The coronavirus pandemic has brought many changes to residents' lives since the first lockdown almost a year ago.
The 'new normal' swiftly followed, creating a huge shift in social and working life with restrictions were made on people's movements across the country.
Hertsmere Borough Council has announced its museums are seeking to collect objects and first-hand experiences to reflect local people's lives during the pandemic, to keep a record and ensure future
generations will be able to learn about and understand this extraordinary period.
The museums in Borehamwood, Bushey, Radlett, and Potters Bar are keen for photographs, journals, letters and items to show life during the pandemic, tiers and lockdown, such as:
• How the physical spaces in Hertsmere have been transformed – from a bustling town centres to deserted streets, socially distanced gatherings, queues, empty shelves.
• The effects on key and home workers – clothing, stories and experiences, homemade facemasks, letters, cards, journals.
• How children and young people are reacting to and coping with the changes now that many schools are closed – examples of home learning, games played, posters and pictures, diaries, coloured pebbles, chalk drawings on pavements.
Curators for Hertsmere's four museums are hoping to collect both physical and digital objects, reflecting the voices and experiences of residents from across the borough.
From those working on the front line to those quietly working in the background, from parents turned home-school support to young people online gaming, the museums want to collect objects from those that can tell the story of Hertsmere in lockdown.
Councillor Caroline Clapper, portfolio holder for leisure and culture, said: "During the first lockdown we created things quickly and for short-term use, which tend to be thrown away and rarely retained. The paper NHS rainbows put in windows may be a child’s drawing, but in a century, it could be an important record of a life-defining moment in time.
"This is a major moment in our social history and our museums want to collect a range of objects, from clothing to hairclippers, from diaries to memes that reflect the physical and emotional response of the borough’s residents to COVID-19.
"Our museums strive to tell the story of their towns and its people. It is imperative to capture this time for future generations, to help us understand how this city dealt with an extraordinary situation."
Pictures, posters, stories and information on items residents would be willing to donate can be emailed to:
• Bushey Museum and Art Gallery: busmt@busheymuseum.org (FAO Tony Woollard)
• Elstree and Borehamwood Museum: info@elstree-museum.org.uk
• Potters Bar Museum: pottersbarmuseum@gmail.com
• Radlett and District Museum: info@radlettmuseum.com
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