Tales From a Student Placement

Dominic Persinger, Archaeology student from Cardiff University, undertook a summer placement at the PRM, here he shares his experiences. 

My First Day © Pitt Rivers Museum

Elation is the only word that can be used to describe my feeling upon receiving news that I would be undergoing a placement here at the Pitt Rivers Museum. With my favoured career path set firmly in the direction of museum work, opportunities do not come much greater than gaining vital experience at my long-standing favourite museum. With a varied and diverse schedule I would gain valuable insight into the inner workings of this most charismatic museum.

Education Department

During my time at the museum I was given the chance to participate in a number of the museum's summer family friendly activities. On my first day I was able to try my hand at construction as children were tasked with building a structure that could withstand a randomly chosen environmental condition. Some straws, lollypop sticks and a whole lot of creativity later, we were left with some structures that would challenge even the contents of the 'Building and Housing' case found on the court level. 

Audiences enjoying the pop-up puppet show © Pitt Rivers Museum

The following week I was lucky enough to sit in on the increasingly popular pop-up puppet show. I, like the rest of the audience, was blown away by the beauty and intricacy of the Indonesian shadow puppets. Manned by a pair of the museum's many enthusiastic volunteers that I would meet during my stay, the puppets played out the Ramayana, a traditional Hindu epic.

Projects and Popcorn

Over the course of my placement I would help out with the research, planning and organisation of the museum's forthcoming community and outreach projects. This swiftly became perhaps the most rewarding part of my experience. Having input into the upcoming LGBTQ+ museum-wide trail and the refugee and asylum seeker engagement project, I felt as though I was a part of something very special. One day we welcomed After 18 to the museum, a Leicester based group consisting of unaccompanied refugee and asylum seeking young people. While we hunted through the museum's dense displays to locate objects from their respective native countries, it was a privilege to observe the visitors interact and engage with the collections, as clearly beloved memories and stories were triggered throughout. Witnessing such engagement projects first hand reassured me how important the work carried out by the culture and heritage sector really is; after all, in my opinion, people should be at the heart of everything a museum does. Coming from an archaeological background it was particularly interesting to be able to oversee the complete process of an object being discovered, displayed and finally engaged with. 

Crowds lounging around watching Star Wars © Pitt Rivers Museum

In the time leading up to my placement I would never have guessed that at any point I would be sat watching Star Wars whilst the sun was setting over the picturesque museum lawn. But alas, deck chairs and beanbags were scattered across the grass as Cult Screens brought three days of outdoor cinema-viewing pleasure to the Oxford public. Hearing the imperial march echo through the 19th century grounds was a distinct highlight of mine.

Collections Department

As a part of the VERVE project, new archaeology displays are destined for the Upper Gallery and I was lucky enough to experience the processes involved with planning, selecting and organising these new display cases. Seeing up close and personal both the artefacts that made the cut and those that did not was a real treat. I will never look at a display the same again now that I know of the precision and patience that goes into getting the contents and aesthetics just right.

The very same day we visited the museum's Osney store. Upon meeting the team conducting a two and a half year project packaging the store's contents ready for transportation to a new location, the extreme scale of their task became apparent. The store is currently home to around 100,000 objects, so naturally I jumped at the chance to be granted this behind-the-scenes access and experience some of them for myself. If you too would like to explore some of the store's many items, do check out the recent Pitt Rivers Stores twitter account (@Pitt_Stores) for frequent updates on the newest discoveries.

Front of House 

One Monday I spent the day with the museum's front of house staff, it was my chance to adorn the red tie. I soon realised that I would spend most of the day answering one infamous question- "where are the shrunken heads?". When talking with the front of house guys, I was incredibly impressed by the whole team's extensive knowledge of the collections - they really did know the museum inside out.  I relished at the chance to spend some time with the displays myself, forever discovering something new as I strolled through the galleries.

Making fire the good ol' fashioned way © Pitt Rivers Museum

Pitt Fest

The focal point of my placement would be preparing for the museum's fourth annual Pitt Fest. Fittingly the theme for this year's fest was archaeology, giving me the opportunity to really sink my teeth into the event's organisation. After weeks of long and hard preparation, the big day came along and greeted us with substantial rain and blistering winds. However, the weather conditions did not dampen the spirits of the crowds who descended onto the museum lawn. Visitors explored the world of archaeology through free drop-in demonstrations, workshops, object handling, activities, performances and talks. I spent the first half of my day dissecting ancient poo (that's right, I said poo!); many a laugh was shared as festival goers dismembered fake coprolites in order to determine what part of history they would have came from, be it Roman, Viking or Tudor.

Fancy a story? © Pitt Rivers Museum

My nerves grew throughout the day as I was due to close the new soapbox talk series. Sharing a platform with experienced museum professionals and Oxford University professors was a daunting thought. As a result of the relentless rain my audience was confined to those who could cram into the soapbox tent, making for an easing and intimate atmosphere. I delivered the talk on one of my particular areas of interest, the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Europe. I discussed the debates that surround how the transition from from a hunter-gatherer way of life to a farming one played out, with particular focus on the recent developments of exciting scientific methods that we can use within archaeology, such as strontium isotope analysis and aDNA studies. In all I was pleased with how my talk went and with the interest it sparked with those listening. It was however nice to unwind afterwards by eating some gorgeous world street food and dancing around to the infectious sounds of the Seby Ntege Band.

The Seby Ntege Band closing the day's festivities © Pitt Rivers Museum

To conclude I would like to say a huge thank you to all of the staff at the Pitt Rivers Museum, in particular the VERVE team, for making me feel so welcome and a part of the group. The work you do is truly inspiring and Im sure I will be seeing you all again very soon.

Dominic Persinger
University of Cardiff Placement Student

Shrivelled hearts and public engagement: a VERVE student placement

Hannah Duckworth, MA Fine Arts from Oxford Brookes University, undertook a work placement at the Museum for 8 days in December 2015 and February 2016. Here are Hannah's thoughts on her time here:

LoveAnthro poster @ Pitt Rivers Museum

"I was so excited, happy and humbled to learn that I would be taking part in a placement at the Pitt Rivers Museum. I didn’t know what to expect, but I did know that it would be extremely beneficial both for me and my art. My time spent working at the museum and being part of the team was incredible. I have gained new skills and confidence in myself.

"Throughout the placement I was involved in a variety of different tasks, including working with the museum database, helping move objects, and helping with events.

"Personally, I liked helping at the LoveAnthro takeover event run by the Oxford University Anthropology Society. It really helped me build my confidence. On the night of the event, I helped with object handling and conducted an object talk. I found the event extremely interesting and the topic well suited to the time of the year, just after Valentine’s Day. Whilst helping with the object handling, I learnt about different cultures from India, Africa to Indonesia. I learnt how each culture represents the themes of love, kinship and marriage in different ways through different objects, such as a brass bowl, shadow puppets and a drum. It was also nice to witness the public’s reaction to holding and learning about these objects in a new and more personal way.

"After the handling, I spoke about a human heart in a lead casket. I felt it suited the theme of the event as it related to the heart and love. I found the heart very interesting and I loved researching about its origin and the story of how it became part of the Pitt Rivers founding collection in 1884. I was very nervous to speak in front of people at first but felt calmer knowing they were interested in what I had to say. At the end of my talk I was extremely pleased with the crowd’s reaction to both the museum and the heart, and was happy to answer any questions they had.

Heart in a lead casket, Ireland. PRM 1884.57.18 © Pitt Rivers Museum

"All in all I really loved helping with the event and being able to see a different side to the Pitt Rivers as well as seeing such a beautiful museum lit up at night. Having the ability to interact with such interesting objects allows both the crowd and the staff of the event to connect more closely with different cultures and their past."