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About us: What is the Museum of Making?The new Museum of Making

On the site of the world’s first factory, Derby’s rich history of making is going to be celebrated in 2020 when the city opens a new museum created to inspire our future - The Museum of Making. Celebrating the area’s rich history of innovation, the Museum of Making in the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site, will be a contemporary space telling Derby’s 300-year history of making to inspire new creativity. Designed and made by the people and industries of Derby, with exhibits, workshops, activities and events there will be something there for everyone. It is run by Derby Museums, and with over 50,000 objects on display, the new Museum will be at the Derby Silk Mill which is an iconic landmark in the city.

It is currently being transformed into the new Museum of Making, which will provide an exciting visitor experience that reflects everything that made Derby the hub of industrial Britain, as well as showcase new local innovation.

Its galleries will tell the story of its 300-year history of innovation and ‘making’ will be a recurring theme. As the first Museum with true community involvement at its heart – it has fostered a culture of collaboration and co-production - asking visitors, stakeholders and interested parties how we can inspire visitors - how might they see themselves as the next generation of innovators, makers and creators – and by directly involving them in the recording, conservation, display and interpretation of the vast and wonderful collection.

The Museum of Making is being developed by Derby Museums which is an independent charitable trust that manages two other museums in the city - the Museum and Art Gallery and Pickford’s House. It is a £17m project, which is being funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, D2N2 and a range of trusts and foundations.

The Museum of Making has three key themes:

Inspired by the Makers of the Past: Celebrating, conserving and harnessing our industrial and making heritage through rich stories and 100% access to collections.

Made by the Makers of Today: Working in collaboration with our communities and partners to develop new skills, share knowledge and make a museum designed by and relevant to our communities.

Empowering the Makers of the Future: Building aspirations, positively addressing the skill gap in the region by inspiring and enabling the creators, makers and innovators of the future.

The Museum of Making will open to the pubic in autumn 2020, ahead of the 2021 tri-centenary of Derby Silk Mill as the site of the world’s first factory. It will reveal the whole building for the first

time and the important restoration will halt building deterioration and reduce flood risk to both Derby Silk Mill and its collections.

How do you make a Museum of Making?

Local people have been integral in helping to shape the new Museum, gaining and sharing valuable skills and experience as the new Museum is developed and introducing manufacturing once again to the site.

Everything the Museum of Making does is in collaboration with others, it will celebrate Derby’s heritage of makers through the internationally, regionally and locally significant collections, which will be 100% accessible to all visitors. The new Museum will also create new maker spaces and facilities for use by the makers of today and tomorrow and be a place of civic pride for the region.

Timeline: The Museum of Making from 1719 - present

1719: The original factory was commissioned by the Lombe brothers on an island in the Derwent River known as Bye Flatt. The site was adjacent to the first silk works of Thomas Cotchett, engineered by George Sorocold to take advantage of the fast-flowing river.

1719-1721:; Derby Silk Mill was designed to make silk thread on a scale never seen before in Britain. It would allow Britain to challenge the dominant supply of Italian spun silk.

1826: The original buildings were damaged beyond repair following a fire, but were rebuilt by the Strutt family in the present Italianate style.

1910: Another fire saw Derby Silk Mill reduced to a shell, but it was once again rebuilt. The number of floors was reduced from five to three and this is the iteration of Derby Silk Mill that survives today.

Early 1900s: The site served as a silk mill under various families including the Wilsons and the Taylors. A national decline in the silk industry meant it was unsustainable and the building became used for other purposes, such as a stone works, a chemists and a flour mill.

Mid-1900s: The building was eventually taken over by the East Midlands Electricity Board who used the mill as a canteen and social club.

1974: Derby City Council bought the building and converted it into an Industrial Museum 2011: Derby City Council closed the Industrial Museum. 2012: Derby Museums took over management of the Museum and worked with the people

of Derby to create a new purpose for the building through the RE:Make project. 2015: A successful bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund to develop the Museum of

Making. 2017: Key match funders were secured and the decant of the building begins with all objects

and collections going into storage. 2019: Construction work begins on site.

The Museum of Making’s future

September 2020: The new Museum of Making will open with the whole building being accessible to the public for the very first time.

2021: The tricentenary of Derby Silk Mill; the 250th anniversary of Arkwright’s Cromford Mill; 250th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin’s visit; and the 250th anniversary of Wright’s painting ‘the Blacksmith’s Shop’.

Inspiring and Enabling the Makers of the 21st Century

As well as providing a world class museum and visitor attraction, the new Museum of Making is being specifically created to inspire, support and develop the makers of tomorrow.

Building on Derby’s proud manufacturing and making heritage, and as the site of the world’s first factory, the museum wants everyone to feel they have the capacity to become makers, creators and innovators. It will foster this through showcasing new local innovation and staging a range of activities which include:

Involving local people in the actual making of the Museum itself including: volunteers cleaning, researching and digitising collection objects; volunteers building furniture and fittings for exhibitions; Rolls-Royce Graduates and Apprentices developing and making interactive pay to play machines for income generation in the Museum; University of Derby students are making café tables; a local company working with people with learning disabilities to create the café crockery; and local people playing a part in a new photographic artwork with Red Saunders to be displayed in the new Museum.

Creating new makers’ facilities including the co-working spaces and workshop spaces that will be accessible to local people and start-up businesses.

An art and heritage programme including the Red Saunders photography tableaux, and four other artist projects to feature in the new Museum.

An exciting learning programme of events and activities to help people develop their making skills.

Museum displays sharing the story of making in the city and the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, the valley that changed the world

Developing partnerships with industry, educational organisations and schools

Embedding craft, design and material culture in celebrating the function and build of the new Museum.

While the Museum of Making is being developed The Makory, a mobile museum and workshop, is out on the road.

Outreach, education and learning for everyoneEngagement and learning will be in the life-blood of the Museum of Making. It will offer a full, varied learning programme for visitors of all ages, inspired by its extensive collections and Derby’s history of making. These will be delivered on-site, off-site and via digital channels.

The Institute of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering Arts and Maths)

At the Museum of Making, our team of facilitators, technicians and curators, supported by volunteers, will deliver a wide-range of activities to engage communities from across the region utilising full workshop and learning facilities on-site and on-line in STEAM-Powered programmes.

These programmes will be accredited as part of the ‘Institute of STEAM’. STEAM-Powered learning is an approach that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics to encourage creative, inquiry-based and critical thinking, drawing upon Derby’s unique heritage to inspire young people to create, achieve and become the innovators and creators of the future. Our city is uniquely placed for STEAM-Powered learning, and we have created and tested pilot programmes as part of the development of the Museum of Making concept.

Our learning programmes will include:

Formal learning linked to the national curriculum for primary/secondary and SEND schools; Teacher/Educator Continuous Professional Development programmes

Further and Higher Educational projects with local providers including the University of Derby and Derby College

Young Co-producers Network (15-25-year-old young people) Informal learning programmes for families, children and young people, addressing in

particular the focus for the Derby Opportunity Area, which highlights the gap in adequate provision for disadvantaged children

Adult and Community Education programmes to address lack of basic skills and encourage life-long learning and career development

The Makory

The Makory is an interactive, mobile, mini Museum and making workshop which was created when Derby Silk Mill closed for refurbishment with the aim of reaching a wider and more diverse audience, cultivating new visitors who might be inspired to visit the Museum of Making when it re-opens.

The Makory was launched in October 2018 and has been out on the road ever since at community events and delivering activities in schools across Derbyshire. It engages people in the story of making in the Derwent Valley as part of the Great Places programme, in partnership with Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.

Educational partnerships

Key Museum of Making programmes are being co-produced with education providers throughout the city and county, supporting the ‘made by the makers of today’ and ‘empowering the makers of the future’ principles in particular and ensuring relevance and engagement. These programmes include:

Makeworks Derbyshire - students from University of Derby and Derby College are working with a professional film-makers to create profiles of manufacturers across Derbyshire as a comprehensive online database

Live brief projects - product design and history students from the University of Derby are responding to a number of live briefs as part of their degrees, including furniture design and interpretation

Digital programmes – ideas for new ways of engaging audiences with collections through virtual reality are being prototyped with the University of Nottingham, and Derby Museums are part of a national research programme (One by One) with the University of Leicester and partners, researching digital literacy in museums

CPD – Professional Development programmes for teachers, developed with teachers Key stage 1, 2, 3, 4 curriculums are being developed with teachers and pupils in Derbyshire

schools including Dale Primary and Derby Moor in Derby

Informal learning

The Museum of Making offers its visitors a range of informal ways to learn about the Museum, the history of Derby and making, such as:

Early years programmes for 0-2 years babies and children and their parents/carers After school and holiday programmes for children and young people featuring interactive

activities and clubs, using STEAM to create excitement, curiosity and learning through making

Night Shift – regular Museum Lates programme developed with community groups and partners

Workshops and courses to encourage and enable people to discover the ‘maker within’ Annual programmes including the Maker Faire – an internationally connected celebration of

making featuring makers from all over the UK Regular and seasonal activities including object handling sessions, museum tours and talks

Industry partnerships and apprenticeships

Industry and education partners/stakeholders supporting the Museum of Making include:

Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust (collections decant and recant. Collections care, loans and research)

Rolls-Royce Plc (new acquisition support/STEM-Ambassadors) Toyota UK (as above)

Smith of Derby (clock refurbishment, apprenticeship schemes) Derby City Council (landlord and funder) Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site Partners (project board rep, conservation and

interpretation research) Marketing Derby (Marketing and communications. Network development) University of Derby (STEAM programmes) IMI – Midlands Maker Challenge

Museum content & collections, exhibitions and eventsThe new Museum

Designed and made in collaboration with the people and industries of Derby, the Museum of Making will consist of a range of permanent galleries displaying a range of fascinating items from Derby’s rich manufacturing history and will be supported by a programme of temporary exhibitions. The Museum will incorporate a range of narratives including; Humankind and Nature; People of Derby; The Act of Making; and The Building itself.

The Museum of Making will contain Derby’s collections of making and social history including elements of archaeology, costume and textiles, ceramics and decorative arts illustrating the skills, creativity, innovation and science prevalent in Derby from several periods in the region’s history, including: Palaeolithic and Bronze Age, the Roman period, the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, leading up to the present day.

Ranging from ceramics to transport; mining industries to engineering; and textiles to horology and scientific instrument making, the collections not only illustrate the breadth of activity taking place in and around Derby throughout history, but also the material legacy of Derby, allowing visitors to get more involved in the story that shaped their local area. This rich and varied collection at the Museum of Making will be 100% accessible to all visitors when the Museum is reopened in 2020. This means that you will be able to access everything in the full collection, nothing will be hidden away in store but instead available for the public to see.

A few highlights at the new Museum will include:

Visitors will approach the Museum via the iconic 18 th century Bakewell Gates, part of the original structure of Derby Silk Mill.

The Civic Hall, where objects will be arranged according to the materials they are made from, showing advances in materials and manufacturing technology.

The Valley that Changed the World: an interactive model of the Derwent Valley, with a model of the original Silk Mill, showing how it worked.

Stories of the people associated with the Silk Mill’s history. Railway gallery, including the much-loved Model Railway.

Other facilities for visitors

The Museum of Making shop will offer a range of interesting gifts and products, many of which will be made by local artists and makers. Larger goods such as furniture will be on display throughout building for visitors to place orders. Pop-up shops will be created for special events/temporary exhibitions.

A new destination café will be created within the new Museum in addition to a range of interesting and unique spaces available for private hire for occasions such as meetings, weddings, fine dining events, charity and gala balls, Christmas parties as well as teaching sessions for schools.

Exhibitions & events

In the run up to the opening in 2020 there will also be a number of engaging events and activities to give people an understanding of the new Museum and how they can become involved.

For current and future events visit: www.derbymuseums.org/locations/museum-of-making