Hollie, an intern at the Fitzwilliam Museum, shares her experiences from the Front of House Forum’s latest event that took place at Palace House.

Taking part in the Share Front of House Forum held at Palace House in Newmarket was a fantastic opportunity to interact with museum staff from a range of museums across a variety of disciplines, and to share ideas on how to deal with change in the museum context.

As an intern, it was eye-opening for me to hear about how different museums have tackled change; whether it be a change to the museum’s collection; a physical change to the space and the site in which the museum is located, or dealing with a change in how the museum is perceived by the visiting public. It was great to make new connections with other museums at this early stage in my career, and picking up new techniques along the way was all part of the fun.

Never did I think hopping around the room together could be a relevant exercise in museum practice! But, in fact, our taster session on body language with Aimee Clarke from Ickworth House was a really enlightening lesson in how to improve our social interactions with the visiting public.

The overall ethos of the day was one of mucking in together; change is constantly occurring in museums and can sometimes be a very complicated process, but if we all work together to complete even those smallest of tasks, like changing a lightbulb, our museums will become even more successful for it.