Devil’s Porridge Museum
Putting young people at the heart of the museum
The Devil’s Porridge Museum in Eastriggs, Dumfries and Galloway, has run an inspiring series of projects, workshops and activities in recent years.
They all come under the umbrella of a project to “put young people at the heart of the museum”, which has been funded by Young Start, the Holywood Trust and Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Coastal Communities Benefit Fund.
Daily clubs for young people, takeoverdays, an activity every day of the school holidays, parties, visits to other museums, Duke of Edinburgh and Saltire Awards volunteers, a Youth Council and junior representatives on the board of trustees: the museum has done everything it can to work with and inspire the next generation.
Bettie: A Landgirl’s Tale was an exciting part of the initiative. This oral history film project involved young people in the interviewing of Bettie, a 94-year-old who had been in the Women’s Land Army in the second world war. The film was then edited and animated by young people in weekend workshops before being premiered to an audience of nearly 100 at the local cinema.
Working with volunteers is at the core of everything the Devil’s Porridge Museum does. This includes working with young people with special educational needs to offer supported, extended work placements and personal development volunteering opportunities. This has had a transformative effect on the lives of those involved.
Young people learn new skills, make new friends, grow in confidence and employability and the museum benefits too – what’s not to love about that?
Going forward, the museum is about to launch its volunteer awards programme and is working on a research project using Wikimedia to disseminate its findings. It is supporting three young people through an SVQ in Museums and Galleries Practice as well as a Modern Apprentice.