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#popupmuseum - How did it all go?

Sioned Hughes, 27 October 2014

The pop-up museum was created over two days at the Wales Millennium Centre as part of the Welsh Museums Festival and the Museums Association conference between 9-10 October 2014.

We set up the cases, table, boxes, screen and various cardboard structures on the Thursday before the conference. 

It looked great, but we were all quite nervous.  Would anyone turn up? Would people bring an object in response to our call outs on social media? Would people participate and share their Cardiff stories and memories? Would the huge table at its centre attract visitors or put them off? 

Would Billy the Seal arrive safely?

We were about to find out if our experiment would work…….and thankfully it did!

What worked?

  • 1. The stuff we had already collected.

We were all really glad that we already had some material for the pop-up that provided hooks to show people how they could contribute. The story cards collected at previous workshops kicked things off. They gave people an idea of how they could contribute, and made the Cardiff theme obvious. The voxpops also provided people with another focus and showed that people had already shared their Cardiff story. This encouraged participants to be filmed sharing their story at the pop-up. 

  • 2. Taking photographs of participants

We took a photograph of all participants with an instant camera and pinned them to their story cards. This emphasised the personal aspect and made stories easier to find

  • 3. The big table in the middle with plenty of chairs.

This space really worked. It became a social space where people came together and shared their Cardiff story and a space where strangers started talking to each other. We piled Perspex boxes on top of each other along the middle and gradually filled them with objects over the two days. We encouraged people to write their comments about other people’s stories on post-its and stick them on the boxes. This added another layer to the interpretation. 

  • 4. Using iPads to show social media content 

We had built up interest around the pop-up on social media in the lead up to the pop-up itself, so it was good to continue this momentum. We used two iPads on the table as live labels that showed all tweets with the #popupmuseum #fflachamgueddfa hashtag. We used this as a way of highlighting interesting stories and providing information about what was happening at the pop-up over the 2 days.  We also experimented with iBeacons and placed content about some of the objects on that so that people could access it using their hand held devices. 

  • 5. We invited the Media and the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism! 

To keep the buzz around the pop-up museum going, we managed to generate press interest in the pop-up. The experience was filmed by s4C for Heno and by Cardiff TV. Deputy Minister Ken Skates also came to the pop-up and contributed his Cardiff story. He was really interested in the fact that we had created a museum in 48 hours that anyone could contributed to.

  • 6. Billy the Seal made it! 

Thanks to the huge effort of conservation staff across Amgueddfa Cymru, Billy made it to the pop-up. Billy generated lots of interest and was definitely a big pull to the pop-up. It was useful to have one star object that attracted the curious. Those who knew about Billy’s story couldn’t believe that she was actually there and that it was part of the museum’s collections. And those who didn’t know the story were…confused but intrigued. 

  • 7. Working with Cardiff Story, HLF, and Youth Forum members

You can’t set up a pop-up museum without a team. The input from our Youth Forum members was invaluable, making sure that the processes of the pop-up ran smoothly and making sure that participants knew what to do. Staff members form the Heritage Lottery Fund provided guidance and support throughout the pop-up process. Working with Arran Rees and Lucy Connors from the Cardiff Story and was a great experience and we are already planning to create a pop-up together again in the future. 

Sioned Hughes

Head of Public History and Archaeology
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Comments (10)

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paul
2 November 2016, 23:08
I have seen a pair of perigrins in llandaff cathederal today wonder if there related to these
Amgueddfa Cymru
13 June 2016, 14:22
Dear Julie Ramsden,
Unfortunately National Museum Cardiff are not tracking the peregrines this year. It would be worth checking with the RSPB as they might still have a station outside the Museum where people can view the birds through their telescopes and binoculars, they would be able to provide you with information on their timetable.
Apologies, but hopefully we will be able to return to tracking them next year.
Best wishes,
Graham Davies
Digital Team
Julie Ramsden
13 June 2016, 07:46
What has happened to the peregrines this year? Is no one at Cardiff monitoring them? My grandchildren loved looking at the nest last year, and being helped by the RSPB to see the nest for themselves on our visit. Is there any point in coming to see the birds this year?
Paul Steele
3 June 2016, 16:11
Are the peregrines back at the city hall, if so can we please get the live camera active again
Sarah
16 May 2016, 21:46
Why is the Peregrines Live Cam not working this year. Enjoyed watching them last year. Please can we have it back again. Many thanks
Mel
10 October 2015, 13:14
Just had a pigeon hit my kitchen windows and realised that a peregrine falcon took it out. For half an hour now has been munching away at it. Beautiful bird. Had a dead pigeon the other day and now know what happened to it. It's like wildlife on one here. Whatever is left ratty will come and finish off. Circle of life.
Luke
13 September 2015, 18:26
To Chris - I doubt very much it's a sparrowhawk, mate. A sparrowhawk would be taking its life in its hands (or wings?) to enter a peregrine's territory as brazenly as that. Also, sparrowhawks rarely perch openly, as the bird in the photo is doing, but peregrines do.
Chris Taylor
12 June 2015, 01:48
Matt Colquhoun - that's a sparrowhawk you've snapped there, not a Peregrine!
Matt Colquhoun
2 June 2015, 08:49
Took this picture from my bedroom window in Roath a week or two ago. Not sure if it's Gavin or Stacey or a friend. Definitely hadn't seen one around here before!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/431/18300160602_aeffc625b6_b.jpg
Melly �
7 May 2015, 16:55
AWESOME!!