Opening Our Doors to the Public

The day generated much interest in the Britain from Above project.

This last week has been all about public engagement, and what is more engaging than an Open Doors event? Last Thursday, the Royal Commission opened its doors to over 150 people in celebration of the work achieved here.

Maps galore in the Royal Commission's rich archive.

During school hours, older pupils from the local secondary schools Penweddig and Penglais were entertained with specifically organised Careers Heritage sessions offered in partnership with staff from English Heritage, working on the collaborative Britain from Above project. The main aim of these sessions was to demonstrate the broad range of career choices that are available in the heritage sector and the types of resources we work with. These range from technological advances in App creation to more standard buildings recording, aerial projects, conservation work and, of course, community archaeology projects. Experts from several departments presented on their skills and careers, encouraging the children to have a go with equipment and, more importantly, answering any questions they had about their careers.  The latter part of the afternoon was then reserved for the wider public, drawing them in to see our current and past projects, encouraging them to take an interest and ask questions about what we do here.

Much enthusisam for digital surveying.

All in all, I believe  it was a great success, and a great way to end our introduction to the work of our public engagement team ― from attending a talk to the U3A group in Aberystwyth with our own Britain from  Above officer Natasha Scullion, to an enlightening meeting with the Heritage of Wales Public Engagement Group about the brilliant but varied ongoing projects with heritage organisations across Wales, and then to the other end of the spectrum, watching and actually being part of a Careers Day for local schools! Excellent experience all round.

The Open Day was a real hit for all!

By Kimberly Briscoe, Community Archaeology Training Placement.

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