Six Months with Sheffield Museums: Lessons from 2025 🧭

Over the last six months, my volunteering journey with Sheffield Museums has become one of the most grounding and rewarding parts of my professional development. Each month has offered something completely different — from collections care and evaluation to visitor engagement, event support, and accessibility-focused work. Here’s a look back at what I’ve learned so far.

These experiences have helped me understand where I feel most at home in the sector — especially collections care and inclusive engagement.

🌱 June — Induction & First Steps

My induction on the 26th June set the foundations for everything that followed. I met the team, learned about Sheffield Museums’ approach to inclusive practice, and received an overview of volunteer pathways. It was a gentle welcome that made me feel part of something meaningful right from the start.

🎨 July — Crafty Careers Fair & Curious Adventures in Colour and Light

My first full month brought two brilliant opportunities: supporting the Crafty Careers Fair and assisting with Curious Adventures in Colour and Light. These activities helped me build confidence in public-facing engagement and introduced me to a wide range of creative career conversations.

⏳ August — Life Happens!

August flew by — and I didn’t manage to volunteer. It reminded me that flexibility matters, and that volunteering can grow alongside real-life commitments.

📋 September — Survey Training & Exhibition Celebration Event

September brought survey training, where I learned to observe visitor behaviour and gather qualitative feedback — skills that feed directly into my interest in evaluation. I also supported an exhibition celebration by invigilation at Graves Gallery which was my first time visiting the gallery as well as my first evening event, which gave me a deeper appreciation for the work behind the scenes.

This was also the month I realised how much I enjoy evaluation work and visitor research — something that now shapes my long-term ambitions.

🎃 October — A Full and Joyful Month

October was a turning point. I supported McKee’s Listening Party, the New Horizons Exhibition with proofreading text panels, and a Craft Jam planning session and my activity suggestion was selected for the event! Each offered a different slice of museum life.

I also assisted with the Crafted at Christmas Selling Exhibition with collections care and display setup, attended a Many Voices Project Review Meeting, and joined a Store Tour of the Archaeology and World Cultures collections — strengthening my collections-care knowledge and sparking my interest in natural history and material culture.

It was the busiest month so far, but also the one that made me feel most connected to the museum community. I loved the opportunities to contribute to their curatorial work.

🖐️ November — Talking Tables Training

In November, I completed my Talking Tables training session, preparing me to deliver informal community conversations centred around museum objects. This felt like an important step in developing my confidence with facilitation and inclusive interpretation. As well as helping me to develop my object handling and collections care experience and skills.

🎄 December — A Festive Finale

My final month of 2025 has been wonderfully festive, from supporting the Victorian Christmas Market with family crafts to my first Talking Tables session — rounding off six months of learning, growth, and joy.

Looking Ahead

As I move into 2026, I’m excited to keep building my skills in collections management, exhibition design, accessibility advocacy, and community-centred engagement. These six months have shaped my career direction more than I expected — and I’m grateful for every experience so far.

Across all these moments, big and small, I’ve gained clarity about the kind of practitioner I want to become.

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