Maddie Cox shares her excitement at the reopening of the Museum.
Cycling into Cambridge has felt different this past month as the city reopens. Trees and flowers are in bloom, people are out and about, the cows are back, and soon the Museum of Cambridge will open its doors once again. The volunteers, trustees and staff have been busy getting the museum ready to reopen on Friday 28th May, and we cannot wait!
I started with the museum in September 2020 and managed to see it reopen after the first lockdown; however, it wasn’t long until Winter hit and so too did subsequent closures. It was during this brief period that I was able to see the museum alive with visitors and managed to meet a few of our Front of House volunteers. After seeing a museum open, it doesn’t feel right to see it closed. They need people within them learning, exploring, and making connections, to be alive. Thankfully, that reawakening is right around the corner.
We are very lucky at the museum that many of us have been able to continue to work and volunteer remotely, however, for my Front of House team, that hasn’t been the case. We have kept in touch via email and Zoom and the odd Volunteer Social, but many of us are looking forward to meeting in person, in several cases for the first time! This month has seen the team come back onsite in groups of 1 or 2, to walk around the museum, see some logistical changes, and be abreast of the covid-19 safety guidelines. One common thread of these sessions has been our conversations about visitors; we are all bursting to share our love and passion for the museum and the histories it holds. I am proud of the Front of House team in their resilience during this challenging time and look forward to supporting them with reopening.
Do drop by the museum after we reopen to meet the team, explore local stories, and experience the joy that is a museum coming to life.
This post was written by Maddie Cox, Museum Operations and Facilities Manager at the Museum of Cambridge.