VERVE: Connecting the public with displays at the Pitt Rivers Museum

Beth McDougall and Madeleine Ding, VERVE Team, Pitt Rivers Museum give a short talk for the Oxford University Museums Staff Conference. The VERVE project is a £1.6m, 5 year campaign to conserve and deepen understanding of the Pitt Rivers Museum’s displays, inspiring a significant programme of public engagement. In this talk the team share three VERVE initiatives that aim to create deep public engagement: ‘Meet me at the Museum’, aimed at older people; ‘Pitt Fest’, an annual outdoor celebration; and ‘Museum Takeovers’, which allow young adults to take over the museum.