Tynwald Week Events launch iMuseum - M.N.H Press Release

Tynwald Week 2011 will mark the official opening of the iMuseum, a new facility which provides unprecedented access to Manx National Heritage collections. Situated on Kingswood Grove in Douglas, the digital museum quietly opened its doors to the public in March this year as the “Home of Manx Memories” (Cummal Cooinaghtyn Manninagh).

iMuseum brings together a selection of archives, library and museum collections into one digital resource, and the content will grow significantly over the coming months and years as more of the national collections are digitised. In the future iMuseum will be available online with a simple subscription facility for the Manx Newspapers (1792 – 1960) searchable at the click of a button.

From July 6th the iMuseum will host a week of activities and talks which celebrate the extraordinary resources that make up iMuseum. Manx National Heritage will also be bringing iMuseum to Tynwald Day on July 5th. At the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh visitors can enjoy exploring the iMuseum with our curators and learn all about the new resource. You may even discover some hidden family secrets from the past in the digitised Manx Newspapers or find an old photograph of the street where your ancestors lived!

Also on show from iMuseum will be stories from the Manx Newspapers at the Mobile Library and the Manx Tent. These recall Agatha Christie’s 1930 visit and how the Island celebrated the Queen’s 1953 Coronation.

On 6th July from 10.30am to 7pm at the iMuseum, visitors can discover their Manx connections in a Manx Family History Surgery. MNH Library staff and volunteers from The Isle of Man Family History Society will be on hand throughout the day to help you with your research enquiries. All week visitors can drop in to help us with Sense of Place – see if you can recognise any of the places in our photographs and tell us if you have any stories about them.

Throughout Tynwald week visitors can also sign up to an exciting range of talks by Manx National Heritage and guest experts. On 6th July discover how Matthew Richardson, MNH Curator of Social History pieced together the family history of the Gibbs in The Gibbs of the Grove: A Journey through the Records, 10am to 11am at the iMuseum. If you have an eye for photography join Wendy Thirkettle, MNH Archivist as she explores Stick it in the Family Album – an introduction to the vast MNH photographic collections and famed Island photographers and their studios at 2.30pm.

For the first time the iMuseum makes digitally available, nearly 200 years of newsprint. Get the latest scoop in Read All About It!, an introduction to the Manx Newspapers and their editors from 1792 to 1960, with MHH Librarian and Archivist Paul Weatherall on 8th July at 10am.

On 9th July enjoy an afternoon of Vintage Film classics from the archives with Andrew Foxon, MNH Head of Professional Services.

Pick up a leaflet from Manx National Heritage sites for the full list of events and talks including, Exploring Tynwald with Hannah Gerrard, Manx Connections by John Quirk and the book launch and signing of ‘Unlocking The Past: A Guide to Exploring Family and Local History on the Isle of Man’ by author Matthew Richardson.

All the events are FREE and for some events pre-booking is essential. For more information and to book a place on the iMuseum events please call 648000 or register at the Manx Museum Reception.

This same week celebrates ‘Ramsey National Week’. From 2nd to 10th The Grove Museum (open daily 10am to 6pm), will be host to a variety of activities including, joining the Isle of Man Railways for their Victorian weekend (2nd and 3rd July), Shetland ponies, butter-making, lawn games, and Famers Market (10th July). For more information visit our What's On at www.storyofmann.com or www.ramseynationalweek.com

28th June 2011

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