29 Oct 2024

Burns inspires young people to connect with museums

Written by Paul Williams

A group of four schoolchildren stand with a museum conservator all wear purple conservation gloves and some hold clip boards.

Kincaidston Primary 7s learned about heritage careers inspired by Robert Burns, with Ruth McKechnie from our Collections Care team

A group of primary schoolchildren from Ayr have created a new guided walk at Robert Burns Birthplace Museum and Cottage thanks to a new education project by the Trust.

The seven-week Workforce for the Future project saw the P7 Kincaidston Primary School class take part in a series of workshops at Robert Burns Birthplace Museum and Burns Cottage to learn more about Robert Burns‘ life, work, and the Scots language used within it, as well as his importance to Scotland and his impact on the economy.

Along with discovering more about the national bard, the class also learned about the staff contributing to running the museum and cottage. The Collections Care team taught them how to handle objects from the museum’s displays, the gardeners taught them skills in den building and bushcraft, and they joined volunteer guides to get inspiration to develop their own guided tours.

The workshops are part of the Workforce for the Future project, funded by the Art Fund, designed to connect museums with young people. The Robert Burns Birthplace Museum team joined Museum Galleries Scotland to deliver the project, which aims to develop young people’s employability skills, increase their confidence, and help them learn about careers in the heritage sector. The project coincides with Heritage Careers Week, which runs from 28 October to 1 November.

Primary school pupils dressed in uniform stand in a row behind a gravestone, with the old ruins of a church in the background

Kincaidston P7s developed their own guided tour as part of the project that visited Alloway Auld Kirk, the inspiration behind Robert Burns' Tam O' Shanter

The project was led by Chris Waddell, Learning Manager at Robert Burns Birthplace Museum.

Chris said: ‘Connecting with the young people over the last six weeks during the workshops has been amazing and really supported their learning by having this dedicated time to focus on different areas of Burns’ life and his importance to South Ayrshire. The workshops have helped instil good teamwork and communication and hone their research skills to develop the guided walks as the project's final outcome.

‘The Workforce for the Future project supports our vision of providing access to and enjoying Scotland’s special places. Our conservation charity is working to become a learning organisation and to enable a greater diversity of people and communities to access our properties and improve their health and wellbeing. We’re delighted to support the project with Kincaidston Primary and connect its pupils with Scotland’s nature, beauty and heritage.‘

The guided tours created by the young people followed the Poet's Path from Burns Cottage to the Museum highlighting the poet's work including Tam O' Shanter and To A Mouse

Primary school pupils dressed in school uniform stand next to the cast iron sculpture of a mouse, inspired by Robert Burns poem To A Mouse

John Campbell, Museums Galleries Scotland Senior Skills Development Manager, said: ‘We’re thrilled to have supported the Workforce for the Future project at Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. The pupils at Kincaidston Primary have been very engaged throughout the project, which has resulted in them creating a fantastic, guided walk for their families to enjoy. The enthusiasm for the project by the museum staff created an incredible experience for the young people that has helped them learn about work in the heritage sector.‘

Rachael Stone, Kincaidston Primary School class teacher, said: ‘It’s been fantastic having our young people take part in the project as it’s helped them develop new skills and build their confidence and knowledge around Robert Burns at the same time. We’ve really appreciated the time and care the staff at the Trust have shown to them, engaging with them on the different roles involved in running the museum as well as supporting them to research, develop and deliver their guided tour around Burns Cottage, Poet’s Path, the Auld Alloway Kirk and the Burns Monument Gardens, which was great fun.‘

The Workforce for the Future programme saw Kincaidston P7s learn about the different heritage job roles involved in running the museum, including caring for its collection of items from Robert Burns' life

Primary school pupils in uniform stand in a row with their teacher looking at objects from the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum collections

Projects like Workforce for the Future at Robert Burns Birthplace Museums support the Trust’s vision to care for, share, and protect Scotland’s natural and cultural heritage, as outlined in its strategy launched in 2022. They also contribute to the Trust’s engagement objectives to provide everyone access and enjoyment and be a learning organisation.