Volunteers sought for RCN Prison Nursing Exhibition

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is calling its members to volunteer for next year’s exhibition project, which will focus on prison nursing.

As part of the project, volunteers will get the chance to research nursing history, learn new skills, do something a bit different, and even work with a small, enthusiastic team of staff and other volunteers.

The exhibition will run for six months in London, followed by another six months in Edinburgh and is accompanied by an online exhibition and a series of themed events.

Volunteers do not need any specific experience to take part as all training will be provided. Travel expenses for the site visit and support with equipment can also be provided.

Volunteers can participate in the following (depending on their availability):

·      Be invited to training in conservation, research and text writing for exhibitions

·      Carry out individual research in the history of prison and justice nursing

·      Participate in focus group (virtual and in person) on exhibition design and interpretation and object selection

·      Draft text for the exhibition, to be edited with the RCN Museum and Events team

·      Support events and workshops, from planning ideas to delivery.

There will be three training sessions during the project to support the volunteers to participate fully and learn new skills.

They do not need to attend all of them, but they will need to attend the relevant session to help with that activity in the exhibition.

These include:

·      Research training: A practical session on the basics of conducting historical research. Find out how to develop a research question, where to look for sources, what sort of questions to ask and, most importantly, when to stop! You will need to attend this to get involved in researching the histories we want to tell in the exhibition. 

·      Object handling training: An introduction to the basics of handling and working with historical objects, using items in the RCN collections. You will need to attend this to handle historic items and help install the exhibition. 

·      Interpretation training: A practical workshop on interpreting objects and telling stories for museums and exhibitions. We will use themed exercises to explore how to bring the history of children’s nursing to life for a public audience. You will need to attend this to help write the exhibition text. 

For more information, click here.