Getting Started in Museum Volunteering: Lessons from My Journey 🏛️

I started my museum volunteering journey in 2019, the summer after my GCSEs, at Erewash Museum. I began by planning, running, and facilitating the children’s arts and crafts sessions — first alongside staff, and later independently once I turned 18. These sessions were always lively and creative, with around 200 visitors each day, from making paper flowers to decorating bookmarks. Alongside the craft activities, I helped fundraise for the museum and its craft fund, supported the café team, cleaned the Lego tables, served visitors at the front desk, and even sold second-hand books from the museum’s little library. It was the perfect place to start — busy, friendly, and full of opportunities to learn.

During my last year at university, I took on a placement at Holst Victorian House in Cheltenham. This was my first real experience working hands-on with collections. I digitised over a hundred paper artefacts relating to Gustav Holst — cataloguing, describing, and carefully recording details such as titles, codes, and dates. This experience opened my eyes to the importance of documentation and collections care. It was a quiet but deeply rewarding role, where I learned how much time and care goes into preserving and presenting history.

Later, I began working remotely with The Poetry Archive, contributing to their Poetry of South Asia project. I created a comprehensive spreadsheet cataloguing 571 poets, cross-referenced by month for archival and social media planning. This role combined research, digital organisation, and creative interpretation — helping me explore how poetry, heritage, and digital archiving can all come together.

Most recently, I’ve been volunteering with Sheffield Museums Trust. I started by proofreading exhibition labels for New Horizons, supporting the curatorial team in creating clear, accessible, and engaging interpretation for visitors. I’m now assisting with Crafted at Christmas, working on condition checking, documentation, and object handling for the exhibition’s mixed media displays. Each experience has built on the last — teaching me more about collections care, public engagement, and how museum work connects people through shared stories.

If you’re thinking about getting involved in museums, I’d say go for it! Volunteering is a brilliant way to discover what really goes on behind the scenes and to develop new skills along the way. Every opportunity — whether it’s helping visitors, handling objects, or supporting exhibitions — offers something valuable. My journey has grown from simple craft sessions to curatorial projects, and I can’t wait to see where it leads next!

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✨ Learn more about my work and aspirations here: My Portfolio