Sagalunds Museum, Finland
Sagalunds Museum is an open-air museum on the Kimito island in the southern Finnish archipelago, founded in 1900. Working closely with smaller museums, jointly caring for over 50 historic buildings and two different industrial museums in Dalsbruk and Björkboda villages, the organisation offers museum education activities with an emphasis on cultural heritage management, public activities and education for adults and children. In winter we have a staff of ten people, with the number doubling in summertime. Throughout the whole year we have approximately 40 active volunteers, who have received awards for their work in promoting cultural activities. We have also been a children’s cultural centre since 2014. Our focus is time travelling, especially teaching children the traditional cultivation of vegetables under the guidance of experienced farmers and gardeners.
Sagalund museum has ambitious goals for Museum Education and been trying to develop this area for over 25 years. In 2009 we published a book of lifelong learning and museum education. The overall objective of our museum education programme is to offer visitors and users an accessible and versatile learning experience. Our main aims from the OWHL project are to learn more about audience development, and discover new methods for working with volunteers. We are responsible for the coordination of programs for local volunteer-run museums in Turunmaa region.
Our volunteer organisation was inspired by a visit in 1998 to the living museum ”Conner Prairie” in Indianapolis by former museum director Li Näse and a colleague. From that study, our museum became one of the first to use volunteers together with museum education staff in Finland. We have been developing our knowledge in storytelling and time travelling since 1990 and our museum was one of the founding members of ”Bridging Ages Network for time travelling” in Tukum 2007.
We have a great deal of experience running workshops and inspiration days for other museums and cultural organisations, with a large network of Finnish and Nordic museums. In 1997 we began the EU funded project building a replica of the old sailing yacht Eugenia, dating from 1879. The project employed three staff, and relied on almost 40 volunteers to complete it. Today, Eugenia sails as an educational vessel with volunteers as crew.
We have started to cooperate with organisations working with those living with dementia; health and wellbeing; music therapy; and older members of society. We have also recently been involved with a project called” Volontärkraft” (Voluntary Power).