Heritage Open Days RSS Feed

Children are the future

2012-02-20T06:30:48+00:00

Yes, that old cliché. Children are the visitors of the future, the supporters of the future, the members of the future and even the heritage open days organisers of the future. So it’s worthwhile coming up with some creative ways to help them engage with heritage, and I don’t mean by using standard colouring or quiz sheets.

All at sea - National Historic Ships UK is shoring up support for Heritage Open Days

2012-02-16T07:42:26+00:00

“Britain is an island nation” – that’s a phrase you don’t hear so often these days. People forget that the UK is surrounded by the sea and that historically we would depend on maritime links for food, work and leisure. With the decline in Britain’s shipping industry, many UK ports and docksides have become neglected wastelands with prime waterfronts seen as a target for residential developers.

Working with networks - or why the A697 is worth a trip

2012-02-13T06:01:50+00:00

I’m the Heritage Development Officer for Northumberland County Council, and one of my jobs is to encourage the people in the county to get involved with Heritage Open Days. This post is how the building of networks - however informal - is key to the weekend’s success.

Bag a banner!

2012-02-07T11:48:53+00:00

Three days, pink prizes, limited stock; all to play for and nothing to lose!

The question: Which medieval poet wrote the lines ‘‘For this was on...

Making Connections - organiser forums

2012-02-06T11:12:54+00:00

The 2012 cycle is about to begin and if you want a chance to meet other organisers, to share your experiences and maybe be inspired with new ideas...

Knocking on people’s doors

2012-02-05T21:04:45+00:00

Picture it. I want to persuade a new institution to open up for Heritage Open Days, or I’m looking for sponsorship. This is a typical dialogue:

Linking buildings, creating clusters – together we’re stronger

2012-01-30T05:59:59+00:00

Heritage Open Days visitors really appreciate any ideas for other places to explore and there are loads of ways to make connections. Here are a few ideas based on our experience.

Making collections accessible to visually impaired visitors

2012-01-23T06:00:22+00:00

Catering for differently abled people within arts and heritage venues is essential and rewarding but it can pose a challenge. At the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham where I work, we are grateful for the support of our volunteers who have helped us improve our accessibility for those with visual impairment.

The thrill of re-enactment - Nantwich’s Holly Holy Day

2012-01-19T09:11:51+00:00

If you want a vivid encounter with history, to experience "living history", there's nothing quite like a reenactment event. Watching costumed or uniformed re-enactors individually or en masse gives the closest feeling you can get to having a tardis and going back in time to taste the moment. If that’s what the public get out of this, it’s an even bigger vibe being one of the re-enactors.

Lifting the lid on disability history

2012-01-16T06:00:45+00:00

For many disabled people, the everyday experiences of their historical peers are rarely reflected in the stories that are told through local museums, heritage sites and events such as Heritage Open Days. In the past, and still today, disabled people were often educated separately at special schools and sometimes worked and spent their leisure time outside the mainstream. Their stories are not illuminated in our histories and generally remain hidden. I think that Heritage Open Days offers an exciting opportunity to change this, exploring an area of history that is not well known, linking with new audiences, and creating new events.