January 2011
Animation!
It's been a while..... how are you all? Last Saturday we decided to have an animation for our digital output. We also started to think about the exhibition display cases and what we want in each one. We had loads of different ideas for the animation, but decided on one telling the story of 'illness and medicine' in the different cultures we have been studying. Then this Saturday we began planning and created a storyboard to send to the animators. We don't want to give too much away, other than say it's going to be amazing!
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
We're up at the library!
Several weeks before Christmas a few of us went down to Durham University library to put up some posters showing everybody what we have been up to. We were given a good spot next to the main entrance, so hopefully plenty of students and visitors will see what we've been up to! Here are some images of our library exhibition, which will run from December 2010 until late February 2011!
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
The Chinese School of Durham
Last Saturday we were visted by several teachers and students from the Chinese School of Durham. It was a fantastic day. The museum's curator, Craig, started by giving a guided tour around the museum whilst the children did our trail! We then had lunch together (with the most amazing chocolate cake ever!). We then all went into the classroom and saw the Chinese objects we have chosen for our exhibition. Everybody had the chance to handle the objects and ask questions. Many of the teachers and parents from the school had loads to tell us about the different objects and it was really useful! Photos to follow soon!
Saturday, 27 November 2010
The Anticipated Return and the Weather
[The below entry was written by Dan T, one of the founding students of Stories of the World Durham and previous 'Blog-writing extraordinaire'. Dan is now at the University of Leicester and went to the Horniman Youth Conference as a part of the Durham delegation. Unfortunately, due to snow, we weren't able to make it from Durham, but travelling from Leicester, Dan went anyway... here are his thoughts!]
Well well well well (too many wells) after an absence of typing in this blog for a few months, that's right I'm back. It is only a cameo appearance.
What a day I have had as you may well know the plan was for the SOTW team to go to London and for me to meet them there then go to the youth conference at the Horniman Museum. There was however a lot of snow and as we all know Britain and especially public transport is rubbish in the snow so unfortunately they had to cancel, and I was gutted at this because I was looking forward to seeing people. Not to worry though I decided to do all I could (which really wasn't that much) to save the day. Armed with a Laptop a semi functioning brain I set off for London, this was because everything else was in Matt's kitchen. With hindsight I should have prepared something the night before but I went to sleep instead. I had the marketplace all planned out steal their printer, which they let me do, and then use this brilliant blog. As the theme of this trip is things not going to plan the Internet wouldn't work, panic time, so in my robust borderline insane or maybe troubled genius I whipped some PowerPoint presentation up in about 8 minutes printed it off and stuck it on the wall. rap but effective. Anyways I did my best to sell the project but after a prolonged absence it was more difficult than I anticipated.
The day started with three papers on youth culture and the challenges they face. This is a wide grouping as each was unique but I can't be bothered to write about each one in detail at the moment (I'm very tired). Two focused around gender roles using young men who modify their cars and do these have a place in museums. Make your own judgments. The second on the skull as a symbol of death in fashion. Quite morbid but so are the team with their exhibition. The final paper was on the high pitched whistling device used by Local Authorities or Supermarkets to target young people and stop them causing trouble, but at what ethical cost. There we are each had its own unique but linked together perspective. Then there were discussion groups but I skived these to set up the market place.
After the lunch buffet (got nothing on you Matt, especially those chocolate tortes, in fact that would be a great Xmas present hint hint) and the market place the workshops started. I went to one on using applied arts in museums, basically a bit of drama to keep things entertaining for the youngens while they learn. This was incredibly useful and can be considered for events when the SOTW gallery is launched (and I still want to open it, unless you get Stephen Fry nobody else outranks me). The second workshop I attended was on youth led tours I thought this could relate to the already completed trail and the launch event again. This is on how to engage young people more and not just read from a sheet etc. I will post the notes or drop them at the OM in January.
Finally there was an after conference party. After enjoying my food I ventured out to marvel at the brilliant street entertainers of Covent Garden. I then went to Leicester Square because I could, why not eh? Wandered about saw some sights, meant to take photos of the whole day took my camera but forgot the batteries. Then it was back to St Pancras and home.
All in all an exciting stressful challenging but still fulfilling day. It has been a pleasure to write this I am incredibly proud of the prep work the entire team did. I am also incredibly disappointed you couldn't be there. But I tried to deliver in the style of a martyr, but unfortunately it needed a hero, however I delivered a Legend.
Seriously leaving behind the joking arrogance it has been an honour to be allowed to represent Durham despite having very little contact. I am proud of you all and after looking around today you are the cream of the crop and you are going from strength to strength. People often say the sky is the limit; I say rubbish, there is no limit to what you can achieve if you work for it, and you guys have.
Muchos Gracias (with a hint of sadness)
Dan
Well well well well (too many wells) after an absence of typing in this blog for a few months, that's right I'm back. It is only a cameo appearance.
What a day I have had as you may well know the plan was for the SOTW team to go to London and for me to meet them there then go to the youth conference at the Horniman Museum. There was however a lot of snow and as we all know Britain and especially public transport is rubbish in the snow so unfortunately they had to cancel, and I was gutted at this because I was looking forward to seeing people. Not to worry though I decided to do all I could (which really wasn't that much) to save the day. Armed with a Laptop a semi functioning brain I set off for London, this was because everything else was in Matt's kitchen. With hindsight I should have prepared something the night before but I went to sleep instead. I had the marketplace all planned out steal their printer, which they let me do, and then use this brilliant blog. As the theme of this trip is things not going to plan the Internet wouldn't work, panic time, so in my robust borderline insane or maybe troubled genius I whipped some PowerPoint presentation up in about 8 minutes printed it off and stuck it on the wall. rap but effective. Anyways I did my best to sell the project but after a prolonged absence it was more difficult than I anticipated.
The day started with three papers on youth culture and the challenges they face. This is a wide grouping as each was unique but I can't be bothered to write about each one in detail at the moment (I'm very tired). Two focused around gender roles using young men who modify their cars and do these have a place in museums. Make your own judgments. The second on the skull as a symbol of death in fashion. Quite morbid but so are the team with their exhibition. The final paper was on the high pitched whistling device used by Local Authorities or Supermarkets to target young people and stop them causing trouble, but at what ethical cost. There we are each had its own unique but linked together perspective. Then there were discussion groups but I skived these to set up the market place.
After the lunch buffet (got nothing on you Matt, especially those chocolate tortes, in fact that would be a great Xmas present hint hint) and the market place the workshops started. I went to one on using applied arts in museums, basically a bit of drama to keep things entertaining for the youngens while they learn. This was incredibly useful and can be considered for events when the SOTW gallery is launched (and I still want to open it, unless you get Stephen Fry nobody else outranks me). The second workshop I attended was on youth led tours I thought this could relate to the already completed trail and the launch event again. This is on how to engage young people more and not just read from a sheet etc. I will post the notes or drop them at the OM in January.
Finally there was an after conference party. After enjoying my food I ventured out to marvel at the brilliant street entertainers of Covent Garden. I then went to Leicester Square because I could, why not eh? Wandered about saw some sights, meant to take photos of the whole day took my camera but forgot the batteries. Then it was back to St Pancras and home.
All in all an exciting stressful challenging but still fulfilling day. It has been a pleasure to write this I am incredibly proud of the prep work the entire team did. I am also incredibly disappointed you couldn't be there. But I tried to deliver in the style of a martyr, but unfortunately it needed a hero, however I delivered a Legend.
Seriously leaving behind the joking arrogance it has been an honour to be allowed to represent Durham despite having very little contact. I am proud of you all and after looking around today you are the cream of the crop and you are going from strength to strength. People often say the sky is the limit; I say rubbish, there is no limit to what you can achieve if you work for it, and you guys have.
Muchos Gracias (with a hint of sadness)
Dan
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