The Clan Macpherson Museum, situated at the south end of Newtonmore, tells the story of the Clan and its people. It has housed the relics and memorials, from ancient Highland history to modern computer science, for over 70 years.
The newly refurbished exhibition tells a story of land and landscape, family and belonging, loyalty and rebellion. You will find fascinating Clan treasures like the Black Chanter sent down from heaven, witness stories like the one of Macpherson’s lament and Jamie’s broken fiddle, or learn about the reinvention of the Highlands by James ‘Ossian’ Macpherson.
Clan-history is told by a long line of tradition bearers and storytellers, part of the oral culture of the Gaelic world, the Gàidhealtachd. From Clan Chiefs to crofters, the story of the Macphersons and the area is told through books, poetry, songs, piping and fiddle music.
We invited Catriona, curator at Glencoe Folk Museum, to talk to us about the journey they have been on with the Steps to Sustainability programme.
In 2021, we were successful in our application to take part in Steps to Sustainability – a programme run by Social Enterprise Academy and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The aim of the programme was to support organisations through a specific project of their own choosing, through a combination of workshops, facilitated sessions, discussions and networking. Following successful completion of the programme – and delivery of a presentation outlining plans, costs and profit – each organisation was awarded £5000 towards their project, with a further £5000 promised further down the line, provided we could evidence that our project was a success.
We chose to focus our project on our gift shop. An issue we have always had (and maybe something other Highland Museums can relate to) is a lack of funds at the start of the season to invest in shop stock, and not wanting to risk spending money on products that might not sell well. The money from this programme allowed us the freedom to experiment with new lines, commission our own bespoke products based on objects from the collection, cover high “minimum spend” for new sellers, and put in much larger initial orders to keep us well stocked.
With the first £5000, we commissioned Paper Houses Design to create a pattern inspired by our Spitalfields Silk Dress (as featured in Highland Threads), which we then had printed on tote bags, tea towels, mugs and silk scarves. We also invested in local artist Lilli (Discover & Draw), who uses the local landscape to inspire her work, and sells items including mugs, bags, cards, stickers, water bottles and coasters. Finally, local model-maker Jodie created Ballachulish Goddess keyrings for us, based on our replica. These were probably the most popular out of all of these items – a completely unique and quirky souvenir of the area and the museum! Seeing how each of these products sold allowed us to determine how to spend the remaining £5000. We could see that visitors appreciated unique items which had a strong Glencoe connection – whether to the museum, the community who created them or to the landscape. Our most unique selling point is our museum cottages, so we decided to commission “museum bothies” – little thatched ceramic double-cottages in the style of our museum. These were created by Glenshee Bothies, and we also invested in their pre-existing coloured bothies, tin-roofed bothies and single-cottage thatched bothies.
We also invested in some local businesses: we bought a range of soy candles from the Glencoe Candle Company, local heather honey from Jahama Estate, a selection of loose-leaf teas made just along the road in Mallaig and jewellery by a local crafter. We were also able to stock up on more Ballachulish Goddess keyrings and more items from Discover & Draw. Finally, we expanded our children’s range. This is something I feel that the gift shop has been lacking for a while, but sellers seemed to have quite large minimum orders and minimum spend for new retailers. The funding allowed us to stock a wide selection risk-free. We opted for Living Nature soft toys of local wildlife and a range of retro ‘pocket-money’ toys such as slinkies, cup-and-ball, pick-up-sticks and spinning tops.
I have to admit that I found the programme itself a little time-consuming, though I was the only member of staff at the time (colleague was furloughed) so was trying to juggle a lot of balls and hadn’t quite realised what I was signing up for. It consisted of two back-to-back full day Zoom sessions each month for 3 months plus extra optional courses on things like marketing or retail, one-to-one mentoring sessions and also time spent preparing the presentation. It was all really useful stuff though, and for organisations with dedicated members of staff running e.g. the gift shop or café, this should be much more manageable and shouldn’t cause any issues! The organisations taking part in the same round as us – which included the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum, Dundee Transport Museum and Mary Burgh Halls – all agreed that it was extremely useful to be able to connect with other museums running similar projects, and to get advice and discuss problems with peers. I also found that our mentor was extremely knowledgeable and full of great ideas for taking things forward after the end of the programme.
So, despite the long sessions, this programme was absolutely worth it for us. Our gift shops sales and profit have increased remarkably; in June 2022, we saw a 190% increase in profit from the gift shop compared to June 2019, and every other month has been at least 50% up on 2019. I put this down to having a retail offer that is unique, thoughtful and local, giving visitors the opportunity to purchase souvenirs that they can’t get anywhere else – and we wouldn’t have been able to create this offer without the funding and support from the Steps to Sustainability programme.
Round 3 of the Steps to Sustainability programme is starting in October 2022. You can find out more here.
A Podcast series run by XpoNorth with support from Museums and Heritage Highland will share stories of remarkable women from the Highlands.
A jewel thief, a witch, a doctor and an inspirational teacher are just some of the stories of incredible Highland women which will be revealed from museum archives and broadcast to audiences around the world in a new ten-part podcast series set to air later this year.
Run by XpoNorth, the support mechanism for creative industry businesses across the Highlands and Islands, in partnership with Museums and Heritage Highland and supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund, the series will be presented by freelance BBC producer, reporter and podcaster, Pauline Moore.
Pauline Moore, freelence BBC producer, reporter and podcaster
As part of her research for the series, Pauline and the team from XpoNorth will host events across the Highlands to share stories with communities, interview the ‘keepers’ of the tales, and hold information gathering sessions to help complete the picture. The importance and relevance of the tales uncovered will be discussed, and the first event will take place on Tuesday June 21 at the Highland Museums of Childhood. At this event the story of the notorious Mary Marjory MacDonald will be told. The only child of a local Gaelic speaking fishing family, Mary was orphaned in her teens and took to London society, travelling across Europe to become a very successful jewel thief. Gaining the trust of the ladies she worked with, Mary stole from them and was caught and tried a number of times. The event will hear Pauline in discussion with Siobhan Beatson, curator at Ullapool Museum, and Morven Macdonald, curator at Highland Museum of Childhood, to uncover Mary’s story.
Other events will take place on June 23 at Brora Heritage Centre where an audience will learn about Megan Boyd, one of the best salmon fly fish tyers to have lived, and about Caroline Ross, a single schoolteacher who concealed her pregnancy and delivered her illegitimate child alone in her lodgings in a rural community in the Scottish Highlands in 1930. Caroline was arrested and charged with child murder and the case was widely reported at the time.
An event in Castletown on June 24 will discuss Margaret Swanson who influenced the education of generations of girls with her interest in the physical and mental development of children. The story of Orkney doctor and photographer, Beatrice Garvie (1872 – 1956), will be told on June 28 at an event which will be held on Zoom from the Orkney Archive Centre, and the story of ‘The Witch of Auldearn’, Isobel Gowdie, will be explored on June 30 at Nairn Museum.
Julia Jeffrey drawing of Isobel Gowdie
Nicola Henderson, heritage specialist from XpoNorth said, “It is a real joy to unearth these tales of remarkable Highland women and the podcast series will be a brilliant mechanism in which to do so. We are very much looking forward to bringing the stories alive and it will be fascinating to discover any forgotten memories about the six women when we visit the communities to re-tell their stories.”
This event and podcast series has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.
Marie Christie, Head of Development at VisitScotland, said, “We are delighted to be supporting Unforgotten Highland Women through the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. Events play an important role in our communities as they sustain livelihoods and help to celebrate and promote our unique places, spaces and stories. Themed Years are all about collaboration and Museums Galleries Scotland, National Lottery Heritage Fund and VisitScotland are pleased to work in partnership to create this fund to showcase community stories. By supporting events taking place within our communities, including Unforgotten Highland Women, new opportunities with be provided for locals and visitors to come together and find out more about the diverse stories, past and present, that our communities have to share.”
About XpoNorth
XpoNorth is Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s (HIE) specialist year-round support mechanism for creative industry businesses based across the Highlands and Islands. The project delivers a range of responsive programmes to encourage the continued growth and innovation of the creative economy throughout one of the country’s most diverse regions. XpoNorth also produce a well-established annual conference connecting our business base with some of the most influential networks in the global marketplace.
XpoNorth is funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and is delivered by IronWorks Venue.
About Museums and Heritage Highland
Museums and Heritage Highland (MHH) is a membership organisation for museums, galleries and heritage organisations from across the Highlands. They exist to strengthen the heritage sector in the Highlands for the benefit of everyone living in and visiting the Highlands. Projects are drawn from their membership with the key aim of helping museums and other heritage organisations raise standards, engage with more people, collaborate with each other and be sustainable and resilient.
Further information about each event
Unforgotten Highland Women – Mary Marjory MacDonald, Ullapool
21st June, 10.30am Highland Museum of Childhood, Strathpeffer
How is a notorious story which would have been thought of as shameful and shunned at the time remembered now? Mary Marjory was the only child of a local Gaelic speaking fishing family who had a successful business in town. She was orphaned in her teens and took to London society, travelled across Europe and became a very successful jewel thief – gaining the trust of the Ladies she worked with in high society circles. She was caught and tried a number of times, including on the platform at Strathpeffer Old Railway Station where this event will be held.
Pauline will be in conversation with Siobhan Beatson, curator at Ullapool Museum and Morven Macdonald, curator Highland Museum of Childhood to uncover Mary’s story. There will be opportunities to explore the platform where she was caught, look at the museum display in her memory, enjoy some tea and cake and to be interviewed for the podcast, giving your thoughts on the story.
Unforgotten Highland Women – Megan Boyd and Caroline Ross, Brora
23rd June, 1pm Brora Heritage Centre, Brora
Megan Boyd – fly fisher (born 1915)
Though she never fished herself she is regarded as the finest tier of fishing flies in the world. She took to the craft of creating fish flies under the supervision of a Sutherland gamekeeper. She won her first award in 1938 at the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow and received the British Empire Medal in 1971. Discussions are taking place about commissioning an art installation in her memory and erecting it at one of the gateways to the village of Brora. The move came after a Norwegian angler and Megan Boyd devotee made a pilgrimage to Brora to pay homage to her, but was shocked to find nothing about her there.
Caroline Ross (1904-1985)
Caroline Ross was a 26-year-old, single schoolteacher who concealed her pregnancy and delivered her ‘illegitimate’ child alone in her room in her lodgings in a rural community in the Highlands of Scotland in 1930. The child was discovered dead the same day.
She was put in custody and charged with Child Murder and appeared in court three months later. The case was widely reported in the papers at the time. Writer and historian Nick Lindsay writes that – ninety years on and the sense of the stress and tension of the terrifying court case in which she spoke not a single word of evidence, is tangible. The medical evidence appeared damning; the cause of the infant’s death was throttling, but the jury delivered a verdict of ‘Not Proven’. An absolute cliff-hanger to the end! It’s an extremely sad story with a tragic outcome but it illustrates a lot about attitudes and lack of support for young woman who found themselves pregnant at the time. The court case was a media sensation at the time. How can stories like this be remembered and reflect on changing attitudes?
Pauline will interview Nick Lindsay, author and chair of Clyne Heritage Society. Pauline and Nick will be joined by Mary Warrier for Megan’s story and by Wattie and Angela Macbeath for Caroline’s story. There will be an opportunity to look at objects related to the stories and enjoy a cup of tea.
Unforgotten Highland Women – Margaret Swanson
24th June, 1pm Castlehill Heritage Centre, Castletown
Margaret grew up in Castletown, Caithness, the daughter of the village cobbler. Despite her humble beginnings she went on to influence the education of generations of girls. After early schooling at the local school, Margaret was sent to board with an elderly lady to allow her to attend Wick Academy for further education. She became a pupil teacher in the town and embarked on teacher training in Aberdeen. She stayed in Scotland when her family emigrated to Nova Scotia. It was her interest in the physical and mental development of children which allowed her to change the “Code “ or requirements for sewing on the School Curriculum. The emphasis at the time was on the fineness of stitching on a delicate white material. This Margaret declared to be as meaningless as using black chalk on a blackboard. She became an instructor in the Glasgow school of Art, Charles Rennie MacIntosh was among her associates. She developed the “ Margaret Swanson System of Educational Needlework” revolutionising its teaching in Britain and abroad. Children were encouraged to choose the bright colours of thread they preferred , learning to stitch on unbleached calico with wool and cotton. Older girls were shown how to make their own embroidered garments, allowing imagination and creativity . Margaret continued to travel, research ,lecture and learn until ill-health put an end to her devotion to her craft.
Pauline will interview Muriel Murray who first learned of Margaret’s story. There will be an exhibition of objects related to Margaret on display for everyone to peruse over the tea and cake break. We will also be joined by the local school and local crafts groups as the audience is invited to make their own ‘sampler’ in Margaret’s memory
Unforgotten Highland Women – Beatrice Garvie
28th June, 11am – Zoom from Orkney Archive Centre
The Orkney Doctor and Photographer – Beatrice Garvie (1872-1956), was one of the earliest women to qualify as a doctor, and worked in Glasgow, India, and London. She understood the links between poverty and ill health, and was prepared to champion equal entitlement to healthcare, even when it meant putting herself on the line. Beatrice spent 15 years on North Ronaldsay as the GP in the 1930s, and 40s. She was a keen photographer and took lots of pictures of everyday life. Local people were well used to Beatrice and her camera, and would ask her to capture the important moments of family life for them. This work is now an important and unusually privileged record of island history.
Pauline Moore, BBC producer and reporter and experienced podcaster, will be joined by Fiona Sanderson, artist and researcher, as they talk with special guests linked to Beatrice directly. This event will be held on Zoom and recorded for use in an upcoming podcast series. Link details to follow
Unforgotten Highland Women – Isobel Gowdie
30th June, 1pm, Nairn Museum, Nairn
The Witch of Auldearn – Isobel Gowdie (17th century) The story of Isobel Gowdie is embedded in the world of academia as part of the Scottish Witch Trial accounts. Her story has also featured in a music composition by James McMillan. And most recently an American novelist (Nancy Hayes Kilgore )has recently published a novel – Bitter Magic – based on Isobel’s life. What makes Isobel’s story different is that she confessed her witchcraft without the usual torture imposed. She was regarded as a great story teller and her story has influenced later studies of witchcraft.
Pauline will be in conversation with Melissa Davies, curator of Nairn Museum, Andrew Grant Mackenzie, Highland Historian and Helen Wright who designed the mural to Isobel that can be found in Auldearn. There will also be an opportunity to view some objects related to withcraft from the local area.
The Witch of Auldearn – Isobel Gowdie (17th century). The story of Isobel Gowdie is embedded in the world of academia as part of the Scottish Witch Trial accounts. Her story has also featured in a music composition by James McMillan and most recently an American novelist (Nancy Hayes Kilgore )has recently published a novel – Bitter Magic – based on Isobel’s life. What makes Isobel’s story different is that she confessed her witchcraft without the usual torture imposed. She was regarded as a great story teller and her story has influenced later studies of witchcraft.
Pauline Moore, BBC producer and reporter and experienced podcaster, will be in conversation with Melissa Davies, curator of Nairn Museum, Andrew Grant Mackenzie, Highland Historian and Helen Wright who designed the mural to Isobel that can be found in Auldearn. There will also be an opportunity to view some objects related to witchcraft from the local area.
This event has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.
The Orkney Doctor and Photographer – Beatrice Garvie (1872-1956), was one of the earliest women to qualify as a doctor, and worked in Glasgow, India, and London. She understood the links between poverty and ill health, and was prepared to champion equal entitlement to healthcare, even when it meant putting herself on the line. Beatrice spent 15 years on North Ronaldsay as the GP in the 1930s, and 40s. She was a keen photographer and took lots of pictures of everyday life. Local people were well used to Beatrice and her camera, and would ask her to capture the important moments of family life for them. This work is now an important and unusually privileged record of island history.
This event has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.
Margaret grew up in Castletown, Caithness, the daughter of the village cobbler. Despite her humble beginnings she went on to influence the education of generations of girls. After early schooling at the local school, Margaret was sent to board with an elderly lady to allow her to attend Wick Academy for further education. She became a pupil teacher in the town and embarked on teacher training in Aberdeen. She stayed in Scotland when her family emigrated to Nova Scotia. It was her interest in the physical and mental development of children which allowed her to change the “Code “ or requirements for sewing on the School Curriculum. The emphasis at the time was on the fineness of stitching on a delicate white material. This Margaret declared to be as meaningless as using black chalk on a blackboard. She became an instructor in the Glasgow school of Art, Charles Rennie MacIntosh was among her associates. She developed the “ Margaret Swanson System of Educational Needlework” revolutionising its teaching in Britain and abroad. Children were encouraged to choose the bright colours of thread they preferred , learning to stitch on unbleached calico with wool and cotton. Older girls were shown how to make their own embroidered garments, allowing imagination and creativity . Margaret continued to travel, research ,lecture and learn until ill-health put an end to her devotion to her craft.
Pauline Moore, BBC producer and reporter and experienced podcaster, will interview Muriel Murray who first learned of Margaret’s story. There will be material relating to Margaret Swanson’s early years and examples of needlework on display for everyone to peruse over the tea and cake break. We will also be joined by the local school and local crafts groups as the audience is invited to make their own ‘sampler’ in Margaret’s memory.
This event has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.
Though she never fished herself, she is regarded as the finest maker of salmon fishing flies in the world. She took to the craft of salmon fly dressing under the supervision of a Sutherland gamekeeper. She won her first award in 1938 at the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow and received the British Empire Medal in 1971. Discussions are taking place about commissioning an art installation in her memory and erecting it at one of the gateways to the village of Brora. The move came after a Norwegian angler and Megan Boyd devotee made a pilgrimage to Brora to pay homage to her, but was shocked to find nothing about her there, although her life story is told at the Brora Heritage Centre.
Caroline Ross (1904-1985)
Caroline Ross was a 25-year-old, single schoolteacher who concealed her pregnancy and delivered her ‘illegitimate’ child alone in her room in her lodgings in a rural community in the Highlands of Scotland in 1930. The child was discovered dead the same day.
She was put in custody and charged with Child Murder and appeared in court three months later. The case was widely reported in the papers at the time. Writer and historian Nick Lindsay writes that – ninety years on and the sense of the stress and tension of the terrifying court case in which she spoke not a single word of evidence, is tangible. The medical evidence appeared damning; the cause of the infant’s death was throttling, but the jury delivered a verdict of ‘Not Proven’. An absolute cliff-hanger to the end! It’s an extremely sad story with a tragic outcome but, it illustrates a lot about attitudes and lack of support for young woman who found themselves pregnant at the time. The court case was a media sensation at the time. How can stories like this be remembered and reflect on changing attitudes?
Pauline Moore, BBC producer and reporter and experienced podcaster, will interview Dr Nick Lindsay, author and chair of Clyne Heritage Society. Pauline and Nick will be joined by Mary Warrior for Megan’s story and by Wattie and Angela MacBeath for Caroline’s story. There will be an opportunity to look at objects related to the stories and enjoy a cup of tea.
This event has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.
How is a notorious story which would have been thought of as shameful and shunned at the time remembered now? Mary Marjory was the only child of a local Gaelic speaking fishing family who had a successful business in town. She was orphaned in her teens and took to London society, travelled across Europe and became a very successful jewel thief – gaining the trust of the Ladies she worked with in high society circles. She was caught and tried a number of times, including on the platform at Strathpeffer Old Railway Station where this event will be held.
Pauline Moore, freelance BBC producer and reporter and experienced podcaster, will be in conversation with Siobhan Beatson, curator at Ullapool Museum and Morven Macdonald, curator Highland Museum of Childhood to uncover Mary’s story. There will be opportunities to explore the platform where she was caught, look at the museum display in her memory, enjoy some tea and cake and to be interviewed for a podcast, giving your thoughts on the story.
This event has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.
Helen Pickles, curator at the Highland folk Museum, tells us all about the development of their digital dressing up filters and how they are using them to engage new and existing audiences.
Aside from the threat of moths and light damage, and the problems posed by delicate fabric and never enough storage space, there’s an additional challenge with costume collections…fighting the desire to dress up! Conservators can breathe a sigh of relief though, as the days of wearing one’s collection has long gone. The founder of the Highland Folk Museum, Dr Isabel F. Grant, had some of the 19th century dresses in the collection modelled by local girls (with tiny waists), and the images made into postcards. Former Curator Ross Noble was known to wear a tam o’shanter from the collection for events in the 1980s and 90s, but it’s a practice we’ve now, somewhat begrudgingly, left behind.
Ross Noble wearing the tam o’shanter
We’ve recently been trying out an alternative way to experience the items…Augmented Reality dressing up.
In 2021 we received funding from the Esmeé Fairbairn Collections Fund which allowed us to get creative and develop a social media filter to let visitors try on something from the collection. This was a part of a wider project in which we also created digital tours of some of the historic buildings, to bring our collections to a wider online audience.
After some research and looking at the capabilities and costs of the technology, we decided to stick to the head and shoulders rather than going for a full body experience. “Virtual trying on” has been used for a few years by opticians and glasses frames providers, to allow customers to test out what style suits their face, and it works well. Head movement tracking technology is advanced enough to give a convincing result, with the accessory matching the movement of the head. However, we couldn’t find any museums who had used this tech to engage users with heritage hats or accessories, so we were excited to give it a go and see what we could do.
We selected two hats from our collection which are quintessentially Scottish – the green tam o’shanter with red toorie as modelled by Ross Noble, and a 19th century white cotton mutch, with frills and a ribbon fastening. Both were in good condition, stable enough to be handled, packed and transported, they would hold their shape when photographed, and there were no very thin or transparent areas (such as lace) that would cause problems in data capture.
Tam o’shanterCotton mutch
The first stage of the process was to create a 3D model, then second stage was the production of the filter. Both of these are specialist skills that we didn’t have in-house, so we worked with two external companies on this project; AOC Archaeology Group and Dynam design agency.
AOC Archaeology are experts in 3D scanning and photogrammetry. They usually work with archaeological remains, sites or buildings, but were very keen to take on the challenge of recording smaller museum objects, in particular textiles items.
The bonnets were couriered down to the AOC studio and lab in Edinburgh, and photogrammetry (hundreds of photos taken from all angles, then digitally pieced together to form a whole) was used to produce the 3D models. There was some discussion about the angle of the tam o’shanter upon the head. According to James Logan, writing in his 1876 book “The Scottish Gael”, the inhabitants of Badenoch, Strathspey, Strathdon etc wore their bonnets cocked, so that provided our answer.
Once the photogrammetry had been completed and the 3D models finished, Dynam took over to create the digital dress up effect. Rather than creating a whole new app to achieve the result, they recommended an Effects filter which works in both Instagram and Facebook – two platforms where we already have an established audience.
After some back and forth with getting the size and colour just right for each hat, we ended up with two fantastic results. The final part of the creative process was taking the promotional shots. My colleague Hannes Schnell and I modelled the hats with the 19th century thatched Highland Cottage in the background, a building that fits with the era of the bonnets. Our seasonal Costumed Interpreters wear mutches, and now visitors can too!
The filters were launched in late November 2021, and promoted in the local press and across our social media. They received a very positive response, with hundreds of views within the first few days. We encouraged our online audience to share images of them trying on the bonnets, and tag HFM in their posts. It seems like people are a little shy at doing this, as although the filters are being opened and viewed, users are about three times as likely to save the image than they are to publicly share the images on their posts or stories.
Usage of the filters has been a wee bit quieter over the start of this year, but has picked up again since the museum opened to the public in April. Promotional posters around the site include QR codes to take visitors directly to the effects, which really helps in finding them. If you’re not used to using social media Effect filters, it can be tricky to find them until they’re pointed out, so we’ve found that providing direct links works really well in getting people there.
We’ve received positive feedback from visitors on site too, with staff reporting lots of laughter and giggles with people trying on the hats. Trying on the tam o’shanter or mutch with the backdrop of the historic Highland buildings (or in the comfort of your own home) is a bit of fun – go on, you know you want to!
Use your smartphone or device to try on the bonnets with the Facebook or Instagram apps:
Maths Week Scotland is a dedicated week of events and activity, with special events throughout the year. Events take place all across Scotland for families, adults and schools hosted by science centres, museums, organisations, schools and more! This year, Maths Week Scotland will take place 26 September – 2 October 2022. (featured image copyright Abermedia)
Maths Week Scotland 2022 will have the theme ‘The Beauty of Maths’’ with a focus on creativity and beauty in maths, as well as the maths in such as art and music.
Maths is all around us in our everyday lives and that is reflected in the broad programme of activity. Maths Week Scotland shines a light on maths in unexpected places and gives people the opportunity to engage with it in new fun ways.
Across Maths Week Scotland, we want people of all ages and backgrounds to: Be curious, enthusiastic, confident and engaged in numeracy and mathematics Understand the relevance of maths learning and skills to their lives, now and in the future Have access to a diverse range of events and activities promoting and demonstrating the joy and value of maths
We had seven museums take part in Maths Week Scotland from the Highlands to the Borders. You can see what museums got up to for Maths Week Scotland 2021 here. If you are interested in taking part in Maths Week Scotland please contact mathsweekscot@nms.ac.uk to find out what support is available. We can offer support from maths education and museum specialists to help you get started or work through your ideas.
The Large Grant Fund is offering grants of between £2,000 – £7,000 to support organisations, partnerships and charities to develop exciting new strands of Maths Week Scotland 2022.
If your project is smaller than this amount there will also be a Small Grants Fund for applications of up to £2,000. For more information on the Small Grants Fund find out more here.
The final deadline for submission is 17:00 on Monday 16 May 2022.
Applications received will be reviewed and advised of outcome by Monday 30 May 2022.
