Touching Heritage, funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, is the result of a unique partnership between UCL Museums and Public Engagement and UCLH NHS Foundation Trust. Beginning in August 2012, a team of volunteers have been taking objects from across UCL Museums and Public Engagement to people in hospitals, care homes and other community health settings and facilitating object-handling sessions. The project builds on the findings of an innovative AHRC funded research project conducted by UCL researchers. Details of the research and its findings can be found here.

The purpose of the project is two-fold: to bring heritage objects to people who would otherwise be excluded from participating in cultural activity; and to train and support a team of student and community volunteers to deliver the programme.
The purpose of this website is to serve as documentation of the work we are doing in hospitals and community health settings, and to provide a direct link to our volunteer-led blog detailing experiences of sessions, and of volunteering.

Our blog can be read here.

Download the Touching Heritage volunteer training guidelines here or find out about the background to the Touching Heritage exhibition by downloading the catalogue here.