Blog - Museums and Heritage Highland

Highland museums to share skills and ambitions at major summit

Nicola Henderson Blog 12 May, 202512 June, 2025airfaire, heritage, heritageworkforce, highlandmuseums, highlands, museums, museumsgalleriesscotland, museumworkforce, workforcesummit 0 Comment

Action, innovation, and ambition are on the agenda at Air Faire, a major summit for Highland museum and heritage professionals taking place in Inverness later this month.

On May 22nd and 23rd, staff and volunteers from museums and heritage organisations across the Highlands and beyond will gather to discuss how they can build more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable futures for their communities.

Air Faire is being organised by Museums and Heritage Highland, a forum that facilitates connections between cultural organisations across the region. Siobhan Beatson, Director of Ullapool Museum and Chair of MHH, said: “Museums and heritage sites are vital to the culture, economy, and wellbeing of our communities. By sharing our knowledge and skills at Air Faire, we aim to realise our ambition for museums and heritage sites to serve as inspiring, innovative, and educational spaces where everyone is welcome.”

The diverse responsibilities of museums and heritage sites are reflected in the range of topics being discussed at the summit. Air Faire will feature panels on fundraising, volunteering, workforce wellbeing, and engaging with younger audiences, as well as workshops and talks on the role of Gaelic in museums, LGBTQ+ representation, and anti-racism.

Nicola Henderson, Innovation and Network Manager at MHH, added: “Air Faire offers a unique opportunity for people to exchange ideas, connect across disciplines, and develop creative new solutions to shared challenges. As well as welcoming a range of perspectives from cultural organisations across Scotland, we invite representatives of other industries to attend and explore the potential for collaboration with museums and heritage sites.”

The significance of Air Faire is highlighted by the range of panellists from key heritage organisations and funding bodies. This includes speakers from National Museums Scotland, Museums Galleries Scotland, the Museums Association, Historic Environment Scotland, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The summit is made possible thanks to funding from Museums Galleries Scotland and The Space, along with the support of our sponsors AOC Archaeology and Vernon Systems.

Air Faire builds on a series of successful initiatives undertaken by Museums and Heritage Highland. The forum has supported museums and heritage sites through the post-pandemic recovery by co-ordinating Highland Threads, an innovative digital exhibition which showcased museum collections from across the region; launching Museum of the Highlands, an online learning tool for schools; and running workshops and professional development opportunities for heritage workers.

For more information on the programme or to book tickets visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/air-faire-tickets-1237430751689?aff=oddtdtcreator

VE Day in the Highlands

Nicola Henderson Blog 1 May, 20251 May, 2025heritage, highlandmuseums, highlands, museums, museumsgalleriesscotland, VEday, WW2 0 Comment

The 8th May 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day). The day signifies an opportunity for communities across the UK and Commonwealth to celebrate and honour the Second World War generation and those who lost their lives in the War.

Nationwide initiatives include the lighting of beacons across the country and a specially written tune for the pipes, performed on the top of the UK’s four highest peaks. Museums across the Highlands are also playing their role in the programme of events and activities to mark the day.

The Highlands played a vital role in the World Two war effort. Many Highland men fought in the war, but the region also served as a key training ground and housed military bases and airfields. The region’s rugged terrain made it ideal for specialised training and its coastline was crucial for naval and air operations.

Between 1941 and 1945 Loch Ewe was the main strategic military base for naval convoys. As a deep sea loch with direct access to the north Atlantic Ocean, Loch Ewe at times saw up to ninety-five Merchant Navy and Royal Navy ships anchored in the loch. The Arctic Convoy Museum are offering free entry on 8th May as a gesture of commemoration. This is a great opportunity to see their new displays at the museum in Aultbea. They also have a special exhibition of watercolours in the Inverasdale School Tearoom. They were painted from memory by Arctic Convoy veteran Jack Shirley based on sketches he made during his war service. The paintings capture everyday life of sailors who made the perilous journey from Loch Ewe to the Arctic. Each painting is a snapshot of a journey from which many did not return.

On the north coast, Strathnaver Museum will have a special pop up exhibition as part of Bettyhill Village Hall’s VE Day celebrations on 3rd May. You can explore objects from the store, hear the stories of those who did not come home and a screening of Strathnaver Museum’s Their Past, Your Future film featuring interviews with WWII veterans and civilians. This is a free event between 11am to 3pm with refreshments and table top games provided.

Sepia print of a woman (Aunty Baba) with brown hair and a dark coat looking directly at camera. Photo by Katie Gray — Photo of Aunty Baba by Katie Gray

The Highlanders Museum at Fort George near Inverness has a special exhibition launching on VE Day that explores how the War ended in different countries throughout Europe. Discover the special relationship between soldiers of the Seaforth Highlanders and Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders and the Dutch people they liberated. Learn how a Seaforth Highlander took the surrender of German troops in Norway; alongside the Norwegian resistance fighters he had served with during the war.

A special free event at Dingwall Museum on 8th May between 12pm and 4pm will see volunteer George MacIvor talking about life during the war through some of the museum’s artefacts.

During World War II, the west coast of Scotland served as a key training ground for the British Commandos and other Allied forces. The Commando Basic Training Centre at Achnacarry Castle near Spean Bridge, was a renowned facility for rigorous training, including amphibious assaults and mountain warfare. Other locations like Arisaig House also played a role in Commando training, particularly for the Special Operations Executive (SOE). At West Highland Museum you can explore this story in their Commando Exhibition where you can unpack some of this hidden history with hands-on object discovery.

Wherever you are in the Highlands, take a moment on 8th May to share in remembering VE Day and explore some of the special Second World War stories the Highlands has to share.

Big Scary Projects!

Nicola Henderson Blog 14 January, 202516 January, 2025BigScaryProjects, capitaldevelopment, churches, community, heritage, highlandmuseums, highlands 0 Comment

MHH is launching a new series of indepth workshops to support heritage professionals and other passionate community members to take on some really Big Scary Projects. We invited our chair, Dan Cottam, to tell us more.

It’s remarkable to me, just how many great things the Highland heritage sector has achieved in the last decade. Despite dwindling funding pots, despite Covid, despite a weakened economy, Highland museums and heritage organisations have continued to thrive. There have been major renovation projects, old buildings are being repurposed, ambitious, high-profile exhibitions and effective, far reaching community projects have been undertaken.

There is a wealth of knowledge and skills that have been learned along the way from a group of very agile and courageous workers supported by a largely volunteer leadership and work force. Quite incredible when you think about it.

Having a network like MHH to rely on for support is of huge benefit to people who take on such big scary projects. Usually ambitious and far-reaching projects come with a very steep learning curve for those that are leading them, so a safe place to be able to ask questions and learn from other people who have been through similar processes can be crucial to success. A lot of great collaborations have grown out of our heritage cafes and it is always notable just how skillful, collegiate and adept the people in our sector are.

Some of these smart people are on the MHH board, thankfully for me, as chair, because it means when you set these people to think about a problem, they really come up with the goods. Our ongoing challenge at MHH HQ is to keep financing the organisation to maintain the capacity needed to continue delivering projects and facilitating the joined up work that goes on around the Highlands.

To meet this challenge, inspiration has struck on using our strengths as a network.

So we bring you: BIG SCARY PROJECTS!

A mash up of talents, skills and knowledge sharing from the people who have been there already; the people who have already fallen into pitfalls, wished they hadn’t started such an ambitious project, but then pulled up their socks and sent several hundred emails towards an ultimate success.

We are bringing these people together for a limited series of very practical digital workshops to share their experiences with you
(for a small fee – your contribution that supports MHH to stay afloat).

The first one approaches fast ..
What to do with historic churches 21st January – With Onie Tebbitt, Community Ownership Support Service Advisor at Development Trusts Association Scotland and case studies from Strathnaver Museum and Ullapool Museum. The session will feature practical advice and insights to secure these architectural and cultural treasures. – Book here.

Then on February 18th we’ll be looking at Big Scary Loans.
Myself and Vanessa from the West Highland Museum will share our experiences of borrowing (and loaning out) artwork and objects from large institutions and private collections.

In March expect a symposium with a panel full of people who have taken on Big Scary Capital Projects.

Amazingly, everyone involved is giving up their time and sharing their knowledge voluntarily to support MHH’ ongoing sustainability.
You too can support our initiative by getting yourself to a workshop and getting other people there too.
Please share this great opportunity with your own networks.

Breathing Space – call out for freelancers!

Nicola Henderson Blog 12 December, 202413 December, 2024 0 Comment

We are delighted to launch the call-out for our third Breathing Space residency – a 2-day professional development opportunity for freelance heritage professionals working within the Highlands and Islands, Moray and/or Arygll and Bute.

‘Breathing Space’ offers residencies for heritage practitioners to explore shared challenges and opportunities for developing their careers in a safe, non-judgemental environment with their peers. Supported by a facilitator, they employ an Action Learning Set model – working in small groups to solve problems, learn from each other, and take action to improve their work. Relationship building between peers is critical, and the residency supports the development of a resource bank and long-term network for tackling heritage-related challenges and opportunities. It incorporates skills sharing sessions and includes a focus on mental health through nutritious food and light exercise.

Breathing Space is part of our ‘Future-proofing the Highland museum workforce’ project, funded by Museums Galleries Scotland and The Space. More information on the residency and how to apply can be found in the document below.

MHH BreathingSpace Callout2025

Fishing Around along the north coast

Nicola Henderson Blog 1 October, 20241 October, 2024boats, community, heritage, highlandmuseums, highlands, museums, strathnaver, strathnavermuseum 0 Comment

A new community boat built by volunteers is set to launch at Bettyhill Pier on Saturday 28th September in culmination of Strathnaver Museum’s £2.2m refurbishment project and activity programme. The project has been funded through various stages with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Highland Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, Tesco Community Fund, and Co-op Community Fund.

Over the last 18 months, under the expert tuition of Orkney based boat builder Jeff Mackie, and supported by Bettyhill man Tim Curtis, members of the public have built a replica of the ‘Iris WK322’ held in Strathnaver Museum’s Collection.

The ‘Iris’ was built between 1870-1880 and fished out of Kirtomy as a second boat to the ‘Roseleaf WK121’. It was donated to the museum by James ‘Duke’ Mackay to tell the story of fishing across the north coast and ensure its preservation for future generations.

Strathnaver Museum and North Sutherland Community Forest Trust, who hosted the boat building workshops at their Borgie Cabin site, are inviting members of the public to join them on Saturday 28th September to celebrate the boat build’s completion.

The celebration will begin with an exhibition at Farr Edge from 1pm exploring the history of the Fishing Around project and include artwork from Strathnaver Museum’s current Artists in Residence, Debasis Biswas and Joanne B. Karr.

Debasis Biswas is exploring the heritage and conservation of salmon and salmon fisheries along the north coast and beyond. ‘Salt to Plate’ will gather stories, memories, and photographs relating to salmon and salmon fisheries through a series of workshops and drop-in events.
Complimentary to the salmon fishing theme Joanne B. Kaar’s project ‘Shipshape’ will be exploring traditional boat building skills and tools utilising a variety of printmaking techniques with a focus on woodcut. Joanne’s project will preserve the intangible cultural heritage around boat building techniques and tools which are at risk of being lost.

Fiona Mackenzie, Strathnaver Museum said: “We are delighted to see the hard work of the team pay off with the launch of the community boat. It is wonderful to see the valuable and at risk traditional boat building and woodwork skills being passed on to the volunteer team, helping to keep our intangible cultural heritage within our communities. The ongoing preservation and dissemination of these skills will continue through maintenance of this new boat and further legacy projects connected to the community boat.”

There will be an opportunity to hear about the proposed community purchase of Rosal and view artefacts from the time of the clearance of Rosal. Pupils from Melvich, Farr, and Tongue Primary Schools have been helping the team to come up with a name for the community boat and their artwork will be on display. The name of the boat will be revealed at the launch taking place at 3pm, Saturday 28th September at Bettyhill Pier.

Treasurer Required!

Nicola Henderson Blog 27 August, 202427 August, 2024board, finance, heritage, highlandmuseums, highlands, museums, treasurer 0 Comment

Are you looking for an opportunity to make a real difference in communities across the Highlands? Are you interested in a great career development opportunity or are you looking for a fulfilling role in retirement? Do you have some experience in financial control and budgeting? Then we want to hear from you! This is a great opportunity to work with a young organisation looking to develop and grow in its work supporting museums and heritage organisations across the Highlands.

Museums and Heritage Highland (MHH) is a charity formed in March 2019. We are a strong, supportive voice for heritage in the Highlands. Our members include museums, galleries and heritage organisations of all sizes from across the region. We work to promote collaborative working and capacity building; promoting partnership opportunities that support our members in achieving their purpose and to be sustainable and resilient in challenging times. Why work with us? Watch the video below:

The Treasurer is one of the designated offices of the Board of Trustees of MHH, along with the Chair and Secretary. In addition to the normal duties and responsibilities of a Trustee, the role of treasurer is to maintain an overview of the organisation’s financial affairs, ensuring its viability and ensuring that proper financial records and procedures are maintained. The Treasurer reports at each meeting of the Board of Trustees on the financial position of the organisation, and advises of any significant issues of which the Board should be aware.

If you are interested in this role, then please get in touch with our chair, Dan Cottam for a discussion. Full details on the role can be found below.

Treasurer role2024_MHH Download

Developing your travel trade offer

Nicola Henderson Resources 21 August, 202421 August, 2024heritage, highlandmuseums, highlands, museums, tourism, traveltrade, visitscotland 0 Comment

As part of our tourism project, in partnership with Visit Scotland and thanks to funding from Museums Galleries Scotland, we have developed a toolkit that aims to support museums in attracting new and repeat audiences through offers directly aimed at the travel trade. This toolkit explains what the travel trade is, what its distribution market looks like, how to create bookable products and tips for getting your product to market. If you would like any further support in this area, please do reach out to us and we’d be happy to either answer your questions directly, or connect you with our partners at Visit Scotland.

MHH – Developing Your Travel Trade Offer Download

Museum Workforce Project Coordinator Call Out!

Nicola Henderson Blog 9 August, 202423 August, 2024heritage, highlandmuseums, highlands, museums, museumsgalleriesscotland, volunteering, wellbeing, workforce 0 Comment

Are you interested in people, in Highland heritage and in the future of rural museums? Then you could be just the person we need to lead our Future-proofing the Highland Museum Workforce project!

Thanks to funding from Museums Galleries Scotland and The Space, we are looking to deliver a project that focuses on the workforce across the Highland museum sector, addressing the clear challenges around volunteering and wellbeing identified in our Winter 2023 Sector Survey. We propose to create ‘test-beds’ in three museums across the region to develop best practice in priority areas that we believe could turn around these challenges:
Working with and attracting younger volunteers
Working with remote volunteers
Embedding wellbeing practices

Each museum will become a centre of excellence in its chosen area and will share their work through the creation of best practice toolkits focused within the context of small-medium sized rural museums. The Museum Workforce Project Coordinator will provide capacity to support all three museums in creating project plans, developing resources needed and evaluating successes and challenges that will inform the best practice toolkit. Read more about the project in the attached jobpack and please reach out with any questions you may have in regards to applying.

Workforce Project Coordinator JobPack

Object based learning – educator’s guide

Nicola Henderson Resources 13 June, 202417 June, 2024education, heritage, highlandmuseums, highlands, learning, museums 0 Comment

From time to time, most teachers and educators find themselves looking around for interesting ways to engage students and help them learn as school priorities change. We’ve developed the Museum of the Highlands to support exactly this, using object-based learning to enhance engagement about a range of topics to suit our 21st-century Scottish curriculum. There are over 300 objects from a full range of historical periods and nearly 200 learning resources to be found on this digital learning platform.

For anyone new to object-based learning, the concept is incredibly simple. The term refers to creatively using physical objects or artefacts to stimulate curiosity and develop critical thinking (among other things). The idea is that we can learn about the people of the past through their objects. We can see, touch, even smell, the things that our ancestors held and used.

To support use of the website we have created ‘Take 5’ – a series of blogs which will help you to explore key themes in the classroom or at home. You can access those via the Museum of the Highlands Take 5 page. Or By clicking directly on the links below:

Environmental impact

Childhood in the past

Daily life in days gone by

Highland Clearances

Role models and achievements

Jacobite history

Folk tales and stories from the Highlands

Colonialism and the legacies of slavery

Sport and achievements

Highland traditions and identity

Religion and beliefs

Geology

Crime and punishment

Science and inventions

Climate Action Toolkit

Nicola Henderson Resources 25 April, 202430 April, 2024climateaction, climateemergency, heritage, highlandmuseums, highlands, museums, museumsgalleriesscotland, sustainability

This toolkit represents a comprehensive response to the pressing challenge of climate change, which not only poses a threat to the environment but also amplifies existing social injustices and inequalities. Its primary objective is to equip independent museums in the Highlands with the necessary resources and methodologies to effectively incorporate climate action into their operational framework while fostering meaningful engagement with their communities.

We acknowledge the challenges faced by many small museums that may already be operating beyond their capacity. Embarking on the sustainability journey can indeed seem daunting and overwhelming, particularly when viewed as a massive undertaking. However, the toolkit aims to alleviate this concern by emphasising that sustainability can be seamlessly integrated into existing plans and projects, thereby becoming an intrinsic part of ongoing museum activities.

By presenting a step-by-step guide, complete with lists, glossaries, and do-it-yourself policy kits, the toolkit seeks to demystify the process of becoming more sustainable. Rather than viewing sustainability as a separate and burdensome task, museums are encouraged to see it as a pathway to enhancing resilience and attractiveness to funders. By strengthening sustainability practices, museums not only contribute to climate action but also position themselves as more appealing destinations for visitors and potential revenue sources.

Ultimately, the toolkit strives to streamline the sustainability journey for museums, allowing them to devote less time to administrative tasks such as policy development and more time to engaging in meaningful sustainability projects and events. By providing practical resources and guidance, the toolkit aims to empower museums to navigate the sustainability landscape with confidence and enthusiasm, driving positive change within their communities and beyond.

Why should museums & heritage organisations take action?

It makes financial sense: save money. Action now, saves costs later. It is cheaper to address climate and adaptation measures now rather than leaving it. Make links to Sustainable Development Goals to strengthen funding applications.
Climate and social justice – ensuring a just transition.
Educational enrichment – assisting with behaviour change.
Enhance reputation.
Attract and retain staff.
Press opportunities – opportunities for museums to spread the word about the great work they do to be more environmentally and climate friendly.
You can tackle multiple issues and there are opportunities for co-benefits. E.g. nature and biodiversity, employment, reduce pollution, community wealth building
Current and future regulatory requirements: to secure funding in the future.
Meeting current legislation ≠ safety: Climate change is happening fast but regulations and guidance are slow to change, currently lagging 12-20 years behind the science.
Important to act now to avoid cascading risks: Full impact of climate change is difficult to quantify. E.g. Extreme weather disruption, fluctuating prices of materials.
Crossovers with health and safety. E.g. Storms and flooding, pests and diseases, rising temperatures.
Mitigation isn’t enough and we need to reduce negative environmental and climate impact.

Download the resources you need below and/or get in touch if you would like any help with getting started. This toolkit was developed in partnership with Ki Futures with thanks to funding from Museums Galleries Scotland.

The Full Toolkit

Getting started and templates –

Museum Sustainability in 8 Steps

Awareness: Starting to think about sustainability in your museum

Setting Your Baseline

TEMPLATE_Environmental Action Plan

Sustainability Strategy Development

Accreditation climate actions

Easy wins and project inspiration

Curating climate stories and quick wins

Storytelling for the Planet_ a place-based approach for museum audiences

The Plastic Age_Future Archaeologists