At the beginning of December, the Royal Mint Museum reached out to Hunters Down Care Home in Cambridge regarding a reminiscence box project.
As part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, the Royal Mint Museum created a boxed experience to recount the memories of people who lived through decimalisation. The people at Hunters Down have worked with the Royal Mint Museum before, and thoroughly enjoyed the decimalisation reminiscence activities that they had supplied in the past. So, the team immediately agreed to trial the new version of the box.
The Royal Mint Museum sent the home a ‘Museum in a Box’, which included replicas and original coins from the era. Each object was fitted with a special microchip in it which, when placed on the box, played an informative audio clip. Everyone loved this feature and found it exciting how the box would spring to life with information.
The people living at Hunters Down really enjoyed being able to touch the coins and listen to the history behind them. They thought it was a really fun and unique way to learn about the coins.
Most of the people taking part were able to pick up the coins and easily identify which ones they were. Dennis, one of the people living at Hunters Down, spoke of the days when the sixpence was also called the tanner, and the half-crown was known as 2 & 6. The residents even took time to explain decimalisation to the Lifestyle Coordinators, helping them understand it in more detail!
The coins brought back fond memories of days in their youth, and they had fun sharing these with the group. Cath and Myrtle had different opinions about the phrase ‘the good old days’ and had a hearty debate about how ‘good’ the days were. In the end they concluded that everyone had different experiences.
The 50th anniversary box also included a Panasonic Toughbook, full of fun and stimulating activities. There were smiles and laughs across the group as everyone enjoyed the videos, audio tracks, and the quizzes that the Toughbook provided. The most popular feature was the collection of songs about money. Everyone had a good sing and dance as they listened to them, and this led to a larger discussion about the best money themed songs. Final suggestions featured ‘She works hard for the money’ by Donna Summers and ‘Brother can you spare a dime’ by Bing Crosby.
The Museum in a Box was the perfect afternoon activity, and everyone really enjoyed having the museum come to life in front of them. Hunters Down would like to thank the Royal Mint Museum for involving them; it was wonderful to help celebrate their 50th anniversary!