It is a simple but powerful truth that most people care deeply for other people and the places where they live. But – tragically in our increasingly polarised society – the majority of us underestimate the extent to which our fellow citizens care about these things. Yet when we hold more authentic perspectives of others’ […]
Read More →‘Our communities are diverse and complicated. They are muddled and made up of individuals who share, disagree, find common cause or show indifference to each other. Some neighbourhoods are diverse, some are monocultural to the point of exclusion The result is an aversion to exploring difference and conflict, and a lack of understanding that communities […]
Read More →Don’t miss our playful places next workshop in Leeds which will be talking about Children’s rights, playful adults and play as protest! If you are interested in gaining creative ideas and support for play at your venue, then come along and join us! We will be sharing our knowledge and experiences and learning from each […]
Read More →‘The wonderfully named Wellbeing of Future Generations Act requires public organisations to consider the long-term implications of their decisions for people and places, culture and communities. It aims to encourage people to think harder about the future and to consider the triple bottom line of environment and society as well economy. In fact, with its […]
Read More →On 3rd April 2019 Happy Museum will join the first wave of cultural organisations declaring climate emergency. As the accelerating impacts of climate change become increasingly evident it is vital that we face the truth, demand action, support each other and express solidarity with affected communities. Our declaration follows: We Happy Museum declare a Climate and Ecological […]
Read More →“Gave us a completely different perspective on how we think, and a framework within which we can actively curate and communicate to promote the shared ‘compassionate’ values of our visitors and volunteers – and their fellow citizens. This is crucial in ensuring we remain true to our purpose”. Happy Museum and our community of practice have […]
Read More →Building on our work around Play in Museums over the past 6 years, we’re delighted to announce a new initiative for museums and cultural organisations – a network called PLAYFUL PLACES. Developed from the Happy Museum’s More Playful Museum projects and from Continuing Professional Development programmes focused on Play, this group has been set up […]
Read More →Resources produced by Playful Places in collaboration with Affiliate Museums The Rules for a Playful Museum book project, 2015 and The More Playful Museums programme at Manchester Museum, 2014-2016 Articles & Useful Links The Manchester Museum Playful project in Arts Professional, Play Wales Magazine, and in the International Journal of Play Fantastic resources on play, and […]
Read More →On 5th March 2019 a small but energised group of museum professionals gathered at Woodhorn Colliery Museum to consider how environmental concerns might be focus for connections between a museum and its community. Museums in the Happy Museum community of practice already tackle subjects as diverse as energy use, waste and recycling, food production and […]
Read More →Museums have found many ways to connect with their communities around environmental concerns – tackling subjects as diverse as resource use and waste, energy, local planning, air pollution and more. Building these connections has the potential to contribute to the wellbeing and resilience as well as the environmental sustainability of both museums and their communities. This workshop offers the […]
Read More →