For the first time, our annual Takeover Day has a national theme of the climate and ecological emergency and is timed to coincide with UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). We believe museums can play an important role in helping young people to understand and communicate issues around climate change.

As always on Takeover Day, we invite museums to work with any young people, from youth group members, university students, local primary or secondary schools, uniformed groups or even individuals with a particular interest.

You could also find a nearby branch of the UK Student Climate Network to collaborate with. If you are a young person with an interest in promoting climate action, why not get in touch with your local museum to see how you could get involved on 12 November?

Here are some examples of Takeover Days based around climate action to get the creative juices flowing:

Climate Change Intervention – Epping Forest District Museum

Inspired by the museum’s Ice Age exhibition, local students took over Epping Forest District Museum to stage a Climate Change Intervention in 2019.

Year 8s from King Harold Business & Enterprise Academy filled one gallery with rubbish to show how much waste a household goes through each week. Another gallery was declared a ‘no go zone’ to represent how climate change will cause parts of the world as we know it to disappear.

The students ran a creative arts session making little trees from corks and ripped paper. Each tree represented a real endangered tree and included a label with details of where the tree currently survives and why it is under the threat of extinction. This miniature forest was then put on display in the museum.

Atmosphere Late – Horniman Museum and Gardens

The museum’s Youth Panel of 14-19 year olds held a Museum Late event with a focus on the climate emergency for Takeover Day 2019.

The event included placard making, live music and a silent disco. A workshop on sustainable fashion invited partygoers to create their own outfit and have their picture taken by a professional fashion photographer.

Litter Vengers – Seaside Museum

A group of Year 5 pupils from Herne Bay Junior School took on the role of climate superheroes, the Litter Vengers, to take over Kent’s Seaside Museum in 2019.

Inspired by the museum’s Really Rubbish exhibition, the children designed their own logo and badges, and created an animation to discourage littering in their town. The project was funded by Kent County Council.

Quickfire ideas

  • Co-create a display or exhibition with young people to draw attention to climate issues and encourage visitors to take action. For example, National Museum Cardiff’s Youth Forum created an installation using plastic found on Welsh beaches alongside ideas of how visitors could be more environmentally friendly.
  • Work with children and young people to write alternative labels for objects that highlight environmental issues. If they identify objects in your collection, they can also contribute to our Youth Panel’s #ObjectsDeclareEmergency online exhibition.
  • Invite young people to plan and run craft activities using waste or recycled materials.
  • Can young people alter your space or exhibits in meaningful ways? For example, Bristol Museums worked with local children and scientist to veil species at risk of extinction.
  • Ask young people to host a banner making workshop for an upcoming climate strike.

There are lots more ideas on in our climate resource in partnership with Climate Museum UK, Happy Museum Project and Julie’s Bicycle.

Look out for online events to help you prepare for Takeover Day in summer and early autumn.

Taking part? Remember to register your event on our website and share on social media on 12 November using our hashtag #TakeoverDay. The more people that post, the louder our voice.

If you have more questions about taking part in Takeover Day, check out our Takeover Day web page or email us: [email protected]