Curators of the Future

I'm off to a local careers event in a couple of weeks. I'm very much looking forward to it, because rather than your average hall full of university students I'm going to be talking to kids as young as first school age (6/7/8) about all the things that make working in a museum pretty darn cool.

I've been having a lot of fun today and yesterday thinking about the best ways to present what we do, since I know I'm representing the first contact most of these children will have had with thoughts of working in the heritage sector. So, y'know, no pressure or anything. I love doing what I do, and I'd hate to give any child the impression that working in museums is anything less than the off-the-wall, constantly changing, always slighty-unusual experience that I truly believe it is. After all, as I said to someone today; in what other workplace could you legitimately and seriously say "we couldn't use the room, it was full of tea cosies"? Well, other than in a tea cosy factory, maybe. Or a prolific knitter's house.

Hypothetical workplaces aside, I think I've come up with some fun tasks to give the idea of working in a museum; some dressing up clothes, some collections items, some replica items, some make-and-take craft... what's not to love?

Oh, and did I mention I'm thinking of bringing a pirate with me?

So yes, it should be fun. I'd love some feedback from you out there. Was there anything you wish you'd known about working in museums when you were a child? I've still got time to put in extra bits and bobs (but probably not any more pirates).

Thanks!