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 […]

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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 […]

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In January 2019, our Affiliate Chester Zoo hosted a session for the Happy Museum (HM) Community of Practice  exploring the subject of Co-Production for Social Change. The workshop was an experiment for the HM community – offering the host, Chester Zoo, the opportunity to explore a question of interest to its team, with input from […]

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Happy Museum have produced a number of evaluation reports which summarise learning about How to be a Happy Museum and how to run a national programme which can be downloaded here: 2013 Learning & Evaluation Report 2014 Learning & Evaluation Report 2017 Learning & Evaluation Report Alternatively here is a summary of the project’s achievements […]

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It is a simple but powerful truth that most people care deeply for other people and the places where they live. But – tragically – 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’ values we are more likely […]

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Happy Museum is delighted to launch a new report Welsh museums and the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act which shines a spotlight on the myriad ways in which Welsh museums are responding to the goals of the Act. ‘If we are to make museums –  relevant for the future, we must be innovative in the […]

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Relationships with objects are primary to human growth, development and mental health: they are a core element of our psychological metabolism. In therapy, as in museums, as in life, objects are companions in experience; witnesses to the past and present; connectors to people, places and experiences; devices for communion; for holding on and for letting […]

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We hear from Rowan Guthrie and Jane Cockcroft about their experience of playful interventions at the Ashmolean The Ashmolean Museum is an affiliate of the Happy Museum. Over the last year, we have been involved in a series of training days which have helped to shape our thinking about the importance and potential of play […]

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