Interpretation Project

The project

Digital touch-screen terminal - tablet and stand

The Interpretation Project led by the Brecknock Society and Museum Friends (BS&MF) in co-operation with Powys

CC museum staff and the Brecknock Art Trust has provided 46 digital touch-screen terminals (see image) in the galleries of the refurbished Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery in y Gaer. At each terminal, visitors are able to find touch-screen displays that interpret key exhibits to be seen nearby. These so-called 'digital labels' enhance the visitor experience by adding both interest and depth to the limited information that is traditionally provided on printed labels for exhibits in museum and art galleries.

Digital touch-screens

Example of a digital label on a touch-screen

The digital touch-screen terminals together with their customised software and secure mountings were supplied by Blackbox-av of Port Talbot - specialists in digital displays. These were funded through a grant to BS&MF awarded by the Garfield Weston Foundation.

The volunteer team

The BS&MF worked with a team of volunteers from across Breconshire to assist with researching, assembling and managing interpretative material on the selected objects that are covered by the digital touch-screens. The BS&MF was given a list of approximately 350 objects (see Master List - Item 3 of Supporting Documents) to be exhibited in the refurbished Brecon, Brycheiniog, Temporary Exhibition and Permanent Exhibition Galleries, the Courtroom and the Schoolroom to work on by the Museum curator.

Project activities and timescales

The Interpretation Project ran from 1 April 2018 to 11 December 2020 (originally to be 2 years but extended due to slower progress during the Covid-19 pandemic). Research work by an initial group of volunteers started in October 2018. The digital touch-screen terminals were installed in November 2019. The project had produced main digital labels for a selection of objects covered by each digital terminal by the time y Gaer opened in December 2019. The Museum reopened after Covid lockdown at end July 2020. At project closure, the digital touch-screens were displaying approximately 300 temporary 'no-touch' Main labels. Interpretation had been carried out on 322 objects. Reponsibility for ongoing management of the interpretation and the digital touch-screen system has been handed over to the Museum curator. For more details, see the BS&MF's End-of-Grant report to the Garfield Weston Foundation.

Process

The project process for carrying out the research and assembly of interpretative material, and for other activities involved in delivering outputs from the Interpretation Project to the Museum & Art Gallery is shown in a process diagram here.

Details of objects in the Interpretation Project

These are summarised in the Master List of objects (Excel spreadsheet) and in PDF files of 'Object images' (see Supporting documents, item 5). Some of original pages exported from the Museum's Modes database for the Interpretation Project can be accessed here as JPEGs. These contain higher resolution images of most of the objects up to Int 311. Images for later Int numbers are not available on this website. There are no Modes pages for the Natural History objects (animals, birds and plants) - they are all listed in a PDF file and images of the plants can be accessed as a JPEG for each of the three habitats covered by the display cases (see Supporting documents, item 10).

Completed Main label and ongoing Secondary work

The Master List indicates the 322 objects for which Main digital labels were interpreted. The completed English and Welsh text can be seen on the relevant Translation Sheet - see Supporting Documents, Item 11. The Master List also shows the Objects for which some research and interpretation on Secondary labels was carried out and handed over to the Museum curator as ongoing work.

BS&MF Principal Contacts

BS&MF Principal Contacts for the Interpretation Project were Mervyn Bramley as Project Manager and Liz Bickerton who co-ordinated the work carried out by volunteers and its submission to the Museum curator.

Updated 10.12.2020

Supporting documents:

  1. Invitation to Potential Volunteers from BS&MF as built up the volunteer team.

  2. Volunteer Form in Word or PDF form used for registering interest to be an Interpretation Project volunteer.

  3. Master List of Objects and Work Carried Out (Excel file) (v14 10.12.20) - containing approx 350 objects to be exhibited in the Brecon and Brycheiniog Galleries, the Art Galleries, the Courtroom, the Hall and the Schoolroom allocated for interpretation. The 322 objects that were interpreted are shown in Column G of the full list.

  4. Pages of files of objects exported from Museum Modes and other databases (medium resolution jpegs of each page of the files of objects exported for the Interpretation Project from the Museum’s Modes and other databases).

  5. Object Images - view/download (a) 60 objects ('Bre' Int 1 - 60) in the Brecon Gallery; (b) 76 objects ('Bry' Int 61 - 136) in the Brycheiniog Gallery; (c) 44 artworks in the Permanent Art Gallery; (d) 10 artworks in the Courtroom (4 artworks are duplicated in the Brecon and Brycheiniog Gallery lists); (e) 10 objects ('Sch' Int 197 - 206) in the Schoolroom; (f) 9 objects ('Crm DC' Int 207 - 213, 310 & 311) in the Courtroom display case; (f) 7 objects ('Bry BDC' Int 214 - 220) in the Builth display case in the Brycheiniog Gallery; (g) 10 objects ('Bre Cer' Int 221 - 230) in the Ceramics display in the Brecon Gallery; (h) 15 objects (‘Extras’ Int 231 - 245) added in Nov 2020 throughout the Galleries; (i) 6 objects ('Hall' Int 312 - 317) in the Entrance Hall; (j) 30 objects ('Bry Extras' Int 320 - 343 & 356 - 359) in the Brycheiniog Gallery); (k) 11 objects ('Bre Extras' Int 345 - 355) in the Brecon Gallery.

  6. Process for delivery of outputs to y Gaer from the Interpretation Project.

  7. Layout of Museum & Art Gallery - Brecon and Brycheiniog Galleries and Ground floor plan of the Museum & Art Gallery.

  8. Volunteer Timesheet in Word or PDF form.

  9. Guidance to Volunteers on research and assembling interpretative material - Guidance document (12 pages; v6 27.08.20), together with seven Annexes (A to G), each of which can be viewed/downloaded separately.

  10. Details of Natural History objects - List of objects (birds, animals, plants) exhibited in each case (moorland crag, woodland and stream, lake edge and field). JPEG images of plants can be accessed here.

  11. Text in English and Welsh of all completed Main digital labels - Sheet 2, Sheet 3, Sheet 4, Sheet 5, Sheet 6, Sheet 7, Sheet 8, Sheet 9, Sheet 10, Sheet 11, Sheet 12, Sheet 13, Sheet 14, Sheet 15, Sheet 16, Sheet 17, Sheet 18, Sheet 19, Sheet 20, Sheet 21, Sheet 22, Sheet 23, Sheet 24, Sheet 25, Sheet 26, Sheet 27. See the List of Objects (Item 3. above) to find which Translation Sheet contains the text for any particular Object.