The youth vote – Birmingham
Museums Journal asked a group of young journalists from Children's Express to tell us what they thought of Museums and Galleries Month exhibitions around the country.
| It took us only half an hour to get completely around the museum, so this is certainly not a day out. |
Meet the Real Thing, Selly Manor, Birmingham
As it is one of the museums local to our school, we had all been to Selly Manor before, and had high expectations. So the first thing we noticed was how small it was - we remembered it having been much bigger when we were younger! We were also quickly aware that we were the only young people there.
Before our visit, we were given an advert inviting us to 'come and chat to museum staff.' But we found only one member of staff available to talk to, and he was watching the shop and till. More staff around the museum would have improved our visit, as we had to keep going back to the shop to ask questions. Although this was annoying, the member of staff was approachable, friendly and very helpful.
The leaflet also promoted an event called Meet The Real Thing. We were very disappointed to find that this 'event' was just a small selection of traditional Tudor games laid out on tables for us to try. While this may have impressed younger visitors, we were not entertained for long.
The museum itself captured the Tudor atmosphere well, in spite of security cameras and monitors. We much preferred the cameras to being followed by a security guard, though.
The signs describing different items in the museum were definitely aimed at older people, as they were very long and unimaginatively presented. More interesting signs would have improved displays like the 'Weapons and Poaching' exhibit, one of our favourites. Other displays would also have benefited from clearer signs.
Children of infant and primary school age were well catered for, and we came away with the impression that Selly Manor is an ideal insight into Tudor life for school groups. There was a school activities board which illustrated some of the things schoolchildren had done at Selly Manor, a reminder of how we had enjoyed our previous visits with school groups.
Labels on which visitors could write their favourite thing in the museum were also provided; these mainly attracted younger children. Additionally, in one room in the museum there was the opportunity to handle some Tudor objects, which we felt was again aimed more at younger children.
It took us only half an hour to get completely around the museum, so this is certainly not a day out. Overall we found the museum to be interesting, but more suitable for young school children and adults.
We would give Selly Manor five out of ten. We were expecting more and were slightly disappointed after our visit. However, we would recommend the museum for children under 11, especially school groups, and adults, as it is a fairly interactive and informative museum, and not at all expensive. We would also advise visiting on a day when you can take a guided tour, as this would have made it a much more memorable experience for us.
About the team
This article was produced by editor Lara Huckfield, 16, and reporters Michael Williams and Paras Patel, 11, from the Children's Express Birmingham bureau. They don't consider themselves regular museum-goers, but were familiar with Selly Manor from visits as younger children.
It was published in Museums Journal. For more reviews in the series, see column, left.
