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Welcome to Your June Newsletter!
Many museums are setting their sights on the school summer holidays, but we're looking further ahead to the next academic year with our Talking Nature grants. While the grants don't open for applications until September, today we've published guidance and information to help your museum plan an impactful project with schools. 

In addition, we've now opened our SW Museum Skills summer tranche for bookings. Brush up your knowledge and skills with a wide range of sessions available to choose from. We're also opening the Family Friendly Museums Programme to the wider South West Area. 

In this newsletter, you'll find a round up of sector news, grants coming up, Accreditation awards and specialist advice on Volunteers' Week.
SW Museum Skills update
After a break for spring we are back with a new SW Museum Skills programme. Some of our most popular sessions are returning, including Developing an Attractive Learning Offer for Primary Schools, and Rethinking Cataloguing. Following the demand for equality, diversity and inclusion training last year we are running a new training session, Welcoming Everyone.
People sitting around round tables in discussion. There is a projector on a wall showing a presentation slide.
In partnership with Collections Trust, we are also launching the Banish the Backlog Programme this summer. Banish the Backlog will offer targeted support on resolving collection documentation backlogs to five Accredited museums. This is a 10 month programme includes both peer networking meetings and 121 advice sessions.
Lastly, the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museums Programme is now open to applications from across the South West. Applicants must still be in a Levelling Up for Culture priority place and Hampshire & Isle of Wight museums will have priority. The deadline for applications has also been extended to 12 noon on Monday 10 June.
View our skills programmes and sessions
Grants update
Building on the momentum of the 105 The Wild Escape small grant projects delivered last year, Talking Nature grants will encourage children to explore and celebrate the natural world by building environmental consciousness through engagement with museum’s collections. For this grant, we will be awarding fixed grant values of £5,000 for project delivery over the 16 months from October 2024 to January 2026.
Two young girls looking at two cases of preserved butterflies
We have published guidance and FAQs for our Talking Nature grants in preparation for scheme’s launch in September. By sharing key grant information early on, we want to make sure that applicants have the time to develop their projects and ideas in discussion with teachers, schools and home education networks.

You can also book on to our online information webinar and Q&A on Monday 24 June to find out what kind of projects we're looking to fund and to have your questions answered.
View the guidance
Focus on... Volunteering
Volunteers' Week logo
It’s Volunteers Week!  Volunteers’ Week is a national campaign to celebrate the huge contribution of time, skills, commitment and enthusiasm made by so many people, of all ages and backgrounds.

In our latest blog, we asked participants in our Volunteering Fit for the Future programme to tell us about their volunteers, and we also discuss how you can make the most of Volunteers Week and The Big Help Out.
Read our latest blog here
Accreditation update
This month there are new Accreditation achievements in our area to celebrate! Congratulations to all of the following museums and heritage organisations:
Museum Accreditation logo
Other news
A wildflower meadow with ox eye daisies and orange butterflies
Biodiversity Survey for Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum (NHM) is looking to support heritage organisations across the UK to increase biodiversity across their estates and engage their audiences with nature positive action.

NHM are interested in creating a network that can share knowledge, expertise and funding. To do this, they have launched a survey to gage the appetite for such a programme and what support they could provide. You have until Monday 10 June to complete the survey.
Kids in Museums Summer Webinar Series

Kids in Museums' summer training programme is now open for bookings. Available training sessions cover topics such as Developmental stages of children and developing activities for 0-12 year olds, Working with young volunteers and Creating family friendly exhibitions.

Sessions run from 6 June to 3 July and tickets cost from £5 to £40. You can attend the webinars live or purchase a recording to watch any time. 
Preparing to Borrow training 

The Touring Exhibitions Group are running six live online training sessions this summer. These sessions will guide participants through the complete lending and borrowing process when borrowing from UK public museums and galleries: 

Wednesday 3 and 10 July 2024 09:30 – 12:30 

Tuesday 23 and 30 July 2024 09:30 – 12:30 

Thursday 1 and 8 August 2024 13:00 – 16:00
Grants
Bristol Pride Community Fund

Grants up to £500 are available for not-for-profit groups in Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. These grants are for projects that will enhance or improve the lives of residents who are LGBTQ+. The grants can be used for one-off events or activities, as part-funding for a new project, or to support work on an existing project. Deadline for applications is Monday 30 September for the October Panel. 
Lloyd's Register Foundation Small Grants

Lloyd’s Register Foundation is an independent global charity. Leveraging heritage collections, they want to increase the understanding of the importance of maritime safety. Small grants of up to £10,000 are available for projects which are related to this mission. The next round of applications will be open from Monday 19 September to Monday 25 November 2024.
The best ways to get in touch are via the form on our website or emailing museum.development@bristol.gov.uk

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Photo credits (in order as they appear):

  • Canva
  • Museum Development South West
  • Jim Wileman
  • Volunteers' Week
  • Museum Accreditation
  • Canva

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