MA International Heritage Management student Matthew tells us about his experience taking part in a work placement at the West Midlands Police Museum.
It is always important to get real world experiences alongside university courses. Every Wednesday for 10 weeks, as part of my Masters in International Heritage Management, my work placement was at the West Midlands Police Museum. If you haven’t been – and I highly recommend you do, it’s a great day out! – this museum showcases police history and is located in a Victorian ‘lock-up’, which are holding cells for the detention of people prior to a court hearing. This lock-up was opened 1891 and finally closed in 2016, so has an incredible 125 years of history within its walls.
In many ways, my postgraduate placement differed from other students’ placements on my course. Some were allocated specific projects: one researched audience development for a museum, another looked at the oral history of Birmingham’s residents, and I even attended a Heritage careers fair that one student organised. However, my placement was orientated around work experience within a heritage setting. Often, I would turn up on Wednesdays and ask what needed doing. That might sound slightly chaotic, but it was actually a great experience. Getting ‘stuck in’ gave me an appreciation of the day-to-day reality and workings of a museum.
What I did on placement
To give a scope of what I did, in a non-exhaustive list, I worked the front desk, the tuck shop, the gift shop, restocked shelves, searched the archives, completed inventories, tour guided several times, manned the activities in the education space, aided with a school trip, created an activities trail (to be used this summer!) and helped with conferences. Consequently, my time was varied and I touched all aspects of ‘working’ heritage, which would not have necessarily happened if the site had been bigger or my placement more research-based.
My work in the archives was interesting – there are some amazing objects. My favourite is a fake gun made of soap intended to start a prison riot. But the best experience was interacting with the visitors, especially during tours.
What I learnt from the placement
The museum is part of West Midlands Police outreach department and presents itself as a community hub alongside its work preserving Birmingham’s policing history. Consequently, it was very important to be personable and engage with visitors. Sometimes that was discussing the fascinating history with interested heritage goers. Other times it was interacting with families and children enjoying half-term mystery trails and police uniform dress-up. Kids especially are enthusiastic explorers and can ask some tricky questions, although I’m still aghast about when some schoolchildren referred to me as ‘Sir’
My Masters course has continually involved discussions on making heritage more accessible and inclusive for everyone. However, my placement was the first time I had seen that happening and been personally involved. I couldn’t have asked for a more varied and insightful range of experiences, and I will take what I learnt to wherever I work in the future.
I must give immense thanks to the staff and volunteers I worked with at the West Midlands Police Museum. They were very welcoming and friendly.