We want you to come speed dating with our objects and choose which stories we should fall in love with.

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Come “Speed Dating” to See Which Objects You Fall In Love With

Fall in love with an object of desire, discover the tantalising secrets of a mysterious figure from the past, or give the cold shoulder to those who don’t meet your exceptionally high standards…

This September York Castle Museum wants you to come speed dating with our objects – with you choosing which stories we should fall in love with and shout about from the roof tops.

The sessions, held in York St Mary’s, Castlegate, are part of the museums ongoing consultation which will help shape the future development of the museum.

The FREE events will be informal in atmosphere and include nibbles and refreshments.

Helen Langwick, interpretation manager for York Castle Museum, said: “York Castle Museum is literally brimming with objects and stories – the hard part for us is choosing which ones we should include in our future plans.

“For these speed dating sessions our curators will have three minutes with a small group of people to make the case for an object. There will be the chance to learn more about their history direct from the experts and even the opportunity to handle some of them. After three minutes a whistle will blow and you will move onto the next object.

“We hope it will be a fun and engaging way to learn more about the Castle’s fantastic collections while at the same time giving us a better understanding of what stories and themes we should include in the development.”

All of the objects chosen have a history that can help tell a wider story about the museum, York or the Castle site, where the museum is located.

The events will take place on Wednesday September 12 from 6pm to 8pm and Wednesday September 19, 1pm to 3pm.
Places are free but please book in advance by clicking the relevant date below:
Wednesday September 12
Wednesday September 19

Or go to www.yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk

Some of the objects included in speed dating will be:

  • An ivory whistle which allegedly belonged to Dick Turpin
  • A Blue Kit Kat
  • An 18th century precursor to Google Maps
  • A trophy with a famous owner
  • The collar of an aristocratic dog dating from 1739
  • A pastry jigger from the 19th century which was used to create decorative pies
  • A mermaid… Or is it??

 

The York Castle Project

 

York Castle Museum is one of the country’s most popular museums, regularly winning awards and named as the best paid for museum in York by Trip Advisor.  But York Museums Trust want to make it better. Remaining true to the vision of its founder, Dr Kirk, the Trust hope to build on the success of Kirkgate, its world famous recreated Victorian Street, and create a truly immersive and ground breaking visitor experience.

To do this the Trust would like to involve visitors and local residents from the early stages of the planning process. The stories that are told, the objects shown and the way they are interpreted are all open to discussion as well as the museum’s position in interpreting the whole Castle area.

If you would like to get involved please get in touch by:

 

  • Visiting York St Mary’s, Monday to Friday from 11am to 3pm throughout July and August.
  • Engaging on Twitter or Facebook using the hashtag #yourcastlemuseum
  • Emailing your comments to enquiries@ymt.org.uk with the subject line Your Castle Museum
  • Visiting yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk to register an interest in one of the forthcoming events.