AdminWe had a rainy but packed day in Ipswich with lots of members of CIMS (Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service) staff giving up their time and giving us an insight into the work they do and the projects that they are currently working on. Lauren Ephithite, gives us an overview.
It was great to pretend to be a school group visiting Ipswich Museum for a natural history school session led by Molly Carter, Collections and Learning Curator.
Next we heard from Rachel MacFarlene who is running the Training Museum before we heard from some of the trainees themselves, including hearing about the very successful rap evening. Emily, one of the trainees has written a blog about her experience of the day here.
We had presentations from Curators and Visitor Services staff about World Culture Collections, Subject Specialist Networks and a new live interpretation project in Christchurch Mansion. We also heard from Bill Seaman, Museums, Arts and Culture Manager about their recent restructure and the development of their new Collections and Learning Curator posts.
Two new SEMFed members share their experiences of the day:
I thought the day was really worthwhile. It was well paced with a variety of topics covered by people who are clearly passionate about what they do, and doing it very well. I was particularly interested in Ipswich Museum’s innovative changes to the structure of their organisation. The lunchtime discussion tables were also very helpful, inspiring me to get moving with my AMA. Just what I needed!
Miranda Rowlands, SHAREd Enterprise Project Officer
Chatting to other study day attendees about what animal group a hippo belongs in while wandering through Ipswich Museum was a great start to my first SEMFed event. We explored the natural history galleries with Molly, a CIMS Curator, and had the opportunity to learn more about their new STEM learning session. This was a great opportunity for me to chat to some of the other museum professionals and set me up for a great day. We talked about Islamic Art, museum traineeships and completing the AMA as the day went on. A varied programme with something for everyone whatever your speciality or interest and a warm welcome from the Director of Colchester and Ipswich Museums too. I’ll definitely be back!
Orla Kennelly, Archives Specialist, Norfolk Record Office
