Mystery Tour Programme

The Mystery Tour Programme has been running since November 2013 and was commissioned by Arts Connect and Marches Network. It is delivered by Work in Progress.

The aim of the project is to make heritage more exciting and accessible for children and young people. Participants are invited to visit heritage venues, review the facilities and feedback about how services can be improved. A report is then submitted to the venues based on the evaluation and ideas gathered.

We have recently finished our pilot phase and are looking to formalise our processes and recruit more young people. To date, we have worked with 42 young people aged between 11-25 from across Birmingham, Worcestershire and the West Midlands.

Experts in their own rightWe aim to nurture young consultants and give them a voice in the future of arts, heritage and cultural provision for young people.

The venues

We have visited a wide range of venues from across the West Midlands including Ironbridge, Stratford-upon-Avon, Birmingham and Lichfield.

Exploring at their own pace

Participants free roam the venues and explore without restrictions. The agenda for the day is engineered to provide both structure and freedom.

Flexible evaluationWe use a range of techniques to allow participants the freedom to voice their opinions and ideas. Our feedback process is tailored to suit the young people instead of the facilitators.

Group discussion & feedback

We encourage youth led conversation and use evaluation techniques that give all participants an opportunity to share.

Placing a value on the visit

This tool has proved very useful to gain insight into what young people value at the venues, and to assess the quality of their experience.

Embracing technologyPeer to peer interviews generate a greater depth of feedback. We encourage young people to document the day on their phones to create a more personal experience.

Utilising social media

Participants are invited to upload their photos, videos and ideas to the Mystery Tour Facebook group, and to share their views on Twitter. They also contribute to the blog in order to give them a voice outside of the project.

#heritagetour

We have developed this evaluation grid based on the Quality Principles and Family Friendly Themes which were integral to shaping and informing our planning and activity. It is designed to frame feedback during visits and has been used through out the project.

Freedom to express

No venue staff are present during feedback sessions to prevent any pressure to ‘say the right thing’. This strategy makes sure the feedback remains authentic.

Sensory experience

It has been noted that a practical element to the day provides a much higher experience for all participants. We want to build on this in the future.

Working with their peersInterchanging between natural and organised groups allow young people to build relationships within the group, creating a comfortable environment to share in.

Heritage workshops

A deeper level of feedback and a higher quality experience are achieved when venues offer a workshop that actively engages the young people.

Heritage vs. Accessibility

Our group includes young people with a range of disabilities including autism, learning difficulties, physical disabilities and challenging behaviour which has highlighted the limited provision at heritage venues for disabled visitors.

Selfies!

Exciting, inspiring & engagingCreating a relaxed and friendly atmosphere allows the participants to feel comfortable and supported enough to express their opinions. We maintain an informal relationship between young people and facilitators.

Our findings

•Provision is either for children or adults: there are limited facilities for young people.•The language used through out venues is inaccessible and often relies heavily on reading.•Disabled visitors are rarely taken into account with regards to exhibition and room layout.•There are few alternatives for disabled visitors unable to view certain parts of venues.•Many young people do not feel welcome at heritage venues.

A few quotes about the project:

“My favourite aspect of this project is meeting new people and getting to visit these places that I wouldn’t get to visit if I wasn't part of this project. This project has been a quality experience for me because I got to see these venues with other young people in a relaxed happy atmosphere.” - Beth

“[Some of] these young people are siblings of children with disabilities so for them to have their own space to enjoy and experience culture alongside their peers is just so important for their development and exploring their own identity.” – Carol

Time for reflection

We are constantly reviewing our practice to help improve the project for the future. We also invite and encourage participants to evaluate their experience of the project

For more information about the Mystery Tour Heritage Project please contact Work in

Progress:

info@workinprogress.uk.com

A presentation by Holly Beaumont-Wilkes