I have been lucky enough to enjoy a weeks work experience at the Devils Porridge museum, where I have been able to work with many people who have been extremely kind and enthusiastic about the museum, who have also helped me to learn a lot about working in a museum.
I started my week with helping to photograph and log some of the museums collection of medals from both World War One and World War Two. This was particularly interesting as I was able to see these parts of history up close.
Another exciting activity I was able to be involved in was painting a wooden cut out of Sherlock Holmes. Now, you might be thinking, what does Sherlock Holmes have to do with a museum about local munitions factories and the World Wars? Well, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a war correspondent and had visited the HM Factory in Gretna during the first World War. This led him to coin the phrase “devils porridge” to describe the material that the people at the factory worked with to make cordite and has been a widely used nickname for the the mixture since then.
I have also really enjoyed working in customer service areas of the Museum such as on the front desk or in the café, where I have been able to talk to many lovely customers and friendly staff. I’ve also learnt so much about the marketing and social media aspect of the museum, and have been able to see how clubs such as the Cordite Club run. This was extremely fascinating to see how hard-working the staff here are to deliver the best possible activities, posts and events.
There is so much you can learn from just one visit to The Devil’s Porridge Museum, so I think its safe to say I will be leaving my week of work experience with heaps of new knowledge and a much greater understanding of the history of the area and about the behind the scenes of a museum.
