Hey Blog! One Friday in February, I went to Derby Museum and Art Gallery (DMAG) to attend the opening of the revamped archaeology and nature galleries!
DMAG is a museum I have attended for a long time now. It was the place where a lot of groups and activities went on when I was younger and I used to roam around the museum taking in all the exhibits. It’s near the cathedral and contains artefacts from ancient Egypt to the mediaeval, from Derby to the other side of the world. It also has a large and interesting art gallery, as is in the name. But the galleries for the archaeology department and the nature department hadn’t been updated in any significant way for years, so last year the museum decided to give them a change.
Previously, the archaeology part felt very like a 1960s chronologically ordered nutty-old-professor-trying-to-explain-to-a-bunch-of-schoolkids local, white-walled small museum. There was some fascinating stuff, from the bronze age log boat to the carved stone sarcophagus to the gold noble of Henry the Fifth, but it was set out in a way that was only interesting to people who were already interested; that is if you didn’t already understand the history and value it you would skip straight to the Viking swords and miss the other cool stuff like flints and tiles with Roman dogs’ pawprints on. The nature section was fascinating, though again it felt very formal though without the mass of information you get at bigger museums, with a hippo skeleton and drawers upon drawers of specimens of rocks and beetles and other wild stuff, as well as Mr Fox, the one taxidermy animal that was not in a case for people to touch. He’s now retired, and his “retirement party” was the excuse to get a whole bunch of people together for the reopening!
The party was a large one. There were people from all the derby museums, from organisations that have funded the new galleries, and people like us who had come up with an idea for an exhibit – Derbyshire Scout Archaeology team strikes again! Back in 2022 the Youth Committee had turned up to help design a temporary exhibit while the gallery was being refurbished, but eventually this never materialized while the gallery was closed. Instead, a small section was devoted to the idea of youth engagement in archaeology and how the DSA has furthered this. Included are a few badges and some information about us, so hopefully more Scouts will be inspired to join us. As Dad was staying around to pick us up after work, we couldn’t stay long, so I spent most of my time while not on tour listening to the speech and talking to someone from the Museum of Making about one of their projects to create bronze spearheads. But what about the galleries now?
Apart from regular turnover of artefacts and exhibits, nothing was removed. Quite a lot was added. There is a lot more colour, now, and the order of the galleries is changed so you’re meant to walk in the other direction, but the best thing is they have been melded into a combined, two-room Science and Nature gallery. I would not have thought of this – but it has been expertly handled and the look of Birds-of-Paradise specimens near the ceiling looking down on Roman dice is one that I’m sure will stick in the head of many viewers! If only we hadn’t had to leave so soon; it’s a pity I didn’t have half the time to look around that I would have wanted, but I hope to go back soon and have a proper look around the place. By the brief glimpse, it should be very good indeed!