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Charlene Nelson
p9
We asked 15-year-old Charlene, a student at Stoke Newington School
who spent her work experience two weeks with N16 in May, to record her impressions of the
new Hackney Museum.
The
Hackney Museum was finally opened on the 22nd of April 2002 on the ground floor of the
Hackney Technology and Learning Centre. The museum spent nearly £400,000 on the displays,
which was funded entirely by a grant from the national lottery. The museum is very modern,
giving a full 'hands on' experience.
There are touch screen computers with various things to do. You can store information
about you and your family's background, take a guided tour through an old Victorian house,
look at some of the streets in Hackney today and see how they used to look in the past, or
you can just browse on the museum internet site.
There are also some good activities for you to do; there is a display that tells you
according to how long it takes you to make a matchbox what sort of living situation you
would have had in the past. To be able to live in a small house and eat meat once a week
you would have had to be able to make a matchbox in under 30 seconds: but it's not as easy
as it sounds. You can try on historical costumes. Or you can put together a big jigsaw of
Hackney. In doing this you learn some of the old names of places in Hackney, given by the
Saxons from Germany and see how similar the names are today.
There are displays that have been done by children from the ages of 8-18 and they have drawn pictures and written little poems about their views on Hackney and what it's like to live there. It is quite interesting to get an insight of Hackney from the youth point of view.
One of the most interesting displays tells you about the people that were forced to come to Hackney, like the black slaves from Africa and the Lascars who were Indian sailors. This and the displays on immigration to Hackney over the last 1000 years are very good displays to have, as it explains why Hackney is such a diverse and cosmopolitan place.
The museum is good because it's not like traditional museums; the displays
are very accessible so you get a real feel of everything. This was obviously a well
thought out idea and will be enjoyed by many people of different ages from within or from
outside of Hackney.
Hackney Museum is at 1 Reading Lane, London E8 1GQ (020 8356 3500). Opening hours:
9.30-5.30, Mon, Tues, Fri: 9.30-8. 00, Thurs; 10. 00-5. 00. Sat, closed Wed. Admission
free. www.hackney.gov.uk/hackneymuseum
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30 Stoke Newington Church Street
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