Author: IT Team

This year’s summer programme will run from 23^rd July – 5^th September 2022, and is named ‘Made In the Black Country’.

Made In The Back Country is a celebration of what makes the Black Country Special, with the title referencing everything from industry and goods, to people.

 

The site will be split into the following Zones with key messages:

Newcomen Green/Colliery – Mining in the Black Country and its impact.

Jerushah Green – Black Country people: highlighting their ingenuity, entrepreneurship and coping with hard times.

Folkes Park – Black Country sporting heroes

Old Birmingham Road – Immigration to the Black Country

Village and Old Birmingham Road – Importing/exporting goods

Boat Dock – Canals and industry

Each Zone is listed on a leaflet that encourages visitors to ask questions and explore the museum.

 

Characters

We have two new key characters for this event:

Gwen Lally – the pageant master, directed many pageants, including one performed in Dudley.

Francis Brett-Young – A writer who based some of his books in the Black Country.

These Characters will be encouraging visitors to help them research stories of the Black Country to include in their works, Gwen Lally as a director and Francis as a writer. Gwen Lally will also lead the ‘skit’ which will be performed on the Boat Dock.

 

Activities

For this programme, we will be giving out leaflets containing enquiry-based questions, similar to our school trail. They will be used to direct people around the site, encouraging visitors to speak to characters.

Craft – We will be creating paper crates/cubes using scissors and glue and then using stencils to spray felt pen onto the side of the cubes. The stencils will say ‘Med In The Black Country’

Games – We have a football penalty shootout and portable Tennis net to have out in the park for visitors to use.

 – Street Games will run as normal

Performance/Skit – On the boat dock, we will perform a potted History of The Black Country, covering everything from the discovery of coal – through to the formation of the Museum. This will be a fast-paced light-hearted performance in the style of ‘Horrible Histories’ and will be performed 4 times each day at 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm.

As part of our continual programme of ensuring engagement and communication across the Museum’s operational and strategic activity, we will be holding briefings to update all colleagues on the Museum’s progress and the plans for the remainder of 2022, a critical year for the launch of the first of the Forging Ahead buildings. These briefings will take place on:

• Wednesday 13 July 2022
• Thursday 14 July 2022
• Wednesday 20 July 2022

All the briefings will be held in the WI and will commence at 9.15, finishing at 9.45.  Many of you will already be scheduled by your line managers to attend one of these sessions, please volunteer your name on the attached signup sheet if you have not yet been contacted.

All contracted colleagues are mandated to attend these sessions. We would also strongly urge colleagues from both our volunteer and casual community to all attend.

You only need to attend one of the briefing sessions.

Refreshment will be provided in the WI.

Can you please sign up using the following link: All Staff Briefings

If you have any trouble signing up for the briefing because you do not have a BCLM email address, please speak to your line manager who will be able to add your name for you.