Work Experience at The Brunel Museum

Hello, we are Ismael and Jake, and we have come from Haberdashers’ Borough Academy and Bacon’s College for our work experience here at the Brunel Museum.

During our time here, we have learnt a lot about the history of the museum and the artifacts it contains.

When we first arrived, we learnt about the Thames Tunnel. This tunnel, opened in 1843 and located in Rotherhithe, was the first tunnel under a navigable river anywhere in the world. This meant it attracted visitors from many different countries in Europe.

We also learnt about medals and coins from the nineteenth century. Medals were awarded to the wealthy upper class for their successes as they acted as a way of self-promotion and increased an individual’s social ranking. One of our favorite collection object is the Marc Brunel Medals commemorating his achievement in creating the Thames Tunnel. The medal features a side profile of his face, which is unusual as most medals typically display a front profile, However Brunel chose this style to mimic the royal portraiture seen on coins. The other side of the medal contains an image of the tunnel, highlighting his success. Beneath the image, there are facts about the tunnel, such as its width, height, cost of £413,000, and the opening date of March 25, 1843.

We also created a QR code with a detailed audio guide that explains the history of coins and medals, located in the museum’s gallery.

Our work experience at the Brunel Museum throughout this week has been impeccable. We’ve learnt a lot about the history of the museum and the Thames Tunnel. We also learnt that when the tunnel first opened, it attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world to explore the first ever underwater tunnel. Working alongside with Jack, the collections access coordinator has expanded our knowledge of the products that were sold in the underwater tunnel to visitors in England. We learnt how social ranking was represented by the size of the coins; the lower class bought smaller coins, while the upper class bought larger coins to represent their wealth and status.

We are really appreciative of all the help we received during our time here from the team, especially Gabriella Learning Producer, Emma Media Marketing Intern, and Jack Collections Access Coordinator. They supported us in creating a detailed audio guide, which is accessible via a QR code located in the museum. We encourage you to visit and experience the Brunel Museum.