Noah Ieronimo, a student at Hessle High School, got to explore the ongoing refurbishment of Hull Maritime Museum during his work placement.
I am currently on a work experience at Hull City Council in the communications department.
Yesterday, I had the amazing opportunity to visit Hull Maritime Museum with special permission of the staff working there, including senior marketing executive, Anna Marshall, to see the major revamps they have made.
Before we even got inside, we saw the newly installed ramp which will allow more people with wheelchairs or prams to access the museum and enjoy it like everyone else.
As I made my way inside, the changes to the museum were very clear - with a new lift available for people with disabilities to get from place to place in the museum easily and effectively.
The front entrance was stunning, with a protruding marble staircase as soon as I entered directly in front of me. I then went left and made my way up the stairs, which had bright lights underneath the railings on either side until I reached a room.
The room was called “Hidden Treasures” and is one of many colossal rooms that was having work done on it by a local contractor, who were trying to suspend a real, four-metre-long jawbone of a sperm whale from a metal pole on the ceiling, which eventually hung down.
The sheer size of the whale was a whopping 145kg and took six people to carry up the stairs before it was suspended from the ceiling. A lesser rorqual whale and false killer whale were also on show but had not yet been put in place.
In this room I also meet photographer Tom Arran, who was taking images of the restoration work.
Using Tom’s camera, I took lots of photos of the whale, as well as some with Tom and Anna in the background. Tom said he would use these for editing purposes, which I was pleased with.
Tom then showed me how to use the camera and within minutes I was taking pictures galore to my heart’s content.
Finally, I went right on the staircase, which also had a new ramp and separate walkway installed, and went into an old courtroom, which had the same stone angels on the ceiling as before the works started and a long wooden table packed with a wide range of ancient or extremely old artefacts in cuboid glass boxes.
I watched the photographer take pictures of an assistant curaote handling some of the artefacts and learnt about the incredible history of the building, including the room I was in, which used to be a courtroom for people on the ships that hadn’t paid their taxes or bills.
The experience was really interesting, and I’d like to thank the Hull Maritime team for allowing me the opportunity to explore what is happening at the museum ahead of its re-opening next year.
