We have Museum Accreditation!

Seven years after moving out of the attic at the Patteson Lodge Activity Centre in Coltishall, and into a purpose-built home nearby the ARC has been awarded full accreditation as a museum!

In those seven years we’ve gone from a collection in a dusty loft to an accredited museum thanks to our 60 volunteers who have conserved and catalogued 30,000+ artefacts from the movement’s 113-year history, including uniforms from Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers, campfire blankets, log books and badges. 

Thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund grant in 2017, we were able to employ two part time staff for a few months who helped us to get started on our journey towards museum accreditation, training our volunteers in the skills to manage the collection and develop the activities.

The team is now well on its way to reaching the same professional standard demanded of all museums in the UK as it continues its work.

The Arts Council Museum Accreditation scheme encourages museums and galleries to meet an agreed standard in how they are run, how they manage artefacts and how they make collections accessible to all. The status will also open new funding opportunities, allowing the ARC to continue its conservation and outreach work.

The volunteers have launched a new Friends of the ARC group to celebrate and support the work they do.