A member of the public enjoys the Mini-Museum. © Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service
Shoppers in Colchester need to be prepared to stumble upon history and culture where they least expect it when wandering down the town’s High Street after Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service introduced mini museums aimed at introducing historic objects into community spaces.
The first mini museum, located in Angel Court until April, features objects from the Museum Service’s natural history collection, including chafer beetles, quartz crystals and an example of a 275 million-year-old fern tree.
The innovative project, funded by Renaissance in the Region, also lets visitors learn about social history with a 1967 Teasmade from Williams and Griffin department store, and a variety of vintage costumes.
The Mini-Museum features highlights of the Museum Services' collection. © Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service
Ciara Canning, Curator of Community History, says: “By taking objects out of their traditional museum setting we can bring our collections to the widest possible audience.
“Our mini museums offer a taster of the wonderful objects which people can see in our museums and will hopefully encourage more people to see what else Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service has to offer.”
As the project expands, outreach work with community groups aims to put their objects alongside those of the museums’. There are also future plans for further mini museums in both Colchester and Ipswich, directly merging history with contemporary life.
