OTNU Update

August might be the holiday month for some, but STICK’s innovative project ‘Old Tools, New Uses’ is really hotting up and getting busier than ever.

Following on from another successful drop-in session at Cowdray Hall, Aberdeen, the project enters its third phase, with the recruitment of a Schools Education Project Manager to develop and shape a digital education resource and teacher’s pack for Primary Schools that will be capable of being used by a number of museums across Scotland.

The resource will draw on material past and present from the core collections under review – woodworking, blacksmith’s and cobbler’s tools, as well as sewing machines, typewriter’s and small domestic appliances. In doing so it will explore experiences and outcomes brought about not only by the technical advances of human ingenuity, but the social impact on lifestyles, poverty, luxury, recycling and sustainability. Dovetailing the educational product into the Curriculum for Excellence, TLS, and GLOW will make it usable across Scotland in many different types of museum.

Recruitment details for the post of Schools Education Project Manager are available on the STICK website and the closing date for applications is Friday 20th August.

In other news, the data for the master catalogue appears to be emerging as a major outcome of the project. David Woodcock, STICK’s external subject specialist, tasked with collecting the information said,

“I always thought this might be something big. Now I know it is going to be. More museums want to be part of it because the catalogue is primarily for practitioners, rather than the casual visitor. These days, that’s rare. This could be one of the most useful catalogues to come out of the sector in Scotland in recent years. I am particularly looking forward to the Highlands Newtonmore drop-in session on the 7th September. There are some fantastic museums in the north and I will be there to offer free help and advice to all museums. If visiting curators can bring me a list of their objects in the subjects mentioned to be included in the master catalogue, they will benefit enormously from access to both the finished catalogue and the new educational resource as well.”

There are still two drop-in workshops to come in September.