New volunteers launch exciting summer for all at Hampshire's Community Museums!

Thursday, 07 June 2012

Dozens of new volunteers have been welcomed at Hampshire County Council's Community Museums, along with the launch of an exciting programme of Summer Jubilee, and Olympic-themed events and exhibits.

In addition to coinciding with the start of National Volunteers' Week (1-7 June 2012) to celebrate the contribution of volunteers across the UK, new volunteer teams are now in place at the following venues:

• Westbury Manor Museum, Fareham
• Aldershot Military Museum
• The Red House Museum, Christchurch.
• Andover Museum and Museum of the Iron Age
• Willis Museum, Basingstoke
• Eastleigh Museum

A valuable contribution to the future of community museums in Hampshire

By offering their time, the new volunteers will be able to make a valuable contribution to their local community and help safeguard the future of local community museums and historic sites amid significant financial challenges from lower levels of Government funding. They will be crucial to support the work of existing museum staff in areas such as visitor services, enquiries, booking procedures, and security, to ensure quality standards are met, as well as helping with the delivery of the new and exciting programme of Summer events.

At the centre of the Summer programme is a special new exhibition - 'Inspire! Hampshire's Stories of the Olympic Games' which runs from now until mid-September. Visitors are invited to find out about the Games and explore the creativity and pride of the local community's stories and celebrations.

Accompanying the exhibition are four months of family-friendly fun, with a different flavour each month.

Meanwhile, throughout Half Term, visitors and families are invited to visit their local museum to join in a raft of royal fun to celebrate The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, with a series of drop-in events. These include making bunting and decorating a crown, Kings and Queens Storytelling Days, creating a model cupcake and testing their knowledge about the Queen with a quiz.

Hampshire County Council Executive Member for Culture and Recreation, Councillor Keith Chapman, said:

"Throughout the Summer, there are lots of drop-in activities; from spot the ball to making your own Olympic torch, as well as a full range of family workshops and adult taster workshops provided by Hampshire Learning.

"Our new volunteers will play a crucial role in helping us to deliver this exciting Summer programme which will offer something for everyone; whether you have fifteen minutes to drop-in with the children, time to book the family into a fun-filled workshop, or fancy trying a special taster session yourself."

A raft of Jubilee & Olympic-themed events for all

Each community museum will run a changing programme of Jubilee and Olympic activities, including family storytelling events with a Kings & Queens Storytelling Day, and places must be booked to avoid disappointment; £3 per head or £10 for a family (family = 4 tickets; group must include an adult). Children aged under five go free.

'Right Royal Fun', Jubilee activities are free of charge, although a £1 donation for materials is requested.

There are also drop-in activities on offer between June and September, from making a medal to finding out about Greek Gods to making a model of the museum. If you are thinking about signing up to an adult learning course later in the year, Hampshire Learning's Adult Taster Sessions could be just the ticket to give you a flavour of what you could do. Taster Sessions for Textile Printing, Creative Writing and Patchwork & Quilting are on offer in museums during September. These taster workshops are free of charge and must be pre-booked.

• What's On in our Museums

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