Americans lived on our street! MEAL exhibition a great success.
Our kid’s curated exhibition – Set in Concrete – which ran from Saturday 4th July to Saturday 11th July 2015 at Abbotts Hall, the jewel in the crown of The Museum of East Anglia Life, was a great success and enjoyed by all who came.
We’d like to say a big thank you to all involved with this exhibition, especially the staff and children of Ringshall Primary School, the staff and volunteers at the Museum of East Anglian Life, Wattisham Station Heritage & our partners the 2nd AD Memorial Library.
It was a real privilege to see so many of the young students visit the exhibition with their parents and to experience their enthusiasm and pride in having participated in sharing the history of the 8th USAAF with the wider public.
You can see some of the highlights of the exhibition in the galleries below.
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- Pictures created by pupils to show the building and use of the airfield at RAF Wattisham.
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- The airfield under construction.
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- The runway cutting through the landscape.
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- The arrival of the Americans.
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- The airfield in use.
We worked with year five pupils at Ringshall Primary School to produce this exciting exhibition that shared the story of the 8th USAAF in Suffolk – and the history of RAF Wattisham.
The exhibition saw over two hundred and sixty visitors in just six days and the feedback about the event has been great.
The curator, at the Museum of East Anglian Life said,
the standard of work created by Violet class (year 5) was a good as any professional touring exhibition that we’ve hosted.
Maybe we’ve uncovered some budding museum professionals of the future!
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- The flying helmet of Lt. Alden E Smith.
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- The students V mail exhibition.
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- Flying Jacket from Wattisham Station Heritage.
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- Escape Map display from 2nd AD Memorial Library.
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- The RAF Wattisham timeline.
The exhibition was generously supported by Abbotts Hall at the Museum of East Anglian Life and Maggie Aggiss of Wattisham Airfield Museum, who has kindly allowed students to use images, information and objects from their collection.
Our friends at the Second Air Division Memorial Library also lent memorabilia for the final exhibit. This really was a fantastic opportunity to see these historic items, which played such a vital role in East Anglian life, outside of the archives.
And don’t worry if you missed the exhibition! We’re thrilled to announce that the exhibits will now be on display at the Wattisham Station Heritage Centre.
They are open to the public on the first Sunday of the month between March and November. You do need to book to visit and you can find out all the information over on their website.
If you’d like any further information about our work then please drop us a line.
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