Student Erin writes about her first day at the crannog while it is open! and she details the activities with the customers!
Hi there, It’s Erin here again!
Well, the Crannog Centre is officially open for the season again! Valentines Day was the opening day…and my first day doing anything here while it is open. I got thrown right in with the Iron Age clothes, running an activity, and talking about the work I am doing here over the next few weeks. For those who have read my last blog post at the end of January, I am doing an EDI in Scottish Heritage internship at the Crannog through Museum Galleries Scotland.
Since my last trip up, I have started my new semester back at uni, helped hold my program’s student-led symposium, and travelled up to the Crannog twice in one weekend! But coming up here to put on my one little event during the opening day has been the highlight of my week by far. I stayed warm around the fire, running away from the smoke while one of the biggest tour groups that the Crannog has been able to have since 2020 listened.
In Indigenous cultures back in Canada, the elements, earth, and animals are so incredibly important! While their importance varies from culture to culture, they are always highly revered and respected. Today, my event used the elements to tie us to our ancestry and identity to send messages of love to our loved ones near, far, past, and present. Each person wrote the name of their loved one on a piece of paper and a reason why they loved them. Then these messages and names were thrown on the fire so the flames and smoke could carry the message to their loved ones no matter where they are. I finished by sharing the Haida legend of the Hummingbird and its message of spring while showing visitors the hummingbird carving that my dad did in the Haida fashion.
Today, a member of my internship program came up to the Crannog to see what I was up to and what the Centre was all about. All around, it was a great day running around and being part of the action! I’ll be back up in a little bit for a full week so already looking forward to that.
Hello! My name is Audrey and I’m the postdoc working on the EDI in Scottish Heritage project at the University of Strathclyde. I came up today to go on one of the tours and see Erin’s activity. Right away you can tell that the Crannog Centre fosters a sense of community, which makes it seem like an excellent place to have an internship. The staff’s enthusiasm is infectious. Erin’s activity came at the end of the tour, but she still easily engaged the whole tour in her activity and the legend of the Haida tribe about the coming of spring. Hopefully enticing some warmer weather! It was a lovely way to end the tour – and a great activity for Valentine’s day!
