Used imaginatively, loan boxes can achieve many different things.
They support cross-curriculum learning for all ages, from history and geography to art, science, drama and citizenship, through handling, examining evidence, questioning, discussion and recollection.
This cannot be done without appropriate supporting material for the person leading the handling session.
Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums Boxes of Delight scheme includes a booklet outlining creative activities designed to suit a variety of learning styles.
These include "hot seating", which requires a member of the group to choose an item from the box and take on the character of the person who might have used or found it – whether that’s an Egyptian tomb builder or an archaeologist. The group then interviews the character to find out more about the object and its context.
Each Box of Delight also contains a shared resource folder that features ideas from other teachers. New users are encouraged to add their own suggestions for future borrowers.
Schools and community groups can also use items from a loan box to curate their own gallery or museum.
Nottingham City Museums and Galleries runs the Access Artefacts scheme, which is funded by Arts Council England.
“Teachers are invited to come into the storeroom and make their own selection of objects to take away,” says Simon Brown, the curator of collections at Nottingham City Museums and Galleries. “They get a bit wide-eyed. It’s great to see them picking items that fit with how they want to teach a subject.”
Some loan collections go beyond simple viewing and handling. The Betty Smithers Design Study Collection at Staffordshire University contains 7,000 items ranging from magazines to vintage clothing, most of which can be borrowed for free by students and staff.
“Film and photography students arrange for models to wear the clothes and will include props from the collection,” says the collection’s assistant Caroline Hunter.
These more open approaches filter down into conventional loan-box schemes, encouraging sensible but positive attitudes to handling.
“It’s important to use the right language,” advises Brown. “If you say ‘don’t break this’, people will be put off. It’s much better to say ‘this is here to be used, please use it!’.”
In the community
Boxes are increasingly in demand for reminiscence sessions in the community. Often this is through a partnership between museums and local authorities, charities such as Age UK, or care homes.
These boxes require a different approach, with specialist guidance on how to select content and how to manage a session where memories – that may be unsettling – are triggered.
National Museums Liverpool (NML) has a long tradition of working with older people in the community. Its Memory Suitcase scheme was created as part of the House of Memories dementia awareness programme.
“Our ambition is to upskill the health and social care workforce and provide them with the resources to carry out their own reminiscence activities,” says Julia Bryan, the senior education manager at NML. “This way we are able to reach more people and have a far greater impact.”
Unlike loan boxes for schools, where the emphasis is on learning, those for reminiscence work aim to encourage an individual to recall their own personal memories. Information about each item should be kept very simple.
“We include objects that stimulate a range of senses, such as a football rattle that creates a distinctive sound, or carbolic soap for a powerful smell,” Bryan says. “Items that have a universal property such as coins are popular and evocative.”
Levels of historical knowledge are not important. “It is never appropriate to correct [a participant],” Bryan says. “The objects mean what they mean to the participant for the duration of a session.”
NML’s programme has extended beyond Liverpool, enabling other museums such as the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery in Leicester and Salford Museum and Art Gallery to work closely with their local communities.
They support cross-curriculum learning for all ages, from history and geography to art, science, drama and citizenship, through handling, examining evidence, questioning, discussion and recollection.
This cannot be done without appropriate supporting material for the person leading the handling session.
Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums Boxes of Delight scheme includes a booklet outlining creative activities designed to suit a variety of learning styles.
These include "hot seating", which requires a member of the group to choose an item from the box and take on the character of the person who might have used or found it – whether that’s an Egyptian tomb builder or an archaeologist. The group then interviews the character to find out more about the object and its context.
Each Box of Delight also contains a shared resource folder that features ideas from other teachers. New users are encouraged to add their own suggestions for future borrowers.
Schools and community groups can also use items from a loan box to curate their own gallery or museum.
Nottingham City Museums and Galleries runs the Access Artefacts scheme, which is funded by Arts Council England.
“Teachers are invited to come into the storeroom and make their own selection of objects to take away,” says Simon Brown, the curator of collections at Nottingham City Museums and Galleries. “They get a bit wide-eyed. It’s great to see them picking items that fit with how they want to teach a subject.”
Some loan collections go beyond simple viewing and handling. The Betty Smithers Design Study Collection at Staffordshire University contains 7,000 items ranging from magazines to vintage clothing, most of which can be borrowed for free by students and staff.
“Film and photography students arrange for models to wear the clothes and will include props from the collection,” says the collection’s assistant Caroline Hunter.
These more open approaches filter down into conventional loan-box schemes, encouraging sensible but positive attitudes to handling.
“It’s important to use the right language,” advises Brown. “If you say ‘don’t break this’, people will be put off. It’s much better to say ‘this is here to be used, please use it!’.”
In the community
Boxes are increasingly in demand for reminiscence sessions in the community. Often this is through a partnership between museums and local authorities, charities such as Age UK, or care homes.
These boxes require a different approach, with specialist guidance on how to select content and how to manage a session where memories – that may be unsettling – are triggered.
National Museums Liverpool (NML) has a long tradition of working with older people in the community. Its Memory Suitcase scheme was created as part of the House of Memories dementia awareness programme.
“Our ambition is to upskill the health and social care workforce and provide them with the resources to carry out their own reminiscence activities,” says Julia Bryan, the senior education manager at NML. “This way we are able to reach more people and have a far greater impact.”
Unlike loan boxes for schools, where the emphasis is on learning, those for reminiscence work aim to encourage an individual to recall their own personal memories. Information about each item should be kept very simple.
“We include objects that stimulate a range of senses, such as a football rattle that creates a distinctive sound, or carbolic soap for a powerful smell,” Bryan says. “Items that have a universal property such as coins are popular and evocative.”
Levels of historical knowledge are not important. “It is never appropriate to correct [a participant],” Bryan says. “The objects mean what they mean to the participant for the duration of a session.”
NML’s programme has extended beyond Liverpool, enabling other museums such as the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery in Leicester and Salford Museum and Art Gallery to work closely with their local communities.