Undergraduate students showcase UCL’s collections to the public

Students on the BASc Arts & Sciences programme held a presentation day on Friday 24 March at UCL’s Bloomsbury Studio as part of one of their modules.

Working in groups, the undergraduates presented their own research into artefacts and other items from UCL collections, to over 100 people, a mix of staff students and the public, as part of the second-year module ‘Object Lessons: communicating knowledge through collections’. 

The students worked together with objects chosen from eight of UCL’s unique collections; the Grant Museum of Zoology, the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, the UCL Art and Pathology Museums, as well as the Institute of Archaeology, Ethnography, Bio-Anthropology collections and the Library Special Collections, Archives and Records. They then worked independently and in small groups to research their objects’ ‘original’ cultural, social, historical, ethnographic and scientific contexts before developing a theme connecting the objects and collectively agreeing how to communicate the research to a non-specialist audience.

Students in their groups gave a half-hour presentation followed by minutes of questions and answers. Some of the groups built little audience participation exercises and quizzes into their presentations providing further immediate feedback.

Mabel Moll presented a cynodont (fossil) skull cast from UCL’s Grant Museum of Zoology. She said: “Presenting our objects has challenged me to think differently about research and how to best present it. The exhibition was a great opportunity to show our work to a wider audience and get immediate feedback.”

The module shows just one of the ways students are using the wealth of knowledge at UCL to develop their learning. The module and programme is closely aligned with the UCL Connected Curriculum, an institutional initiative ensuring all students take part in research throughout their studies.

Dr Thomas Kador, UCL Teaching Fellow in Public and Cultural Engagement (UCL Culture) said: “The module is designed around the idea of holistic student-centred learning. The fact that we are holding the presentation day in the Bloomsbury Theatre Studio, with an open invite across the university and beyond, allows the students to reflect on the performative aspects of effective communication, which will hopefully stand to them in many future walks of life.”