ARMIDALE Folk Museum has unveiled a suite of new digital assets that will be used to create and enhance interactive exhibits and transform the way local history is preserved and shared with the community.
At a special launch event, community members, museum stakeholders, and representatives from Armidale Regional Council used the equipment and explored interactive displays.
The upgrades were made possible through a Creative Capital NSW Grant, awarded to Armidale Regional Council to support the revitalisation of the museum’s facilities and displays.
The funding has enabled the installation of new digital assets which will supplement and improve existing displays and allow for new interactive exhibits, designed to engage visitors of all ages and backgrounds.
Armidale Regional Council mayor Sam Coupland joined attendees in exploring the new features, noting the importance of innovation in heritage preservation.
“The equipment offers the museum team new ways to preserve local history and to help tell those stories,” Cr Coupland said.
“With alternate platforms available, locals and visitors can engage and interact with new museum programs and the collection in a range of ways.”
Tracing its origins back to 1933, Armidale Folk Museum is housed in the 1863 Armidale Literary Institute and documents the history of the city.
A wide range of exhibits show everyday life and work in the past, and of the citizens’ solemn sacrifice in times of war.
Permanent displays provide a glimpse into how the region was settled in the 1840s and its development into a thriving agricultural area and provider of education.
A changing program of diverse exhibitions and events tell the stories significant to the local community.
The Armidale Folk Museum began in 1933 and was established to house the valuable collection of gems and minerals donated by Mr Alfred Pike.
The museum, with its displays of technological and natural history, was seen as an important addition to Armidale’s facilities for learning.
The Second World War saw the museum closed and its building used for more pressing purposes.
In October, 1958 the museum was officially reopened, largely through the personal enthusiasm of the late Eric Dunlop (1910-1974), Senior Lecturer in History and Social Science at the Armidale Teachers’ College.
Since then, the collection has grown to more than 10,000 objects, mainly due to the generosity of New England residents.
The most recent project and upgrades were funded by the NSW Government via a Creative Capital NSW Grant.
Media Release
