Scissors and Soundscapes

26 August 2016

Community and Learning Intern Blog

Our last week at Stowe finally arrived, and with it the all-important date of our drop-in session. But first, we prepped. In fact, all of Monday was spent honing our dexterity as we cut out over 100 paper limbs from photographs of statues around the house, ready for the morning session on Tuesday entitled ‘Make a Mini Statue.’

We also put together puzzles from a photo of the Temple Room ceiling, mystery boxes full of feathers and a dot-to-dot lion for Tuesday’s treasure hunt. Each room held a different task; once it was completed, the child received one of our limbs to attach to their torso of choice by split-pin surgery.

Back in the learning space, these headless bodies became sentient as 15 Doctor Frankensteins sculpted heads from clay and brought their mix-matched creations to life.

After lunch, we finally assembled our soundscape activity, ‘Sound Explorers,’ in the Temple Room. Our explorers began their mission to learn about Stowe through sound with an immersive soundscape. There was a selection of percussive instruments to play with, and then they had the choice to make a shaker or a guitar. I recorded their musical efforts and then assembled them all into a veritably orchestral ensemble! Listen here.

The afternoon felt like a success, but most importantly, everyone seemed to have fun – including Alannah and I! It was really fulfilling seeing children become engaged with music, and in the house, as well as seeing our own ideas being put to use.

While still busy, the rest of the week felt like a gentle wind-down. The rest of the Stowe House team craftily organised a picnic for us on Wednesday which we had on the front lawn – vegan cake and homemade scones galore!

The seven weeks seemed to have come full-circle when we completed our last task, rearranging the Open Art Exhibition from the Blue Room into the Discovery Centre, as one of the winning artists came to see their piece in its new pride of place.

Both of us would like to wish Stowe a very fond farewell, and particularly Jess and Lesley for guiding us through the past seven weeks. We have visited your temples, paced Plug Street and gazed in awe at your views, and now all that remains is to say goodbye.

Thank you for reading our blog and following it through to its end.

Interns out!