I have spent the last week exploring behind the scenes of the National Museum of Scotland, with many different people from different departments, all of which have an aspect of Audio Visual (AV).
I’m Lucas and I’m currently in 4th year at Biggar High School. I chose to complete work experience with the museum, as I was keen to learn more about AV in a museum environment.
Monday morning was mostly meeting the Exhibitions and Design team, this is where I met Natalia (Department Administrator, Exhibitions & Design) and Tom (Technical Manager, Exhibitions & Design). We spoke about my interest in AV and sound and light. I then got to go on the Discover the Museum tour, which I found quite interesting.
Tuesday was spent with Chris and Grant, who are both Audio Visual Technicians in the Exhibitions & Design department. I was shown the control room which all looked very complicated. The control room controls the interactive screens for the entire museum – there are over 100.
I was later shown the Projection room and Auditorium, where we had to set up lighting and sound for the Pandemic – Can you save the world? show that Ali (Science Engagement Officer, Learning & Programmes) was running for school kids.
Friday was spent with the Digital Media Team. In the morning I was shown the museums’ social media networks and how they use analytics to tell them more about the people looking at the website and social media channels, plus what they like and dislike. We then had a meeting to talk about all of the museums social media networks and what content is planned for them.
Overall, I have enjoyed my time at the Museum. I enjoyed being shown all of the behind the scenes and private event spaces which are closed to the public.