For the third year running, we invited a local Primary school to work alongside staff and ‘take over’ one of our sites as part of the National ‘Kids in Museums’ initiative. This year, a class of Year 5 pupils from Whetley Academy came to work alongside staff at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery.
In small groups the pupils performed a number of tasks which ranged from creating a family trail to becoming exhibition curators giving gallery talks, judging artwork, gilding, pest control and answering the phones. Their enthusiasm and skills were evident right from the off as they set about ‘taking over’ Cartwright Hall, below are a few quotes from some of the pupils who took part.
‘Looking at the insects and finding out about the pest because it was exciting and I used the magnifying glass’
‘The gilding was absolutely astonishing. It had information of the olden days how they used to handle gold’
‘Answering the phone because I love answering the phone and once I tried this activity it wowed me’
Caroline Marcus ‘National Project Manager’ for Take Over Day, came to observe the day and left the following comments.
‘It was wonderful to see how comfortable and excited the children were in the gallery space by the end of the day. They’d taken ownership, were relaxed with the staff and most of all enjoyed themselves in the Gallery. There was a real buzz. Many plan to return with their friends and family to see ‘’their’’ paintings and objects and to discover more with the trails they’d created together.’
The day was a huge success for both pupils and staff alike and we were so impressed by their efforts that a display of the work they created on the day was put together in one of our galleries.
‘Thanks again for a memorable day, we all loved it and they’re still talking about it now’ – Kris Feather, class teacher.