Last Impressions
By Jack Welch, Volunteer Press Officer
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| Edward tries his hardest to get the technology working. |
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| Wally Gundry's (DYA VP) hiking stick, called Dino, hung above the timeline |
The group at DYR faced their last hurdles today, as the finishing touches and final fittings took place to get the exhibition in healthy shape, and we brace ourselves for the opening that was to take place on Saturday. But, today was a special occasion for more reason than the one. Dorset was today one of the host towns for the ongoing Olympic torch relay across the country, and huge anticipation was building as the museum was crowded with visitors and foreign students. They could learn a lot from the exciting "Our Sporting Life" exhibition detailing Dorset Olympic athletes through the decades. It was just a taste of what a busy day could present for visitors of our exhibition.
As the fixtures and fittings got underway, Lee assisted Pippa in putting together a small box, decorated with fabric to support some of the smaller objects, as well as give an extra boost of colour inside the cabinet. Edward, Ashley and t he museum technician Ken were having great difficulty in their Go-Kart features, as button sender and its television recipient were just not mixing very well together. There was much moving around of the small vehicle as they tried their best to ensure that the interactive features could actually be interactive.We were grateful for their patience!
On the other side of the room, Jack, Liz and Rosie were stationed on a table full to the brim of paper, bric-a-brac and laptops. It was going to be challenge for them to make the best of the confined space they were working in, as well as making the best of the computers available. Problems soon unfolded as the press release both Jack and Liz worked on was noticeably absent from the laptop they were on! Contingency plans had to be made and both volunteers soon found themselves assisting Lee in putting together the adhesive lining on the wall for our magnets. This was to prepare the feature where visitors, young and old, can write their memories of youth club days and stick it on the wall for everyone to see. It soon proved more difficult than we first thought and the lining soon started disagreeing with its handlers. No wonder Pippa said it had a life of its own! This, like many other things had to be measured precisely to avoid wonky measurements or a sloppy appearance afterwards.
Later on, and just in time for lunch, the Olympic torch made its historic appearance in the high street of Dorchester. It was a buzzy atmosphere, in spite of the hostile weather conditions. A large crowd of people came to see the handover of one torch to another. It was back to business. Liz and Jack were at last able to finish the elusive press release, as well as adding a couple of blog posts on top of that. The labels were all cut out and ready to take their positions. Some other members came after their school day to prepare the positions of the comic boards on the walls.
We think we are ready and now all eyes turned to the opening on Saturday...
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| Inspecting positions for the comic boards. |
We think we are ready and now all eyes turned to the opening on Saturday...
