On Wednesday 13th November 2013 Glamorgan Archives was taken over… by children!
25 pupils from Cwmfelin Primary near Maesteg took over the running of the Archives for the day.
They worked in the Conservation Studio, where they donned white lab coats to clean documents, make boxes, and check the pest traps for bugs!
One group catalogued a small collection of school records. The resulting catalogue – all their own work! – can be viewed on Canfod, the Glamorgan Archives online catalogue:
http://calmview.cardiff.gov.uk/CalmView/Overview.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog
Another group donned high-visibility jackets and set off on a defects tour of the building, recording potential health and safety hazards to keep everyone safe.
Visitors to the searchroom were greeted by enthusiastic Year 6 staff members, eager to register them, help them with their enquiries and fetch documents for them from the strongrooms.
In the afternoon, our public tour of the building was led by Cwmfelin Primary representatives. And even our Twitter account was taken over!
At the end of the day every pupil was presented with a certificate to thank them for their hard work in taking over and running Glamorgan Archives.
Taking Over Museums is a day on which museums and archives up and down Wales are being taken over by children and teenagers. Independent charity Kids in Museums teamed up with the Welsh Government and the Children’s Commissioner for Wales to help place children and teenagers at the heart of museums and archives.
At Glamorgan Archives, we’re passionate to include children and teenagers. We regularly welcome school groups for local history workshops and offer work placements to school pupils and students interested in pursuing a career in archives. And we can’t wait to be taken over again next year!
For more information on Glamorgan Archives see:
http://www.glamarchives.gov.uk
For more information on Kids in Museums see:
http://www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk
Contact:
Rhian Phillips, Senior Archivist, Glamorgan Archives
Email: glamro@cardiff.gov.uk Tel.: 029 2087 2299
