Opportunity: Knox
Our Museums On The Move program continues with another successful venture, this time out to Haddington’s Knox Academy. Three classes of S1 students invited their parents, friends and families to see the grand opening of their “Great Scots” exhibition last night, and a jolly good time was had by all. The Great Scots on show ranged from the usual suspects (Robert Burns, William Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots) to icons of the Heat Magazine generation such as Gillian McKeith and Michelle McManus. The depth of research into each student’s choice of Scot varied, naturally, but all concerned embraced the project enthusiastically. As well as lending a glass cabinet and some AV equipment, we also loaned a stethoscope (to represent Elsie Inglis), a miniature TV (John Logie Baird), a mobile phone (Alexander Graham Bell), a Burns address from 1921 and portraits of Mary Queen of Scots. Objects to represent Scots of more recent vintage were few and far between in our collection, but the students came up trumps, either bringing in their own memorabilia (for Oor Wullie or Ewan McGregor, for example) or creating objects of their own. We were all particularly impressed with the Tardis (David Tennant) that opened up to reveal facts about the actor. In fact, this notion of interactivity was particularly evident in nearly all the students’ displays, from audio-visual presentations to quizzes where you had to lift the flap to reveal the answer. A worthwhile project, then, and a good chance to show a wider audience the work of the school. Hats off to Mr. Wood, Ms. McPhee and Ms. Anderson of the History dept. for organising the event so effectively, and to the students of S1.
