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Category: Key update

  • BCSC Lectures: Upcoming talk tomorrow

    Black Country Studies Centre’s series of free online talks discussing topics around the theme of Nostalgia continues tomorrow evening with “The Nostalgia Series Part 3: Smell, Autobiographical Memory and Nostalgia”. Tickets are still available and can be booked via our website here. If you’ve missed previous lectures and would like to catch up, recordings from a number of lectures are available to watch via the University of Wolverhampton’s YouTube channel.

    Date: Thursday 29th July, 2021

    Time: 7pm – 8pm

    Venue: Zoom

    Introducing the Nostalgia Series

    Nostalgia is a contentious issue. Whilst for some it is a harmless, helpful, rose-tinted view of the past, it has also been viewed critically, as a form of regressive, reactionary and sentimental escapism. Yet there is a steadily increasing body of work that reassesses nostalgia in a more positive, active and empowering light. Through this research network series, we seek to gain a greater understanding of nostalgia, and its impact on museums, regional and local history, lifelong learning and communities.

    The Talk: Smell, Autobiographical Memory and Nostalgia

    Nostalgia, defined by Pearsall (1998) as a “sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past”, can be bittersweet and may elicit negative feelings like yearning. However, current psychological research emphasises the positive aspects of nostalgia for personally experienced events, including increased feelings of optimism, positivity, self-esteem, and self-continuity.

    Nostalgia can also be understood as a phenomenon of autobiographical memory, where significant events from our lives can be re-experienced through a form of “mental time travel”. Psychological research into autobiographical memory can therefore offer us important insights into nostalgia, and studies have shown that some cues – like smells – may be particularly effective at helping us to reminisce about the past. Indeed, psychological research into the Proust phenomenon confirms that certain smells can unlock vivid memories from childhood – memories that may otherwise be obscured by childhood amnesia.

    This talk discusses two recent studies exploring the connection between childhood memory, smell and location, including the “Snidge Scrumpin’” project that investigated the Proust phenomenon in the Black Country. This found that certain smells, like Teddy Grays herbal tablets – hard-boiled sweets made in Dudley – elicited higher quality memories in those who grew up in the Black Country than those who grew up elsewhere. Typically, the memories recalled in response to smells were also positive, suggesting that odours offer a unique way of remembering pleasant events from our distant past in a manner that may be beneficial. Finally, family and familial locations had an important place within these memories, which is a common characteristic of nostalgia.

    The Speaker:

    Dr Tom Mercer is a Senior Lecturer and cognitive psychologist at the University of Wolverhampton. Tom is one of the coordinators of the Applied Cognition and Individual Differences research group and his main research interest is forgetting. Tom’s research projects typically use the experimental method to examine factors responsible for the loss of memory. Much of this research examines memory for non-verbal, sensory information

    The event will be held on Zoom and a link will be sent shortly beforehand. It is free to attend.

  • Volunteers for Museum Learning Award 2021

    Applications are open for the 13th annual Volunteers for Museum Learning Award.

    The award, which is ran by The British Museum and the Marsh Christian Trust, celebrates the achievements and contribution of volunteers in museums, galleries and heritage sites all over the United Kingdom, recognising their dedication, innovation and excellence in engaging with the public on-site and online.

    Winners of the 12 regional awards will each receive a £500 prize. An overall national winner will also be chosen and they’ll receive an additional £2,000. Prizes will be awarded at a ceremony at the British Museum in autumn 2021.

    The criteria

    –  They are looking for applications which demonstrate that during 2020 volunteers have helped their museum (or site) to adapt to the pandemic and to promote learning and enjoyment.

    –  Applications should focus on the achievements of a specific volunteer or a small team.

    –  The volunteering can be onsite, a contribution to an online project or an off-site activity that supports learning, enjoyment and community engagement.

    –  The volunteering highlighted in the application must have taken place predominantly during 2020. Volunteer projects that were developed in 2020 but could not be launched as planned because of the pandemic will be eligible.

    Who can enter?

    –  An individual or small group of volunteers who engage with the public in a museum, gallery or heritage site.

    –  Multiple individuals or small groups of volunteers from the same museum or gallery are welcome to apply.

    –  Volunteers can nominate themselves but they must have the support of their organisation.

    –  A museum may enter on behalf of an individual volunteer/group of volunteers.

    –  British Museum volunteers are not permitted to apply.

    How to enter

    Go to https://www.britishmuseum.org/support-us/volunteer/marsh-awards to complete an online application. 

    Your application can be submitted via email or as a hard copy.

    –  Please provide a short description of the voluntary activity you are nominating for an award (max. 250 words).

    –  Briefly describe how the volunteer(s) have enhanced the museum experience for visitors or made a difference to their heritage site (max. 250 words).

    –  Include some examples of positive feedback from visitors, museum staff and/or local community members.

    –  If possible, please include up to five photographs related to the volunteer activity and/or your site. Include a leaflet about your museum if you have one.

    Please send your completed statement and supporting documents to:

    Volunteers office
    The British Museum
    Great Russell Street
    London WC1B 3DG

    Or email:
    [email protected]

    All entries must be received by 17.00 on Friday 30 July 2021

  • Museum Update: Moving to Step 4 of the Government’s Roadmap

    With the Government announcement that we will be moving to Step 4 on Mon 19 July we have considered how best to adapt our Museum offer and operations to keep our Team and visitors safe as we go into the Summer.

    To that end the following principles will guide us:

    • We want visitors and the Team to feel safe and comfortable onsite
    • There will be a mixture of attitudes concerning the removal of restrictions and we need to be aware of this and use a blended approach ​
    • Until Test and Trace guidelines change (16/8) we need to avoid any reports of infection for reputational and staffing reasons ​
    • We will use the Summer to consider Team and visitor behaviour (including online booking vs walk ups etc) to consider any more permanent changes to carry through into the Autumn​
    • Therefore we will follow an approach which strongly recommends to visitors to take mitigations; the Team must continue to follow current Step 3 advice until at least 16/8 to reduce business risk of staff being contacted by Test and Trace and/or catching Covid

    We will increase visitors numbers onsite from next week and encourage them to still book in advance and continue to distance and follow the one way routes onsite. Sanitiser stations and QR codes will remain in place, and we will update building signs to recommend one family at a time for the safety of all visitors and staff. Face coverings will be optional but also recommended and one way routes will continue through buildings.

    In the coming weeks our buses will start to run again, with visitors on-board, in the afternoons and all Enterprise units and shows in the School and Cinema will increase their capacity to circa 75%

    As a Team we need to continue to follow the guidelines we are currently all doing a good job of responding to, including keeping socially distanced from our colleagues and visitors and sticking to our set rest areas. Where you cannot maintain a 2m distance from a colleague face coverings still need to be worn for everyone’s safety (unless you are exempt)  and to avoid any close contact incidents. This will be reviewed as we approach 16 August and the rules on Test and Trace change but while there remains a heightened risk of people being contacted to isolate it is business critical that we stick to our current rules. In the coming week we will ask you to respond to an anonymous survey regarding vaccination rates among the staff (now we are 2 months further along since our May survey) so we can better understand what the 16 August changes mean for us.

    Further information about how these changes will impact specific teams will be communicated in appropriate briefings.

    A huge thank you again to everyone and the way we have all changed how we work and engage with each other and visitors so we can stay safe and open.

    Please note all of these changes are from Monday 19 July and do not come into effect until after 1940s Weekend.

  • Action for Happiness: Jump Back Up July

    Action for Happiness is a movement of people committed to building a happier and more caring society.

    Each month they release a “Monthly Action Calendar” which are packed with actions you can take to help create a happier and kinder world.

    This month’s theme is Jump Back Up July. This is all about resilience and understanding how we can build skills that will help us to bounce back.

    Let’s all use their calendar below, or the Action for Happiness App, for their daily suggestions on how we can build our resilience this month. 

    Find out more about Action for Happiness and view their previous monthly action calendars.

  • Parking update

    Parking update

    Now the vaccine centre has closed, please may all staff revert to parking on the left hand side of the car park, freeing up space for visitors on the main area of the car park.

    There is now no requirement to park on the Zoo car park at weekends.

  • Museum & Heritage Award Winners!

    We’re delighted to announce that BCLM won the Best Use of Social Media award for its TikTok channel at last night’s Museum & Heritage Awards (Thu 1 Jul).

    BCLM was up against some worthy competition in York Museums (who were highly commended for their work), the Tank Museum, National Museums Liverpool, and the Coffin Works.

    According to the award’s judging panel BCLM won due to its TikTok’s ‘seismic impact and for seizing the moment in such a robust way, connecting with a core target audience of younger people. The Black Country Living Museum is a real trailblazer.’

    Without the support of colleagues from across all Museum teams this success would not have been possible. Thank you to everyone. A very special thank you must also go to our talented team of Historic Characters who so consistently and wonderfully bring our videos to life and to Abby Bird for her desire to innovate and bring the Museum’s story to people in a bold, new way.

    With over 1.2 million followers BCLM is the UK’s most followed museum on TikTok and is providing inspiration for other heritage organisations in how to connect with future generations. We’re proud to be part of a movement that makes our sector a vibrant and stimulating digital space for people to engage with their history.

  • 125k jabs delivered by the BCLM Vaccination Centre

    Black Country & West Birmingham NHS CCG have shared the amazing news that 125,000 jabs were delivered to the local community across Jan-Jun during the opeation of the Vaccination Centre at the Museum.

    The impressive result couldn’t have been achieved with the hard work of NHS staff and volunteers as well as the support of the BCLM colleagues. Thank you to everyone.

    For the full story, see our news page

  • Colleague Tickets: Peaky Blinders Nights

    We’re about to launch the ticket on-sale for our much-anticipated Peaky Blinders Nights. Tickets will go on-sale to Members from 12 noon on Wed 30 June and discounted tickets for colleagues will be available for purchase from Fri 2 July.

    “Grab your flatcap and don your finest threads for a night of fun and revelry as you step into the smoky underworld of the 1920s. Explore the Museum’s streets and alleys and hear of tales about Birmingham’s most notorious gangs. Enjoy the roaring nightlife of the interwar years with music and entertainment around every corner.“

    In line with previous years we’ve been able to ring-fence an allocation of discounted tickets for colleagues. A minimum of 30 tickets per event night at a 50% discount will be available for colleagues to purchase for Peaky Blinders Nights. As per 1940s Evening we are currently able to allocate a total of 30 staff tickets per night, and may be in a position to review the number of discounted colleague tickets that we can make available should we be able to increase the overall capacity for events as part of the Government’s future review of the Roadmap.

    Colleagues are able to purchase up to four discounted tickets and two additional full price tickets per event (subject to ticket availability.) To purchase staff tickets please speak to the Sales and Ticketing team in the Canalside offices from Fri 2 July.

    For more information on our colleague ticket policy please refer to our guiding document here.

  • The Vaccination Centre at BCLM

    On Sunday 27 June the NHS will deliver their final vaccination at the Museum and then during July will be decommissioning from Halls 1 and 2. As we mentioned in May, the NHS has moved to the second phase of vaccination programme and some sites, such as BCLM, have been replaced with new locations at community pharmacies and more capacity at existing sites. This second phase is part of the plan to enable the NHS to begin restoring services to pre-COVID levels while keeping vaccination capacity the same.

    We’re incredibly proud to have played our part in supporting the NHS to inoculate our local community against COVID by hosting the Vaccination Centre at BCLM and a huge thank you to all the teams who have support them during their time at the Museum and for everyone’s patience as we have worked alongside each other.

    From Monday 28 June Duty Manager hours will revert to the Museum’s office hours, 8am to 6pm (including the car park being locked at 6pm) and staff access to the Museum outside of these hours must be agreed in advance.

    While we remain in Step 3 anyone who has been accessing or leaving the Museum, at the beginning or end of their shift, via the brown gates should continue to do so to avoid crowding in Admissions. Morning briefings and break spaces remain unchanged.

  • Birmingham Clean Air Zone

    To encourage cleaner, greener and more sustainable methods of transportation, on 1 June 2021 Birmingham launched its Clean Air Zone.

    It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and has been introduced to help reduce traffic and pollution levels in central Birmingham. Subsequently, a charge is now applied daily for older non-compliant vehicles driving into the Clean Air Zone – the area includes all the roads within the A4540 Middleway Ring Road, but not the Middleway itself.  

    Whilst the SEAT Pool Car is exempt from the new charge, the museum’s older fleet of vehicles do not qualify for an exemption and must not be driven into the Clean Air Zone without prior authorisation. 

    Where practical, public transport should always be prioritised as the preferred method for undertaking a journey. But if you do have to use your own vehicle whilst on Museum business, charges associated with entering the Clean Air Zone will not normally be reimbursed, unless the final destination is within the Clean Air Zone and prior approval has been obtained from your line manager. 

    For more information on the Clean Air Zone please visit: https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20076/pollution/1763/a_clean_air_zone_for_birmingham