Weekday Wonderings: Guided Tour of Southampton Collections Centre with Dr Maria Newbery

Dr Maria Newbery is leading a guided tour of the Southampton City Museums Collections Management Centre on Thursday 24 September, from 11.30am to 12.30pm. It's part of Weekday Wonderings, a weekday series from Southampton City Council Cultural Services that looks at the city's history and heritage, with each session doing something different — a talk, a tour, or something else entirely.

This particular one takes you inside the Collections Management Centre, the place where many of the museum's objects are kept. Dr Newbery is the Curator of Maritime and Local Collections, and she'll be explaining how the collections are looked after and the process behind how they're acquired and conserved. As you move through the centre, you'll walk through Southampton's history, so you're seeing the city's past laid out in front of you rather than just hearing about it. It's a look at the side of the museum that doesn't usually get a public audience.

One practical thing to keep in mind: the tour isn't suitable for people with mobility concerns, so that's worth knowing before you commit. The session runs for an hour, from 11.30am to 12.30pm, and tickets were £10.00, though they've already sold out. If you've got an interest in how the city's collections are actually managed behind the scenes, this is exactly that.