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Volunteer Summer Trips!Thanks to everyone who joined us for the second annual Volunteer / Youth Board summer trip. Around 40 volunteers and youth board-ers set off for York on what turned out to be a grey but fine day (bucking the trend of recent volunteer trips!) Highlights of the day included the remade Victorian street at York Castle Museum, steam engine demonstrations at the National Railway Museum, and a quick stop off at the Shambles for shopping and sightseeing. The next volunteer outing will be to Rochdale Pioneers Museum on Thursday 18th September. We are able to provide transport, however places are limited so please RSVP to Karen as soon as possible if you would like to come!

Hello! Welcome to the new look volunteer

newsletter. As usual we have a roundup of

what’s been happening in the

volunteer department and Manchester

Museum - as well as details of upcoming

events and opportunities that you can get involved in.

Please get in touch if you have any comments.

Volunteer News

Volunteers and Youth Board outside York Castle Museum

August 2014" " " " " " " " @VolunteeringMM

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Become A Dementia Friend!The Museum is on a mission to train all staff and volunteers to become Dementia Friends - and our volunteer team now has 12 dementia friends! If you become a Dementia Friend, you have the opportunity to learn more about what it’s like to live with dementia and can then turn that learning into action in a range of different ways. This can include supporting someone you know living with dementia, signposting people affected by dementia to more information and support, spreading the word about Dementia Friends via social media, and many other things. Lawrence Roberts will be holding Dementia Friends training sessions in the museum over the coming months. Please email Lee for details of upcoming dates. "

Culture Shots Week 2014!This year’s Culture Shots Week was bigger and better than ever! Volunteers from Manchester Museum took objects from the Culture Shots and Manchester handling collections to hospitals across Greater Manchester to promote the links between culture, and health and wellbeing. Thanks to all who were involved."

We’ve Joined Twitter!!The tweeters amongst you can now

follow the Manchester Museum Volunteer Department on Twitter

(we’re @volunteeringMM). If you fancy tweeting yourself please let us know. Don’t forget that you can also

follow the main museum twitter account @mcrmuseum

Coming up…!"Next Coffee Afternoon: 3

September 14.00-16.00!"Next After Hours: 4 September 18.00-21.00 - OXJAM Takeover "

Next Big Saturday: 26 September 11.00-16.00 -

Discover Pacific!" Exhibitions News:!"

From The War Of Nature: until 7 September "

Whitworth Park: Pleasure, Play and Politics: until 5 October

Ray in action at MRI as part of Culture Shots week

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Nature’s Discovery!On Friday 29 August, Objects In Mind and Arts For Health are running a silent disco in the museum for staff and volunteers between 16.00 and 17.00. The silent disco is to raise money for healthcare charities and is also a great excuse to have dance on Living Worlds. So come along!""Pam’s Art On Display!Volunteer Pam Armstrong is currently exhibiting two of her paintings at Colin Jellicoe Gallery on Portland Street. The exhibition runs until 4 October and is well worth a visit if you get the chance. ""Next Coffee Afternoon!The next coffee afternoon will be held on Wednesday 3 September, 14.00 to 16.00. The coffee afternoons are a great opportunity to meet other volunteers, hear updates from museum staff and see behind the scenes at the museum.""

Access to Museum Computers!We now have a number of usernames which you can use to access computers and the internet within the Museum. Please ask Lee or Karen to sign one out for you.""We Want You!!Got some news you want included in the volunteer newsletter? Send it to Lee or Karen.""

Hello to the 38 new volunteers who joined the volunteer team in July and thanks to everyone that has already

been involved in welcoming them to the Museum. Some have already started to

volunteer in the Discovery Centre, helping to facilitate our ‘Global Explorer’ family activities over the school summer

holidays. Others are just beginning shadowing shifts on the Ancient Worlds,

Living Worlds, and Money handling tables.

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Summer Allotment Volunteering!New volunteers are always welcome to join in our weekly allotment sessions which take place every Friday afternoon between 12.00 and 13.00. Over the next few months we’ll be planting more veggies and getting the allotment ready for Autumn. We’ve also got some cauliflower and potatoes to harvest!""Dunham Massey !On 10 June Manchester Museum and IWM North volunteers visited Dunham Massey as part of the if: Volunteering for wellbeing programme. During the First World War, the Georgian house, set in a magnificent deer-park, was transformed into a military hospital, becoming a sanctuary from the trenches for almost 300 soldiers. A hospital exhibition has been recreated especially for this Centenary year. We discovered what life was like for the patients and how the war changed everything for those who lived and worked at Dunham. We also spent time in the ward, recreation room and operating theatre to experience the Stamford Hospital as it once was. ""DID YOU KNOW Dunham Massey has one of the North’s great gardens, and has Britain’s largest winter garden, as well as a stunning new rose garden."

Applications are now open for the volunteer programme at Manchester Science Festival 2014. They’re looking for event volunteers to help

welcome visitors, promote the programme, and encourage visitors to get involved in their exciting science events. For more information, visit: http://www.manchestersciencefestival.com/connect/getinvolved/volunteer The Festival is coordinated by the Museum of Science & Industry, with events

held at venues across the city, including Manchester Museum.

The Museum Allotment

Dunham Massey

Stamford Military Hospital

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Upcoming Events and Current Exhibitions!"After Hours: OXJAM Take Over "Thursday 4 September, 17.30-21.00Join us as we team up with Oxjam for an eclectic evening exploring how music plays an integral part in cultures around the world and can help galvanise the fight against global poverty. There will be objects on show from our Living Cultures collection, craft activities, talks and film showings. Later, Oxjam will take over our stunning Living Worlds gallery to showcase local musicians in the run up to their annual Northern Quarter fundraising festival (4 and 5 October) for Oxfam in 2014." "In The Footsteps of Alexander the Great: a fresh look at an epic Monday 15 September, 18.00-19.30In this talk, Professor Michael Wood will look again at the story of Alexander the Great, whose amazing journeys of conquest he re-traced in 1998. He will update the story with new material from the currently beleaguered areas of Syria and Northern Iraq, and illustrate his talk with stunning pictures of the regions Alexander visited and with clips from his documentary series. "Book on 0161 275 2648 or museum@manchester.ac.uk, free, adults. ""Whitworth Park: Pleasure, Play and Politics!This exhibition explores how the role of Manchester’s Whitworth Park has changed over time. The displays are the result of a local archaeology project and the myriad of objects reflects the important role that the park has played for the local community over the years. "Curator Talks All volunteers are welcome to attend the weekly curator talks which are delivered every Monday (excluding Bank Holidays), 9.15 to 10.00. Please meet in the Museum reception area. If you would like the list of topics for the coming year please contact Karen.

Contact Details!For any queries about the volunteer programme or the newsletter please

contact: Lee Ashworth!

0161 275 2473, lee.ashworth@manchester.ac.uk Karen Brackenridge!

0161 306 1773, karen.brackenridge@manchester.ac.uk

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