My week at Erewash Museum was an amazing experience that gave me insight into the management and curating that goes on behind the scenes to keep the museum running. The grounds are lovely, and all the staff are incredibly hardworking and kind.

During my time here, I got to help with a number of things like recording and archiving collections, helping with school workshops and planning for future activities.

I planned for pride week and created a trail and craft activities for children to do. I appreciate the museums focus on inclusivity and I think its truly a place where everyone can feel welcome, whether it’s for work experience or visiting. This involved making question sheets for the trail and I decided to make posters for the instructions for the crafts; this helped me to understand the effort that goes into making the museum so wonderful and welcoming to everyone.

I also learned how to record items into the museums system. It was really interesting to do this because I learnt what goes into making museum displays and how to ensure that historical objects are kept in the safest way possible. My personal favourite was a postcard that said “I’m thinking of you at Ilkeston” from WW1.

In addition, the school workshops were brilliant to help out with because all the children were so enthusiastic. I love that the museum values learning.

Overall, my work experience at Erewash Museum was enlightening and fun. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for work experience, especially if you are interested working in history or museum sector. It was a fantastic learning experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It gave me a greater understanding of the daily operations of a museum and helped me further develop important skills needed for the workplace. It was an honour and privilege to be able do my work experience at Erewash Museum and I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity.

Lian, Year 10

We'd like to thank Lian for her fabulous work whilst on work experience here!