Creating New Book Nooks for The Reading Room
Creating New Book Nooks for The Reading Room
There’s a brand-new interactive display in our Reading Room in the Fitted Rigging House. Hidden within the shelves and nestled amongst the books are a series of models, depicting different trades of the dockyard.
Years ago, these lovely models were on display in the Road to Trafalgar exhibition, which is now the People, Tools and Trade gallery located within Command of the Oceans. The items went into storage for a decade for nearly a decade due to renovations in the gallery. They were recently rediscovered.
A little conservation work was needed before they were able to be returned to public display. Our conservation volunteer Perry undertook some careful cleaning of each piece. He made some minor repairs to areas of damage as he went.
Prepping The Nooks
Already passionate about models and model displays, Perry pulled the items together into groups and measured them for small display cases.
Before the models were back on display, the Collections team discussed how to make the displays more interactive. The idea of using motion-activated lights to illuminate was agreed upon.
Perry led the project by finding magnetised, motion sensor LED lights that attached to the underside of the shelf above the display cases.
After seeing the whole project come together, Perry reflects on his mini-exhibition:
“I’m so pleased they worked out how we wanted them to be. They are great models and tell an important part of the history of the Dockyard.”
Next time you find yourself near the Reading Room and happen to be riffling through the books or walking past a shelf, you might find that a soft white light appears, illuminating one of our lovely models. There are five in total dotted across the space. Can you find them all?
