Ullapool museum's unique collection goes on-line

PEOPLE living across the world who feel an affinity with Lochbroom and its rich social and cultural history are being offered the chance to take a step back in time without leaving their comfort of their own homes.

While the hefty wooden doors of Ullapool Museum might have closed for the last time this season, the prize-winning facility's "virtual doors" are now open permanently thanks to an exciting new project launched last week.

Over the past year, volunteers have been working with project co-ordinator Jo Clements on the Connecting Collections project, documenting Ullapool Museum’s unique local history collection to make the objects, images and audio oral history accessible online.

Virtual visitors can now browse the collections, explore the museum’s star objects and listen to oral histories of local people collected over the past decade. Connecting Collections was funded by Museums Galleries Scotland and a community grant from the Coigach and Assynt Living Landscape Partnership Scheme.

Curatorial advisor Helen Avenell said: “This project has been an amazing opportunity for our volunteers to work together, supported by our fantastic project officer Jo Clements. The volunteers have learnt new skills and gained more knowledge about the objects we care for. Anyone can explore our collections now, wherever they are in the world.

"We know many people overseas have a connection to Lochbroom and this resource will enable us to share our stories, both inside and outside the museum walls. The project has allowed us to take a fresh look at our collections to explore what stories they might hold and most

exciting of all, how we can tell people about them.”

To explore Ullapool Museum’s objects, photographs and oral history just visit www.ullapoolmuseum.co.uk and click ‘collections’.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.