GLAM-wide opportunities
Opportunities for researchers to develop cross-collection public engagement with research (PER) activities include trails and multi-site exhibitions that span more than one Oxford University Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) institution, some examples of which are highlighted below. A cross-collection approach can be an opportunity to interrogate the GLAM collections by an over-arching theme or discipline.
For an initial chat about PER opportunities with GLAM, particularly for activities spanning more than one GLAM institution, researchers may wish to contact Hattie Warburton or Emma Webster in the GLAM Research and Impact team.
The categories and lists below are for illustration only and are by no means exhaustive. There are certain to be more possibilities and opportunities for working across GLAM’s collections and venues depending on the nature of the project so researchers should get in touch.
Please be aware that GLAM venues have full and busy programmes and it may not be possible to pick up activities that have already been fully developed or to deal with urgent requests. Ideally, activities should be co-created with GLAM from project conception and researchers should get in contact early so that we can work together to develop your ideas. Please note that while researchers may contact GLAM departments directly they are also encouraged to contact departmental/Divisional PER facilitators for interim support/guidance.
GLAM PER Toolkit | Getting started |
| Opportunities by category | Opportunities by institution | Case studies |
(Please note that opportunities are subject to change)
Co-creation may take place across more than one GLAM venue, depending on the group and the themes under exploration.
For example, Meet Me at the Museum is a social group for older people and adults living with dementia and their carers. It enables behind-the-scenes access to all four GLAM museums and collections. The group co-design their own programme in consultation with GLAM’s Community and Engagement team.
For more ideas and information, go to the Co-creation of content/activities section of the GLAM PER Toolkit.
Exhibitions and displays may encompass more than one GLAM venue if the theme is relevant to more than one institution.
For example, Alice in Typhoidland and Collecting Covid are both collaborations which involved the Bodleian and the History of Science Museum, reflecting the depth of both institutions’ history of science collections, and expertise of both institutions in public engagement.
For more ideas and information, go to the Exhibitions and displays section of the GLAM PER Toolkit.
Multi-format late night events
Late night events at the Museum of Natural History and the neighbouring Pitt Rivers Museum often run in tandem, offering potential for collaborative cross-collection work.
Other GLAM venues may also open on the same evening, for example, for the (now defunct) Museums at Night festival, and Curiosity Carnival.
For more ideas and information, go to the Multi-format late night events section of the GLAM PER Toolkit.
Cross-collections trails which span more than one GLAM institution are an opportunity to interrogate the GLAM collections by theme or discipline, from women in science to climate change to public health.
For example, the Museum of Climate Hope trail aims to encourage positive engagement with environmental change among young people and was created by researchers from the University's Environmental Change Institute (ECI) in collaboration with GLAM.
Shout Out for Women was a cross-collections trail which was created by staff to mark the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918.
For more ideas and information, go to the Trails and tours section of the GLAM PER Toolkit.
