Inside the Museum of London

And so it ends.

The London Archaeological Archive & Research Centre’s highly successful Volunteer Inclusion Programme has drawn to a close.

It all started in August 2008, with our first VIP volunteer joining us on 29th September. Since then 259 volunteers have joined us over the course of 10 projects.

We have worked through hundreds of excavation archives from the 1970s; thousands of boxes of finds from these sites; and hundreds of thousands of items within these boxes.

We’ve worked with children, students, employed and unemployed adults and retirees from all different backgrounds and social situations. Our projects have evolved to include creative elements, specifically themed projects and new experiences such as leading public tours.

Perhaps our proudest achievement however has been switching the V for Volunteer to V for Visitor and stretching our project to include museum visitors.

For the past 10 weeks we’ve been sharing our work with everyone and anyone who has passed our tables in the foyer and Archaeology in Action. Over 30 days we have engaged over 15,500 visitors with many different aspects of archaeology, all the while improving 305 boxes of material.

Full credit to the 18 volunteers that have been the VIP10 team. Each day they have gone about this task, never knowing what material would be coming up next in the boxes, what they would have to talk about on that day and of course,  who they would be talking to. But they have been excellent. True stars.

As have all our volunteers over the years. Folks, it has been a pleasure.

As for the future… The Volunteer/Visitor Inclusion may be over, but what’s in a name anyway? We’ll be back soon with new projects in new places with new volunteers. But for now, Ladies and Gentlemen…

…VIP has left the building.