The Bowes Museum Blog
Work Experience Diary: Iz
I decided to do my work experience at The Bowes Museum because I have recently become a Young Volunteer as part the summer programme. I am very passionate around fashion and design and by experiencing different careers around the museum, I believe this will help my communication skills and support me to learn more about myself and more around my interests, which relate to aspects of careers in the museum such as art and design or providing tours.
Day one:Monday 7th July
The morning began promptly at ten with Co-Production Volunteer Manager, Jess White. We had a discussion around our aims and what we wish to take out of the opportunity which was followed by a quick tour of the third floor which is exclusively for staff members. At the beginning of our discussion we all felt slightly nervous because we didn’t really know what to expect and I was worried because I have never been in a professional workplace before, however after the tour we felt much more at ease after meeting the very welcoming staff and felt more secure in what we are going to be doing after going through the itinerary. We then attended a spotlight tour around the outside of the museum and the history around its origins. The tour guide spoke a lot of John and Joséphine whom were the founders of the museum. I found the tour very interesting and extremely informative considering it was only half an hour long, however I do believe the sound could have been improved because at times I struggled to hear, therefore understand some of her information. After the tour we spoke with Hannah who is the Lead Activator at the museum, she talked to us about what her job entails volunteering in activation. She looks at objects within the museum that she finds fascinating and will learn and research around those objects. We next went with Hannah and did a tour of the creative areas in the museum including the conversation space and then had a tour of the Hive which was set up by the young curators last year. To conclude our mini workshop, we picked out three items each that we found interesting and presented them to the group. I chose the three below which include a lace fan, vegetable and fruit tea pot and finally a dessert plate. I found all three very fascinating and even more so when i researched around the history of them.
Finally we finished the day by concluding our thoughts on the spotlight tour by producing a review and then consolidating what we enjoyed about the day by sharing our blogs. I found today very helpful to understand how the museum works and I was astonished of how many people it takes behind the scenes to produce all the galleries and experiences provided.
Day Two: Tuesday 8th July 2025
Today we were greeted by Connor and Harriet who are part of the learning team. We headed to the create space and had an introduction to their job at the museum. They explained to us that they create tours and workshops to help to entertain and educate people across the museum, based on the themes of the galleries, which change every 6 months. We then had a quick tour of the curiosity galleries which consists of the create space, the conversation space and the curiosity gallery. Then we began to mind map ideas which linked to the three themes, which are going to be featured in the museums next exhibits. Childhood. which will be in the curiosity gallery, labour which will be in the conversation space and storytelling which will be in the create space.
After lunch we then watched the swan performance which I found very fascinating and I was very impressed with the facts that were presented about the swan, because it shows how it is a one of a kind artefact which is personal to the museum. We then headed into the museum and looked at artefacts that would link to the themes for the new galleries and picked out things such as paintings, clothing and items that had links to one or more of the ideas. Next we discussed this and finally we concluded by writing up our blogs. I found today very interesting because I didn’t know what the learning team did and I found that today was very insightful into the understanding of different careers across the museum and the creation of programmes to entertain the public.
Day three: Wednesday 9th July 2025
To start off the day we met Faye who works in marketing in The Bowes Museum. She explained how her role includes creating all of the museums social media posts. Personally, I enjoyed today the most because I really enjoyed the atmosphere. We spent the day making TikToks and Instagram posts by researching history around the Fashion and Textile gallery, which is currently displaying Joséphine’s taste and her collection within clothes, jewellery and shoes. At the end of the day we made the posts by learning about how to produce a caption which draws in the users depending on the platform, and finally looked at scheduling times when the posts will receive the most attention. Overall I found today very interesting and I learned about the behind the scenes of the museums socials and how much time and work it takes to make sure the posts get the attention they deserve, and that the artefacts and information is conveyed to catch everyone no matter your interests or what platforms you use.
Day four: Thursday 10th July
Today we met with Vin and Cathrine who showed us to the workshop and we all had a go with the drill taking out screws from the wall. I found this very scary because I have never used a drill before, but it was a really fun experience. Next we went outside because they were taking in a painting that had come back from Japan. We didn’t really do much for the next two hours, which I found quite boring because there was a lot of sitting around and waiting, however we met George who took us to the production of the new exhibit they are creating and we painted a block each. I found this very fun because I love painting and the we washed our brushes. After lunch we met David and we sat in the meeting about the Christmas market which I found quite long because we sat in a room for the full hour without doing or contributing much. Then we headed to the shop and helped with a display, which I found very interesting to see how much effort and thought is put into the placements of item. Finally we went to the cafe and met the chefs and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes of the kitchen and the free brownie which was delicious!
Day Five: Friday 11th July
Today we spent time with the collections team and in the afternoon we looked at light levels with Joe. I found the afternoon extremely interesting because after looking at the lights we headed downstairs and looked at artefacts and the history behind them. Finally we concluded with Jess and we reviewed our experience by completing a feedback form on what we enjoyed and what could be improved.
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