Museums – A different education career

What do bog bodies, VR and ancient history have in common for an education career?

Joining Chris and Rob this episode is the third part of the Educational Currency Team: our producer, Kate. Aside from recording and editing the podcast, Kate works in museums and as a high school English tutor at The Coaching College.

In this episode she shares her passion for all things archaeology, the story of how she came to be a curator and explores the role of museum in education outside of the formal school environment.

Thanks for listening to the premier season of the podcast – we’ll be dropping season 2 very soon!

Christopher Kalodikis and Robert Naumoski have over 20 years of teaching experience. Chris teaches Computing and is the founder of Maximum Education. Rob teaches Mathematics and is the founder of The Coaching College and owner of Ultimate Defence Academy. Kate Pentecost has worked in museums for over 12 years across collection management, digital outreach and collections, and curatorial. She is also an English tutor at the Coaching College and the producer of The Educational Currency Podcast.

Topics covered

• Choosing to study archaeology and museums
• What sparked the interest in archaeology and the ancient world?
• How museums design programs and exhibitions to inspire students and entertain families
• Discovering how to produce a podcast
• Kate’s recommendations for awesome museums:
  • Victoria and Albert Museum (London)
  • Australian Centre for the Moving Image (Melbourne)
  • Australian War Memorial (Canberra)
  • Imperial War Museum (London)
  • Smithsonian (Washington)
  • Vindolanda (United Kingdom)
• VR in museums: an exciting dream for its use in the exhibition space, photogrammetry and 3D models

Links and sources

• Bog bodies: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/archaeology/peat-bogs-are-freakishly-good-at-preserving-human-remains.htm and https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/europe-bog-bodies-reveal-secrets-180962770/
• Why Your Museum Needs a Podcast by Hannah Hethmon, https://www.betterlemonaudio.com/resources
• Find out more about what a conservator does: https://aiccm.org.au/ and https://www.youtube.com/c/TheConservationStarter
• Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK: https://www.vam.ac.uk/
• Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Melbourne, Australia: https://www.acmi.net.au/?
• Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia: https://www.awm.gov.au/
• Imperial War Museum, London, UK: https://www.iwm.org.uk/
• Smithsonian, Washington, USA: https://www.si.edu/
• The State Hermitage Museum, Russia: https://hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/
• Vindolanda, Roman fort just outside of York, UK: https://www.vindolanda.com/

Image credits

• Tollund Man by Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove, via FLickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeroenvn/20257396181/
• Sea monster: Saint Brendan saying mass on the back of a whale - Australian National Maritime Museum Collection, https://collections.sea.museum/objects/29824/engraving-depicting-saint-brendan-saying-mass-on-the-back-of