Collection Point - So you've chosen some of the first things to go on display in The Higgins!

We want to say a big THANK YOU to all those who participated in our Collection Point activity at the River Festival on 21st and 22nd July. We had a wonderful day and we were delighted that so many of you chose objects to go on display in the Collection Point case - and more importantly, told us why you thought those things should go on display.

We printed out a shortlist of 100 possible objects that could go in the Collection Point case. Of those 100 these were your favourites.

Your number one favourite object was a glass sculpture of a mouse by René  Lalique. Here are some of the things you said about it:

'It's beautifully made and very sweet, reminds me of the Wades Whimsies my family used to make in Stoke.'

'It looks very delicate''One of the finest glassmakers of the century'

'I admire Lalique's glass sculptures, and this is very endearing and cute.'

Things from and about Bedford were very popular. The programme of Bedford sports, the lantern slide of the fire at The Pantechnicon, the souvenir vase from The Swan Hotel and the Roman poppy-headed vase found in Bedford were all very popular. You're all very proud of Bedford! Here are some of the things you said about them:

'It shows the true history of a Bedford image that, like so many other things, have gone.' 

'It's a bit of Bedford's history.'

'It is obviously from Bedford!'

'A beautiful vase which identifies with a local landmark - The Swan Hotel.'

'Local History - Insight into day to day life'

'Old and local'

'It's quirky - has lots of information re how Bedfordians spent their leisure hours.'

'It is an important local artefact directly associated with Bedford and used by ancestors of present day inhabitants of the town.'

'I'm a Bedford person and always promote it in present and past.'

But you like novelty as well  - which I think is how the Samurai Helmet and the decanter in the form of a dog made into the list! Here are some of the things you said about them: 

'Interest in this area of the world. Good to have a mix of cultural art.'

'Foreign culture that is different to ours. Interesting design. Interesting to look at how it's made and of what materials.'

'It's curious and distinctive.'

'A vision of the future that never came to pass!'

Here are some more pictures from the day.

Even Dave Hodgson, Mayor Of Bedford chose some objects!

If you want to have a look through the shortlist of objects for Collection Point, and let us know your favourite you can see objects 1 - 50 here, and 51 - 103 here. Leave a comment here on the blog to let us know your favourite. You never know, it could be included in the Collection Point case when The Higgins reopens.

Collection Point - Unleash your inner curator at the River Festival

Miniature wooden horse from The Higgins Collections

The River Festival is on the 21st and 22nd July 2012. At this years River Festival we would like your help to choose objects that will be going on display when the museum reopens in Spring 2013

One of the new displays in The Higgins is a very large display case that will hold objects that have been chosen to go on display by members of the public. The information labels will also have been written by those that have chosen the objects. We want people to unleash their inner curator.

The Higgins holds large and varied collections, with objects from all over the world. There are over 100,000 objects in the collections and only space to display a fraction of them. The Collection Point display case will offer people the chance to engage with collections that might not be on display otherwise. It will give everyone the chance to make decisions about what goes on display at The Higgins.

Below are some of the objects in the collection.

Eggs collected by Mr Janion Steele-Elliot

Puffin

Porcelain figure of a head mounted on a cork

We're getting the ball rolling by inviting people to choose the first objects to go on display in the Collection Point case at this years River Festival.

We will be based close to Castle Mound, from 11 am until 5pm during the festival. Members of the public will have the opportunity to look through a shortlist of objects from the collection, choosing their favourites, some of which will go into the Collection Point case. Everyone who chooses an object will be encouraged to write a display label explaining their choice, to be shown alongside it.

We can't wait to see you there.

Download the River Festival programme here