Museums Evolving to Engage New Visitors – The Songbird Trail at the V&A.

V&A Museum – Taylor Swift Songbird Trail

Recently, a very clever tactic was employed by the historic and magnificent Victoria and Albert Museum in London to bring thousands of new people through their doors. The V&A museum is iconic in its own right and is one of London’s largest museums. It contains hundreds of stunning items in its collection and is a must-do for anyone in London.

Unfortunately, times are changing and the people of today are not so engaged with static displays of items. Our attention spans are short. A museum full of historic items can become a domain of older people, quiet, stuffy and full of items that seem insignificant without understanding their back-story.

So following on from my other two posts about how the silent disco is a positive evolution of nightclubbing and how the theatre is evolving to attract a new, younger demographic, how must a museum evolve to keep up and draw in the youth of today?

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Why a Silent Disco is an Awesome Evolution of Nightclubbing!

A blur of people happily dancing at a silent disco. The colour of the headphones denotes the music channel being listened to.

There are so many annoying and distasteful aspects of traditional nightclubbing. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that a silent disco ELIMINATES every single one of these aspects! Following is a list of all the things there are to dislike about traditional nightclubbing and how a silent disco is so much better! This is based on a silent disco event held in the crypt at St Martin’s In the Fields church in London.

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10 Ways Theatre is Evolving to Engage Today’s Distractible Audiences.

Look around you! I bet most people you see are either looking on their phones or within a minute of reaching for it. The immense power of these handheld mini-computers have changed the way we operate in this world and impacted the way our brains work. If we have a question, we google the answer. We consume so much short-form content designed to be super catchy, addictive and engaging. When it comes to sitting down with a good novel for hours, it may not be as easy as it once was.

An actor at the Phantom Peak Immersive event
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Ten Questions Answered about the Beautiful Thames Path

Thames Source – closest train station is Kemble

Walking the Thames Path from the source of the River Thames to the engineering marvel of the Thames Barrier is a flat, well marked, picturesque walk of about 300km. Here are some questions I had before starting and the answers learnt by actually walking it!

  1. Are some seasons better suited to walking the Thames Path?
  2. How far do I have to walk everyday?
  3. Do I need to walk it all in one go?
  4. Can I get food and water along the path?
  5. Do I need to pre-book my accomodation?
  6. What are the costs for doing the Thames Path?
  7. Will my phone have signal along the Thames Path?
  8. Will I get lost?
  9. What are the best tips for walking the Thames Path?
  10. Is it worth the effort?
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What cannot be captured in a photo….

Living in London has been fun and whilst there have been many interesting sights to see (and therefore photograph for this blog), there have been many experiences that do not lend themselves to a photo. Here are a few…..and as I write these, I realise that many of these do not require necessarily the location of London to experience but only the openness to enjoy the many small joys in life.

Turn the snowdrop over! There are all kinds of variations on the inside of the flower. A hidden secret! Exquisite!
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Money Saving Hacks in London

Tower Bridge

London is a very expensive city to live or to visit but there are countless ways to save money. Some of these do require some time and administration on your part but it’s worth it for the thrill of knowing you got a great deal or the feeling that haven’t been duped into paying for too much. Even if the savings don’t feel like much, every little bit helps.

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Another Dispatch from London

London is a major city and there are always fabulous events happening, something to feast the eye around every corner and the opportunity to see and do things which are quite special. These are but a few recent examples.

Grand Designs is a TV show where the host, Kevin McCloud follows home owners building their dream home from blueprint to completion. There are often elements of interesting architecture or design and lots of drama in the form of cost and schedule overruns. Recently, there was an event held called Grand Designs Live. We had the opportunity to peruse stalls related to all aspects of home-building and design but best of all, we could see Kevin McCloud himself! He looks and sounds just like he does on TV!

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