My name is Eleanor and I have just completed my work experience at the George Marshall Medical Museum. I am currently doing a history degree at the University of Worcester. As part of my course, I chose to undertake a work experience module, for which I was placed at the George Marshall Medical Museum.
I have always enjoyed visiting museums, but have never had the opportunity to volunteer or work in one before, so this experience was new to me. Previous to my time here, I had little knowledge of medical history, but have discovered through research and looking around the museum that it is a very interesting topic. Whilst at the museum, my knowledge has been broadened and I have had the opportunity to develop a number of skills which will be useful to me in my future. Prior to my placement, I was not set on a career, but having the chance to create resources for the museum to use has opened my eyes to the prospect of working as a Museum Education Officer.
During my time at the museum, I had the opportunity to get involved with a number of exciting projects. For my first project, I was able to create an activity trail for children and families to complete as they walk around and enjoy the displays and information. I included a number of activities ranging from true or false questions and matching the medicine with the cure, to drawing tasks and dressing up. This is now on display at the front of the museum for people to grab on their way in. I found this to be a very enjoyable task, and completing it opened my eyes to the way in which museums can encourage public engagement. It was also rewarding to be able to see my work displayed in the museum ready for people to use and hopefully enjoy.
On completion of this task, I then had the chance to search through the vast collection of handling objects that the museum stores, and created a box with a range of objects, photos, questions, and information sheets relating to the history of healthcare. This box will now be available for community groups and schools to borrow from the museum. Completing this project has enhanced my knowledge of museums and how the public interact with history. I have been able to develop my problem solving skills and have been lucky enough to do tasks which were tailored to my interests surrounding education.
My work experience has opened my eyes to the importance of museums and public history, and highlighted to me that this is something I would be interested in getting involved with in the future. I would recommend undertaking work experience at the Worcester medical museums to anyone interested in history or museum work, as it is very enjoyable whilst providing you with a number of important skills for the future. If you haven’t already visited the museum, please make sure to drop by and have a go at my trail, or simply take in the history that is on offer.