A Munch Bunch member painting a graffiti garden design for the new museum outside eating area. Courtesy Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery.

24 Hour Museum Renaissance Student Journalist Rory Trust met up with the Munch Bunch in Plymouth...

The phrase Munch Bunch probably conjures images of fruit flavoured yoghurt for most. However, if you were to mention the name at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, the response would hold a bit more substance. The Munch Bunch is the name of an education project being run by the museum for 13 to 18 year olds.

Before you ask, no it does not involve dressing up as pieces of fruit and singing about yoghurt. In fact, no yoghurt at all. Instead the museum provides a meeting place for young people to get together and engage with all the museum has to offer.

The group is run by Sara Norrish, education officer at the museum. “Essentially it is about improving the learning environment of the museum. Particularly about working with young people to make the place more engaging for them,” explained Sara. “We wanted to gather their thoughts, ideas and comments and in return offer them some useful skills.”

Planning the 'In development' display in the main museum, which shows the progression of the graffiti work. Courtesy Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery.

The group has certainly benefited so far from the resources available in the museum. One of their initial projects was a self-portrait done in film. Not only were the members able to use museum equipment to make their films, but were also allowed gallery space in which to screen them. The chance to air your own work in a city museum is an opportunity many would envy.

The group meets every Friday evening and is open to anyone who wants to come along. It has been running for about a year and is proving quite a success. “We have a kind of rolling membership of kids aged between 13 and 18. There is a really nice mix of people,” said Sara.

The group is funded by Renaissance, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council’s (MLA) groundbreaking programme to revitalise regional museums. It provides a space within the museum especially for young people, and ensures it remains engaging for all ages. It also provides the Munch Bunch members with a valuable insight into the workings of a large museum.

Another project culminated in a display of some of the museums geological collection. The Munch Bunch was allowed to look through the collection held in storage and select their favourite items. These were then arranged into a display shown in the museum. As Raisa Burton, one member, noted “it is fun doing displays, but a lot harder than you might think.”

Courtesy Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery.

“We try and do projects which cut across several disciplines, not just art,” said Sara. “At the moment we are doing the graffiti project. The group were interested in doing photography as a skill and graffiti as a skill.”

The children took pictures of objects that interested them in the museum and then manipulated the images into collages. These collages will be spray-painted onto boards, which will be installed in the new outdoor eating area the museum is developing. As Sara notes: “It is nice to be able to put their stuff on public display.”

The Munch Bunch offers diverse skills to its members, from film-making to photography and graffiti. It even allows an insight into curatorial work.

In return the museum benefits from having the input and opinion of a generation crucial to the ongoing success and regeneration of our regional museums.

Rory Trust is the 24 Hour Museum Renaissance Student Writer in the South West. Renaissance is the groundbreaking initiative to transform England's regional museums, led by MLA, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.