Derby Museums will open their newest gallery on Saturday 28th February at the Museum and Art Gallery. ‘Unearthed’ marks a major redisplay of its archaeology and natural history collections and a significant refresh of some of the most popular spaces within the museum, some of which had not been overhauled in over 30 years. The redisplay has been made possible thanks to a grant of £249,795 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
‘Unearthed’ combines objects from the museums’ archaeology and natural sciences collections which together span millions of years of history. Previously displayed in two separate galleries, the two collections explore the story of life in Derbyshire – how people have adapted to make this place their home, and how they have shaped the natural world to meet their needs.
Visitors can see some of the most exciting objects in Derby Museums’ collection, including many objects never displayed before. Some highlights include Bronze Age finds recovered from the wetlands of the River Trent, Ice Age material from Creswell Crags, finds from Roman Derby, and internationally significant Viking material from Repton.
The redisplay sees the return of visitor favourite specimens from the ‘Notice Nature, Feel Joy’ Gallery, alongside newly featured animals. Many were chosen in collaboration with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to represent current wildlife concerns and local nature recovery programmes, encouraging everyone to work towards a more nature-rich future. Specimens such as hedgehogs, a peregrine falcon and black grouse tell stories of conservation, whilst a beaver skull speaks to current reintroduction projects in Derbyshire.
The new galleries are expected to welcome over 85,000 visitors annually, including thousands of schoolchildren.
Sadie Scott, Project Manager for the Unearthed galleries, said:
“The galleries were long overdue an update, with Archaeology having last been redeveloped in the late 80s, and the Nature Gallery last refurbished over 10 years ago. Thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we have been able to bring these two much loved collections together into a brand-new gallery. Unearthed tells the story of people arriving and settling in Derby and Derbyshire and their relationship with the land and its nature.
Through project labs, co-curation discussions and on-gallery exercises, visitors and volunteers made it clear that the new displays should focus on our local area, putting our histories and our landscapes into a wider national and global context. Hopefully this is what we have achieved with ‘Unearthed’. In partnership with local groups and universities we have been able to update our understanding of our collections and share this new information with visitors, as well as exploring contemporary societal challenges, such as the climate emergency. I hope the new displays will provoke joy and conversation for years to come!”
The beloved Mr Fox, admired by thousands of visitors over the years, will now be retired. A badger will take his place. Badgers first came to the UK over half a million years ago and will have witnessed many of the changes humans have made to our Derbyshire landscape. For this reason, the badger makes the perfect mascot for Unearthed. Like the fox, the badger has been sourced from ethical taxidermist Jazmine Miles-Long and will be on-gallery for gentle strokes.
In collaboration with various partners, the Workshop team at the Museum of Making have produced a series of interactive activities to enable visitors to get hands on with the displays. Visitors can touch a replica Bronze Age spearhead, examine enlarged bronze casts of ancient coins, and feel a replica mammoth tooth. For the first time, people can immerse themselves in a sit-in section of the Bronze Age logboat, and perhaps imagine themselves paddling down the River Trent as the boat’s passengers may have done many years ago.
Gillian Patrick, Derby Museums’ Workshop and Studio Manager, said:
“The items we have reproduced help make our history more immediate and real. It is really special, and quite unique, to have the facilities to recreate these physical objects from the past, make them tangible and put them into the hands of our visitors. We used a wide range of materials and processes in their production, finding ways to enable visitors to engage further with the displays. Modern technologies have allowed us to reproduce objects with great accuracy enabling us to feel the marks of the crafts person’s hands – or tools – that created the original, and to understand the skill involved in their production and use. I hope these objects allow a deeper connection to who, how or what formed them.”
This project was made possible thanks to a grant of £249,795 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which supported organisations to become more resilient and open up their collections by using them to tell the stories of people across the UK.
‘Unearthed’ opens on Saturday 28th February at Derby Museum and Art Gallery and is part of the permanent displays of Derby Museums. Entry to the museum is FREE – Give What You Think, with visitors asked to donate if they are able.
