National Museums Liverpool Blog - youth volunteering

The v Big Celebration at World Museum

Last Thursday, the Volunteers team, youth volunteers and members of staff came together to celebrate the end of their vinvolved youth volunteering project; at the ‘v Big Celebration’ in World Museum. The past three years have been incredibly successful and we have created over 350 volunteer opportunities for young people aged 16-25. We also created a Youth Volunteering Steering Group (Mersey v’s) which have been integral in helping to shape volunteer opportunities and projects and provide a good sounding board for marketing and evaluation.
 
During our project, we worked with over 200 young volunteers and issued 119 v50 Award certificates, that equates to almost 6000 volunteer hours – and that’s only including the certificated hours! We have also seen 20 young people achieve their Bronze Arts Award – gaining an accredited qualification in the process. In terms of awards; our vinvolved project gained REACH accreditation, we were shortlisted at the Young Partners Awards and most recently awarded the Unite Award for Team Activity in the North West at the National vinvolved awards for our Discovery Volunteers project.

The Volunteers Team would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all the young people who volunteered with us these past three years; you have helped shape the future of volunteering at our museums and we will hopefully work with you all again soon.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the volunteers team to find out more. You can also visit vinspired to find out about youth volunteering.

Discovery Volunteers in London l-r: Tom, Andrew, Helen, Sophie, Richard, Caroline, Sam, Ryan and Tara

Richard, a regular volunteer at World Museum tells us what it was like to attend the recent vinspired Awards in London. Richard and his fellow volunteers represented the Discovery Volunteers programme which received the regional Unite award for teamwork.

“On the 17th March 2011, nine discovery volunteers were selected to attend the prestigious vinspired Awards 2011 at the 02 Arena in London. Spending the night over at the Holiday Inn Express, the volunteers quickly settled in to frankly the “good life;” although at times, it became apparent that some of us were used to the pampering (and frankly abused it at times), whereas some struggled to...adapt.

The awards were held at the 02 Indigo theatre, within the 02 arena (formerly known as the Millennium Dome). When we arrived however, I think I speak for all of us when I say that there was an overwhelming fear that somehow we did not arrive at the vinspired awards, but the Justin Beiber concert, happening at the same time! This gave rise to a little game of volunteer? Beleiber? Or Both?

When inside the venue, it was most definitely clear that this was an esteemed event. Sponsored by ITV2, we didn’t expect anything less really. Waiters were patrolling the floor with “meat and veg” bowls, and complimentary beverages, whereas tables were arranged in front of the main stage for the nominees.

The ceremony lived up to expectations featuring celebrities: Keith Lemon (Celebrity juice), Natasha Bedingfield (Singer), James Caan (Former dragon) and Jason Gardner (Olympic sprinter). And yet, no Justin Beiber? What’s up with that?

The after party wasn’t bad either.

Making the most out of our time in London; we decided to see the sights the following day before taking a later train back to Liverpool. We therefore visited:  Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, Big Ben, Trafalgar square, the Olympic clock (lots of hogging the clock here and a test of reaction times against London’s finest) as well as Downing Street, and unsurprisingly, the British Museum, which is colossal by the way.

It was a good trip!”

Newsletter Volunteers l-r: Emily, Charlotte, Hasan, Stephen, Roz, Hannah, Michelle (mentor) and Ashley

Youth volunteer, Emily, has recently volunteered on a group project to produce a volunteer newsletter for all our museum volunteers and staff. Here’s her report on their project…

‘Since October 2010 I’ve been taking part in a volunteer newsletter project. Aimed at 16-25 year olds it was in partnership with Media Trust. Meeting weekly, we created a newsletter which would both inform and entertain its readers. The group were also working towards a Bronze Arts Award which is a national qualification. The project was mentored by Michelle Fiddler who is a journalist for the Liverpool Echo.

Working alongside Michelle we began discussing what the newsletter would contain and what our responsibilities would be. I wrote the welcome letter and also interviewed volunteers about their experiences. I particularly enjoyed hearing about how National Museums Liverpool has helped volunteers of all ages and how varied their roles are.

In the following weeks we edited our pieces, firstly using paper layouts to decide which articles would go together on the page. It was interesting to learn that newspapers still use this technique as a way of editing their pages. We then used the layouts as a guide when importing the articles onto the computer. I learnt quite a lot from this as each import would need re-editing to fit into the text boxes on the computer.

As part of the Arts Award we had to review an exhibition. We visited Inside DNA which is currently at the World Museum. I enjoyed using the interactive materials to learn more about DNA and how it is used in criminal investigation and medical breakthroughs.

Another aspect of the award was to create a presentation about our arts hero/heroine and I enjoyed listening to the variety of people who inspired the group. This ranged from famous artists to film stars and authors.

On March 23rd I went to meet the arts award moderator with another volunteer and the volunteer co-ordinators. I am pleased to say we passed the award and will soon be getting our certificates.’

The Volunteers Team would like to say a Big Well Done to the group on gaining their Bronze Arts Award and we look forward to distribution the newsletter soon!

If you are interested in volunteering at our venues, please contact the Volunteer Team to find out more. If you are aged 16-25, you can also find out more about Youth Volunteering by visiting vinvolved; the national youth volunteering programme.

Our Newsletter Volunteers and mentor; planning their first edition of 'Volunteers In Print'

Since October 2010, a small group of youth volunteers have been meeting weekly to help put together the first National Museums Liverpool volunteer newsletter.

They each took on different roles; carrying out interviews, reviewing exhibitions and putting together stories that would feature in the newsletter.

The group also worked alongside Michelle Fiddler, a journalist from the Liverpool Echo who has helped mentor the volunteers throughout the project; sharing her background and experiences with them.

We hope to have the first edition of our newsletter out very soon and we can exclusively reveal its title will be ‘Volunteers In Print’. There will be lots of stories and opportunities to publicise what our brilliant volunteers get up to both front of house and behind the scenes, so it should hopefully make for a fun and informative read!

The Volunteers Team are always looking for volunteer stories to publish on the blog and also now within forthcoming newsletters, so if you volunteer with us and wish to publicise what you get up to whilst volunteering – please give us a shout.

And finally, big thanks to our newsletter volunteers: Ashley, Charlotte, Emily, Hannah, Hasan, Roz and Stephen for their time and creative journalistic skills.

If you wish to find out more about volunteering at National Museums Liverpool, please contact the Volunteer Team.

You can also find out more about Youth Volunteering on the vinspired website or the volunteering section on our website.

l-r: Youth volunteers; Caroline, Tara, Richard, Ben & Emma.

Last week, the Volunteers team along with a group of young volunteers attended the prestigious NCVYS Young Partners Awards 2010.

We were thrilled to have been shortlisted as one of three organisations in the North in the running for winning an award, to celebrate ‘young people’s involvement in decision making within voluntary and community youth organisations or projects’.

Richard Wan, one of the youth volunteers who attended the awards gives us an overview of the day…

‘On Saturday 4th December 2010, a group of youth volunteers and members of staff from the Volunteers team attended the Young Partners Awards 2010 in London’s 4-star Lancaster Hotel; following their shortlisted nomination for an award to recognise the input of young people in decision making within the youth volunteer programme at National Museums Liverpool (NML).

The ceremony began with a bang! A group of dancers first hit the stage showing off a couple of good dance moves in the process. It was slightly concerning too see somersaults metres away from ruining the clean ceiling. Amongst the other performers were a trio of African dancers, a singer and a rapper.

The complimentary three course meal was of an unquestionably high quality and there was an ongoing quiz throughout the ceremony. During the quiz there was no match for Lauren Yule, Assistant Volunteer Co-ordinator – who was ON FIRE with her answers!!!

It was unfortunate that NML did not win the award for the North but the volunteers did succeed in coming third in the quiz.

Despite not winning, I speak on behalf of the volunteers, when I say it was an honour to be nominated in the first place and being acknowledged for all the work NML has done and congratulations to the deserved winners.’
   

The volunteers’ team are happy to announce that our Discovery Volunteers project has been named the regional winner North West for THE UNITE AWARD for team activity at the vinspired Awards 2010.

Since summer 2009, 72 young people have been involved with the project, having volunteered on gallery at World Museum – chatting to our visitors about specially chosen handling objects. We are really pleased that this award recognises all their hard work and the positive impact that they have made within our museums. We would like to say a big well done to all the young people who have taken part as a Discovery Volunteer!

Winning the regional award means that Discovery Volunteers are now in the running for the national award – which will be announced early 2011. We will keep you posted on this next year, but please keep your fingers crossed for more good news!

More information about the Unite Award which Discovery Volunteers have won can be found on the vinvolved website, you can also find out more about youth volunteering too.

If you are aged 16-25 and interested in youth volunteering projects at National Museums Liverpool please contact the volunteer team.

Emma at the Young Volunteer of the Year Awards 2010, with Mike Howlett from the vinvolved Sefton team.

Last night saw the Volunteers team attend the vinvolved Sefton Young Volunteer of the Year Awards 2010 at the Adelphi Hotel, to help cheer on our shortlisted volunteer Emma Gilbertson.

Emma has volunteered at National Museums Liverpool since June 2009 and has been involved in several volunteer projects; including volunteering at World Museum as one of our very first intake of Discovery Volunteers and also helping out during Slavery Remembrance Day events for the past two years. Emma is also a member of Mersey v’s: our Youth Volunteer Steering Group.

The Young Volunteer of the Year Awards are hosted by vinvolved Sefton and recognise the volunteer work done by young people (aged 16-25) living in the Sefton borough.

Whilst Emma didn’t scoop the main prize on the night, her volunteer achievements were highly praised at the event.

Well done Emma!

If you are interested in finding out more about youth volunteering at National Museums Liverpool, please contact the volunteers team

You can also find our more about youth volunteering from ‘v, the national young volunteers service.’

This past Saturday saw our latest intake of Discovery Volunteers achieve their v50 Award at our Celebration & Feedback Event.

They were presented with their certificates by Steve Judd, Director of World Museum and also a representative from ‘v, the national young volunteers service’.

Our large group of youth volunteers (all aged 16-25) attended training sessions in July and then volunteered throughout the summer holidays at World Museum.

The Discovery Volunteers chatted with our visitors on both the Ancient Egypt and World Cultures galleries, using specially chosen handling objects to engage their interest and help start conversations.

If you visited World Museum this summer, you may well have chatted to one of them yourself.

In completing their training and volunteering, our volunteers amassed a grand total of more than 50 hours volunteer work each. Their v50 Award certificate is delivered by ‘v’ and recognises their achievement and commitment to volunteering.

We would like to say a big thank you and well done to all our Discovery Volunteers this summer for their involvement with our family activities.

To find out more about youth volunteering, visit v’s website,

You can also contact the Volunteers Team to find out more about volunteering at National Museums Liverpool.

Our Discovery Volunteers receive their v50 Award Certificates, with members of the Volunteers Team.

During the summer our Volunteer Project Supervisors (Fred & Emma) have been looking after a very large team of volunteers over at World Museum.

Here in their second blog post, Emma fills you in on the some of the handling activities that have been taking place on gallery…

Volunteers and visitors chatting about Ancient Egyptian handling objects.

“August saw the launch of our new Discovery Volunteers Go Wild! and Discovery Volunteers Go Ancient! projects in World Museum, as part of a number of volunteer initiatives across the museum this summer. 

Discovery Volunteers began in summer 2009 and was so successful that it was brought back over Easter 2010. The project has returned again this summer, bigger and better than ever! Originally located in the World Cultures gallery, this time around more than 40 youth volunteers, aged 16-25, have been split between both the World Cultures and the Egypt galleries. The Discovery Volunteers project allows visitors the opportunity to handle objects on gallery and to learn more about them from our volunteers, making their museum visit that bit different. If you are planning a visit to World Museum, why not come along and say hello to the volunteers?

Our youth volunteers had several training sessions before the project was rolled out in the museum at the beginning of August, with sessions ranging from learning about the objects they would be handling to developing their customer care and group working skills. The eager volunteers were then unleashed on to the galleries, and have so far done a great job chatting to visitors about their objects.

Our Go Wild! Volunteers have set themselves up on the World Cultures gallery, with a plethora of objects coming from across the globe for visitors to handle. The snow goggles from the Arctic are a particular favourite with children. There is also a replica of our codex which is a great chance to learn about one of the museum’s star items and to see how it would have been used. The codex is a very rare object, with only around two dozen known to have survived the Spanish invasion of Mesoamerica in 1521, when whole libraries full of these books were destroyed. Our handling trolley also has some Japanese Netsukes, made from a surprising alternative to their traditional material, ivory. These figures are carved into a variety of animals and other characters and would have been used in a similar way to a toggle on a kimono.

Meanwhile, our Go Ancient! Volunteers are resident in the Egypt gallery, with a replica of a wall fragment from an ancient temple. The original of this wall fragment can be seen on the gallery, along with a second replica, this time painted as it would have originally appeared in the temple. The volunteers also have a number of related handling objects including the minerals which the Ancient Egyptians used to make paint to decorate their walls. This is a great chance to learn how these objects relate to the perhaps more well-known aspects of Ancient Egypt, such as the burial of the dead. Being the first time that our Discovery Volunteers have been positioned in the Egypt gallery, this is a special chance for visitors to handle objects and learn more about this very popular subject.

The Discovery Volunteers can be found in World Museum from 11am-4pm everyday until the 29th August.”

For more information about volunteering at National Museums Liverpool, please contact the Volunteers team.

You can also find out more about youth volunteering for 16-25 year olds through v, the national young volunteers service.

During the summer our Volunteer Project Supervisors (Fred & Emma) have been looking after a very large team of volunteers over at World Museum.

Here in their first blog post, Fred fills you in on the some of the activities that have been taking place on gallery…

Children and volunteers enjoying craft activities in Plantastic.

"As part of The World Museum Liverpool’s programme of events to celebrate 2010 being the year of biodiversity, a number of arts and crafts activities have been running daily during the Easter and summer holidays. It would have not been possible to run these activities without the efforts of volunteers. Nearly 60 volunteers have committed their time to enable us to teach children and young people the importance of biodiversity and how it creates good habitats for wildlife through a range of interesting and inclusive activities.

On our Savannah gallery, an African waterhole scene has been used as inspiration for a worksheet. Volunteers assist children in colouring in and decorating a picture of a lion hunting a zebra at the waterhole. Alternatively, they are given stencils to draw their own wildlife pictures. Through these activities, the volunteers show children how Savannah and grassland areas are threatened by increasing desertification, caused by poor farming methods reducing the biodiversity of the habitat. This enabled volunteers to link this activity to other areas of the museum such as the Ancient Egypt gallery, where a similar process is thought to have once occurred. When the children complete their drawing and colouring, volunteers help them to display their creations on the wall, or they have the option to take them home as a colourful souvenir of their day out!

Downstairs on the Plantastic Exhibition, volunteers work alongside demonstrators to help children learn about the importance of having a diverse range of insects and flowers to form a habitat. Different boards on the wall signify different types of habitat, such as ponds, woodlands and meadows. Children are helped by volunteers to make 3 dimensional flowers and insects to add to the habitat boards. Whilst helping with the craft work volunteers help children learn about the important role played by insects in pollinating plants, and how different types of plants and shrubs exist in different habitats, linking in to some of the messages that can be learnt through the Plantastic exhibits.

A flower shop display has also been set up. For this, volunteers help teach children how bright colours and patterns on flowers are used to attract pollinators such as bees and insects. It also gives kids a chance to get creative and they have created a really spectacular display!

All these activities are great fun for the kids, helping them create personalised souvenirs of their day out, as well as teaching them about important conservation and ecological issues.

Both sets of activities have been a great success, with volunteers seeing over 400 visitors on some days.

The Volunteers can be found in the Plantastic exhibition on Level 2 and the Savannah area on Level 4 every day until Sunday 5th September, from 11am until 4pm."

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the volunteer team to find out more.