Great North Museum: Hancock partners with local communities to reimagine display

Newcastle University's Great North Museum: Hancock has worked closely with local community members on a project to reimagine one of its permanent galleries. The Explore Gallery will reopen with fresh perspectives and stories about museum objects, which span natural history, archaeology, and ethnography.  

The history of the collections at the Great North Museum: Hancock spans over 250 years, and the Museum has been a constant resource to enhance learning about North East England and the rest of the world. Over 10 months, staff at the Museum, including the front-of-house team, learning, community, and curatorial departments, collaborated with a steering group from local communities. The group took part in sessions to uncover hidden narratives and introduce new voices and perspectives to the gallery. 
 
This collaboration led to three key themes for the gallery: 'Origins' looks at life on Earth over the past 300 million years alongside the history of the museum. 'Empire' examines the human and environmental impact of empires across space and time. ‘New Perspectives' presents some case studies from the collections to demonstrate how museums are changing through new research, community engagement and more transparency. The gallery also includes a reflective space where visitors can pause and share memories, ideas, perspectives, and knowledge. 
 
Among the objects on display will be Thompson's Gazelle, shot in East Africa by Abel Chapman, a British hunter-naturalist active in the early 1900s. While such trophy heads are linked to named collectors, obtaining them depended on skilled local men whose labour and knowledge went unrecorded. Teams of more than 40 men were employed on some of Abel Chapman's trips. Very little is known about them, other than scant details of a few of these individuals.   
 
An unusual-looking wombat, the first to arrive in Europe, was sent to Newcastle by Captain John Hunter, the Governor of New South Wales, Australia in 1798. Due to European assumptions at the time of its arrival, it was incorrectly mounted in an upright stance as it was believed it would have 'stood' like a kangaroo or similar. Wombats spend most of their time on all fours.  
 
A Centurial Stone, dated between 122 – 128 CE, found near Denton Burn, Newcastle, with an inscription that reads: "From the First Cohort of Dacians the century of Aelius Dida built this". This stone reveals that a section of Hadrian's Wall was built by men who came from Dacia, now part of modern-day Romania. The fact that soldiers were brought to North East England from around Europe to help build Hadrian's Wall shows how vast the Roman Empire and its resources were. 
 
Visitors can explore a collection of lamellophones, musical instruments with a rich history rooted in Africa. The Kankobela, played by the Lala, Tonga, and other Zambian communities, is used for storytelling, reflection, and personal enjoyment. The songs often carry coded meanings, social advice, or memories, reflecting local language, humour, and lived experience. The Likembe reflects musical traditions that originated in the Lower Congo River region and spread widely through porters, soldiers, and labour migrants during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the Amba and other communities, it was used for storytelling, self-expression, and musical companionship on the road. The Calabar Box (Thumb Piano) is associated with Efik or Ibibio communities. The decorative carvings may reference Nsibidi symbolism. 
 
A collection of British birds' eggs from the 1950s will also be featured, reflecting a time when egg collecting was still legal – a practice now banned under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). The shape, size, and markings of each egg offer clues to the birds' lives, while their presence in museums today reveals how attitudes to wildlife have profoundly changed.  
 
Malavika Anderson, Museum Manager at the Great North Museum: Hancock, said: "This project represents a truly new way of working for us here at the museum. As a community-led project, it has allowed us to look more closely at our collections from new perspectives. It has challenged us and inspired us immensely. It would not have been possible without the passion, commitment and enthusiasm of all the project participants, the designer, teams at the museum and partners. We are very excited to now share this space with our visitors.” 
 
Community group participants Geoffrey, Ken, Johurun, Nneoma, Rose and Shabnam agreed: "We want the Museum to be a living museum. To be open to sharing, learning, changing and evolving. It is now time to tell different, more complete stories as we look towards the future."  
 
The updated Explore Gallery was made possible with funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund, managed by the Museums Association, with knowledge contributed by the Natural History Society of Northumbria and the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne and Newcastle University. The gallery was designed by Abi Wright. 
 
Explore Gallery will be open to the public from Wednesday 25 June 2025, with free admission.  

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