Education News - 27th May 2011

STEAM Education Gets Top Marks for Educational Visits!

We’re fast approaching the end of another incredibly busy year with school visitors to STEAM. About 20,000 children a year come to experience our hands on interactive workshops, stepping back in time to the eras of Queen Victoria and the Home Front during WW2 (not at the same time!)

The Education Team is spending the summer planning and developing new activities to enthuse children, ready to launch at the beginning of the new academic year in September.

We’ve had great fun putting ourselves into the shoes of children and devising lots of new ways to use original objects, photographs and drama with schools. We can’t wait to try them -  if we grown ups didn’t stop laughing, then neither will the children!

We are enhancing our hugely popular We’ll Meet Again event for schools, which runs for two weeks every autumn and spring, based on feedback from our school customers.  Children will be up and moving when they come to immerse themselves in life in 1940! Jitterbug, anyone? Doubtless, there will be quite a few ‘Black Bottoms’! Regular visitors will spot new activities relating to wartime childhood and cracking codes. Ladies in a local care home are reminiscing about their own memories of being little girls in wartime, ready to share their stories with us (whilst spanning the eras by crocheting Victorian costume for children to use at the same time!)

However, the most exciting news for us and for our school visitors is that STEAM Education has just shown itself to be at the ‘top of the class’ for school educational visits by being the first heritage site in Wiltshire to be awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge. For us, this means that we have been nationally recognised by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom for both the quality and safety of the experiences we offer school children and teachers. For schools and teachers, this means that they can cut red tape when planning to take children to our Museum and do not need to carry out their own risk or quality assessments.

We are absolutely delighted to be the first in Wiltshire, it is a huge coup for the Education team and all the staff here at STEAM and we look forward to welcoming even more children and young people from across the region to our wonderful Museum.

STEAM Guidebook - 19th May 2011



The updated guidebook


A new edition of the STEAM guidebook has just been launched!  At £4.50 this new edition has a much fresher feel and includes lots of new images.

The guidebook is a great accompaniment to the Museum and tells the unique story of the Great Western Railway whilst guiding you through the displays at STEAM.

We have also included a new set of images within the guidebook.  STEAM worked in conjunction with the HND photography students at Swindon College to produce some of these images.  These range from atmosheric shots of our character figures to some detailed close up shots of objects within the Museum's fabulous collection.  The students produced some great photographs, with 6 individuals lucky enough to have their work included in the guidebook.

The guidebook is an interesting read and the perfect souvenir to take home.  Buy your copy today!



A close up of some GWR uniform buttons.  Taken by former
Swindon College Student, Christine LeHeup - http://www.christineleheup.com/



An atmospheric photograph of the "Typist" character figure taken by
Swindon College Student, Kevin Morrow

Curatorial Corner - 11th May 2011

A Visit to Highgrove

Back in 2009 the Museum was approached by the Public Catalogue Foundation, their aim being to photograph every oil painting in public ownership in the country.  It was a huge feat and STEAM was happy to help out.  We have a small painting collection here at the Museum, and only five oil paintings.  However, we have five very beautiful and different paintings that are now featured in the new Gloucestershire and Wiltshire edition of the Catalogue. 

This edition of the catalogue was launched at Highgrove on 3rd May 2011 with a champagne reception hosted by HRH The Dutchess of Cornwall, the patron of the PCF.  Both Felicity Jones and Elaine Arthurs of the Curatorial Department were lucky enough to be invited to the launch.  The afternoon started with a two hour tour around the gardens at Highgrove, followed by champagne and canapes.  It was a real honour be there, alongside other institutions, such as hospitals, local councils and galleries, who all display various publically owned oil paintings.

Felicity and Elaine spoke to her Royal Highness and were able to tell her all about STEAM, even suggesting she brought her own family along!  Prince Charles opened STEAM in 2000 so it would be great if his wife could come too!

All those invited to the launch were given a copy of the catalogue.  It is a massive book full of some amazing paintings - and this is just for two counties!  Our five images look stunning and colourful.  A range of abstract, modern and traditional style oil paintings.

It was a great afternoon and one Felicity and Elaine will not be forgetting soon!



Elaine Arthurs and Felicity Jones meet HRH The Dutchess of Cornwall



Curatorial Corner - 27th April 2011



Loaned print of Maidenhead Bridge

 The Railway meets the River

The Curatorial Department took a visit to the River and Rowing Museum at Henley on Thames yesterday.  What has a museum like this got to do with the Great Western Railway?  More than you think!

Last year we were contacted by the team at Henley who were in the process of putting together a new exhibition on the Victorian's growing interest in the Thames as a holiday and tourist destination.  The Great Western Railway served Henley, as well as other places along this famous river.  Before the coming of the railway it could take 5 hours to reach Henley by stagecoach, but the building of the GWR allowed ordinary people the chance to travel to new destinations in a much shorter time.  The Thames at places like Henley, Windsor, Marlow and Pangbourne was a lot more idylic and cleaner than it was in the capital, London.  During the 19th Century the Thames in London was a busy shipping port and extremely dirty.  It wasn't a tourist destination like it is today.



Picnic basket, truncheon and other
loaned objects


The exhibition, Escaping the City - The Victorian on the Thames, borrowed objects and archive material from the collection at STEAM to help illustrate the railway's involvement in tourism on the Thames.  It was great to see our objects in a different environment!  Some of the items on show were a GWR picnic basket and tea pot.  These would have been purchased at one of the major stations, like Paddington, and filled with lots of goodies to keep day trippers happy as they lounged on the banks of the Thames, or took a ride on a river boat.  We also loaned a GWR Policeman's truncheon.  The railway police had a presence at the Henley Regatta and ensured people got to and from the station without incident.

The Curatorial Department had a great time at the River and Rowing Museum and enjoyed seeing STEAM's objects displayed in such a fascinating exhibition.  Escaping the City closes on Monday 2nd May 2011.

River and Rowing Museum website - www.rrm.co.uk



Escaping the City exhibition



Collections Officer, Elaine, by the Sydney
Olympic's winning GB coxless four boat

Events Diary - Railway Festival Update

Swindon Railway Festival 10th - 11th September 2011

Ian Surtees, Commercial Manager, gives an update on the forthcoming Railway Festival.



Layouts at the 2010 Railway Festival



The planning for this year’s Swindon Railway Festival is already gathering pace, and I can confirm 12 of the country’s finest GWR and BR (W) layouts will be attending this year’s show on 10^th and 11^th September sponsored by the Hornby Magazine. The Swindon Railway Festival brings together the country’s best layouts, demonstrators and traders – with nine of this year’s layouts making their first time appearance at Swindon! In addition to the fabulous model railway layouts will be impressive displays from model giants Hornby and Bachmann and celebrity modeller, pop music legend and Museum Patron Pete Waterman OBE will be at the show.

2011 marks the 25^th anniversary of the Swindon Railway Works closure and we’ll be paying tribute to the men and women who worked ‘inside’ at the famous Swindon Works which now houses the stunning Museum collection. We are currently working on assembling some poignant photographic displays for the show that will showcase the Swindon Works both in its heyday and during its sad decline in the mid 1980s.

And if that’s not enough, we are planning a ‘live steam and real ale’ arena outside the Museum’s recently refurbished Great Western Hall, comprising of traction engines and road rollers courtesy of Hatch Steam Heritage, extremely rare Stanley Steam Cars courtesy of the Steam Car Club of Great Britain and an outdoor bar selling the Museum’s fine range of real ales courtesy of Box Steam Brewery.

Prices for this year’s show will be held at the 2010 rates, but following demand we’ll be issuing weekender tickets for visitors wishing to join us for the whole weekend.

Admission: £8.50 for adults; Seniors and Concessions £5.50; Family tickets £24.00 (two adults, two children) and £27.00 (two adults, three children), Weekender Tickets: Adults £12.00, Seniors and Concessions £8.50. Under three go free. Swindon Card discounts available

Confirmed Layouts 

7mm

East Wheal Dream

Knockley Gate

Dainton Bank

Test Track (to showcase models)

4mm

Mythur Riverside

Llanryglyn – Cambrian period railway

Oldbury Junction

West Cliff

Cwmderi

  

S Scale

Kilbrandon

Aston Magna

2mm Fine Scale

Highbury Colliery

Events Diary - 30th March 2011

Station Platform shoot

High Fashion comes to STEAM!

 Last week saw the Museum transformed for an exciting fashion shoot.  Duo, who specialise in boots and shoes, came to STEAM to shoot their Autumn/Winter range of footwear.



The Museum provided a wonderful backdrop for a 1930s inspired shoot, full of glamour and intrigue.  The shoot took place in and around our Station Platform, on our buffet car and by Caerphilly Castle.  In person the scene shots looked great, but seeing them on screen made the Museum look amazing!  The lighting looked moody and evocative and the special effects brought the photographs to life.  The late night shoot based by Caerphilly Castle used dry ice to create the effect of live steam.  The photographs gave the impression of a dark and atmospheric station at night. 



Special effects under Caerphilly Castle



Duo brought with them a team of stylists, make-up artists and a photographer.  And of course the model, Lisa, who made all the outfits and footwear look stylish and chic.  The shoot took 2 full days and the team photographed approxiamately 10-15 different styles of boots and shoes.  The Museum was priviledged enough to see a sneak preview of the new range, but we won't be able to show you what we saw just yet! The new range is launched in July 2011.

Duo specialise in special fit boots and shoes and can offer boots in up to 21 different calf sizes.  Check out their latest collection at http://www.duoboots.com/ and go online in July to see STEAM featuring in their promotions.



Lisa having her make-up applied



Sean, the Photographer, at work



Curatorial Corner - 10th March 2011

A Charitable Find!

A recent find in a charity shop in Swindon has got the Curatorial department buzzing with excitement!  Last Monday a call from one of the Museum's volunteers alerted us to a GWR inkwell set sat in the window of the Prospect Hospice Shop on Victoria Road, Swindon.  A frantic call to the shop confirmed the inkwell set was still for sale and the Curator and Collections Officer rushed on over to take a look.



The complete GWR inkwell set



We were staggered by what we found.  A near perfect GWR inkwell set, complete with three glass inkwells sat in a lovely wooden stand.  The stand still had the brass pen holder attached.  Two of the glass inkwells are branded with the letters GWR, and the third with the slogan Go Great Western. The publicity slogan Go Great Western was introduced in the 1920s and the style of the script on the inkwell dates the set to 1926.  Both the stand and the pen holder are stamped GWR too.

We settled up with the shop and took our prize find back to STEAM.  We do not know where the inkwell set came from, but like to think that it sat on the desk of an important Works Manager or Station Master!  I guess we will never know.



A close up of the "Go Great Western" glass inkwell



The Museum hopes to display the inkwell set in a new display over the summer.