Museums and Education Post Covid
10am - 11am
Education is at the heart of all museum activity and prior to COVID-19 museums provided education activities predominantly in the form of guided tours, staff visits, school outreach, loan boxes and professional development for teachers. When the pandemic hit many took their education online, firstly by providing digital resources for use at home or in school and in time some experimented with virtual visits utilising video conferencing tech. As we emerge from the pandemic museums are looking to the future, looking to relaunch some of those in person activities which are so important while capitalising on the opportunities of digital engagement both for local and global audiences. In this panel discussion we will invite speakers to share their experience of the last few years and thoughts on how museums (especially small to medium sized organisations with low resources) can best navigate this hybrid world.
Chair
Nicola Henderson
XpoNorth Heritage Sector Specialist
Nicola Henderson is a freelance arts and heritage professional. She has worked within Scotland's Cultural Sector for almost 20 years - from Glasgow to Aberdeenshire via Skye and Sutherland. Nicola has worked as director of two of Scotland's leading cultural organisations - Timespan in Helmsdale and The Barn in Banchory. Following the birth of her first child, Nicola has worked freelance on a number of creative projects - from devising and delivering Associate Artist Programmes to managing New Music Scotland and working with the Highland heritage sector on building resilience.
Nicola currently works as the Heritage Specialist for XpoNorth and as the Innovation and Network manager for Museums and Heritage Highland - two roles that overlap in supporting museums to innovate for a sustainable future. She also co-runs the Museums Immersive Network with Cornwall Museums Partnership.
Speakers
Gillian MacNee
Gillian is an engagement professional with twenty years’ experience in educational positions, working for a wide range of organisations including Historic Environment Scotland, the University of Aberdeen Museums, the National Museums of Scotland, Riverside Museum, the Edinburgh Science Festival, and the Glasgow Science Centre. She has been involved in the researching, funding, developing and running of a wide spectrum of events for varied audiences. She has a BA in Museum and Exhibition Design, and a MA in Museum Education.
Katey Boal
Engagement Manager
Katey has a background in Museums and Education. She has been working in Heritage for 20 years, starting in Historic houses in Western Canada and for the past 10 years has made the North of Scotland her home. She has significant experience in designing educational experiences that create positive outcomes for the participants. Katey has a BA in Classical History from the University of Victoria in Canada as well as an MA in Museum and Gallery Education from the University of Leicester.
Steve Gardam
Director, Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
Steve Gardam has been director of the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden since 2015. Steve has worked in cultural heritage organisations of all sizes for 25 years, including London Metropolitan Archives, Imperial War Museums, and London Transport Museum. He firmly believes cultural organisations are here to help make lives better in whatever way their strengths can do most good: from the simple pleasures of a family day out to longer term projects that build skills, confidence and opportunity for young people, and everything in between.
Mark Macleod
Mark Macleod is a freelance museum professional and from January 2021 until March 2022, he supported Gairloch Museum for outreach, engagement and education projects.
Mark is fascinated by the space in a museum between the visitor and object and enjoys exploring ways for that space to provide connections. It can be done using labels, stories, lesson plans or tours, and the audience could be engaged in formal or non-formal learning. Whatever the opportunity, Mark is keen the learner has tools to create their own meaningful moment.
Mark is also co-manager of Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum leading on education, engagement and events. Before undertaking freelance contracts Mark worked at Falconer Museum, University of St Andrews Museum Collection and The Infirmary medical museum.
Karen Buchanan
Curator, Gairloch Museum
Karen Buchanan is Curator of Gairloch Museum, where she has worked since 2013. She oversaw the redevelopment of the museum and its move to a new building in 2019. This new heritage attraction has regenerated a key site in Gairloch village and was winner of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2020.