FRONTIERS: EXPLORING THE EDGE

Frontiers is a multi-site exhibition curated by third year Museum Studies students, showcasing the University of Reading’s diverse collections.

Frontier: To be a frontier, or as a frontier; to border on or upon.

Frontiers are seen as a physical border, but they can also act as conceptual borders of knowledge, actions, and discovery.

Each subject in Frontiers has been selected and curated by our students and is personal to every one of them but what do frontiers mean to you?

The exhibition displays will take place in venues across the University of Reading campus and the town:

The Museum of English Rural Life
The Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries were a time of expansion of the Western World, of crossing the boundaries of the known world and making them their own through journeys of discovery and colonisation. The reality of frontiers has become blurred, as mythology and romanticism obscure what really happened in lands that were only frontiers to those outside it, not those already there. Focusing on the travels of Captain James Cook and the Western Expansion of the United States this exhibit will showcase rarely seen books from the University of Reading’s Special Collections including a curious kangaroo and historical maps.

Located in the Staircase Hall at The MERL, this display is open Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm. Just look out for the Frontiers logo in the displays! 

Every day we eat food from all around the world. This might be a piece of fruit, a bar of chocolate, or even a potato. Children and their families are invited to visit The MERL to explore the origins of every day food. The engaging display will showcase the diversity of our food through the use of University of Reading’s collections. The range of activities will allow anyone, no matter the age, to get involved with the exhibition.

Located in The Nook at The MERL, this display is open Monday to Friday 9:00am-5:00pm and Saturday to Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm.
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The Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology
Defined by Dress
Frontiers of Ancient Athenian Identity on Pottery
Your clothing can tell a lot about you as an individual. In a Athens it was no different! This exhibition explores these frontiers of identity. Visit the Ure Museum on the University’s Whiteknights Campus to find out how the ancient Athenians communicated their gender, status, and ethnicity through their clothing. Come and see a reconstruction of an Ionic chiton, the most common dress worn by the Athenians from in the 5th century BC.

The Ure Museum of Archaeology is open Tuesday- Friday 9.00am- 4.30pm.

The Cole Museum of Zoology
Visit the displays in the Cole Museum of Zoology on the University’s Whiteknights campus to learn more about the frontiers of natural history and how we control and replicate nature within the museum. Come and see the hand of a Rhesus Monkey, a Jar of mice and a 3D printed sabre tooth tiger skull!

The museum is open Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm and just look out for the Frontiers logo in the displays!

The Department of Archaeology
Frontiers: Breaking the barriers
Located in the Archaeology Department, Breaking the Barriers investigates how cognitive behaviour therapy has evolved over time. From basket weaving carried out by soldiers with shellshock to Project Nightingale which introduces former servicemen to modern archaeological practices and gives them fieldwork experience, the evolution of mental health treatment and support is carefully examined here. How did conscientious objectors cope with the suffering inflicted upon them in prison? What work could disabled veterans get after the World Wars? Why is Wilfred Owen on display with a jigsaw puzzle? Visit the archaeology building on Whiteknights campus (building 74) to find answers to these questions and more.