Welcome

Welcome to our Object A Day Project at the Rumble Museum. The Rumble Museum is based at Cheney School, and is the first Arts Accredited museum inside a UK school.

We know that most school students in the UK are now learning from home, and we have started this project so that everyone can engage with and explore our collection in a range of ways over the coming weeks.

Every day during the school closure, we will be posting a different Rumble Museum object, as well as including competitions, quizzes and project opportunities.

Check back each day to see what’s new!

Day 8: Octopus Jar

Our Day 8 object is an Octopus Jar from ancient Crete. The Minoan Civilisation inhabited this island (and surrounding areas) from about 3000 – 1400 BC, and they became well-known for the expert crafts. They liked to decorate their jars, jewellery, and palace walls with images of nature, and particularly sea life. The octopus was one of their favourite motifs.

You can read more about the replica Octopus Jar in our collection here.

Day 7: Apothecary Bottle

Our Day 7 object is an apothecary bottle. An apothecary was an early version of a pharmacist, dispensing medicines to people. There were apothecaries throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and even evidence from as far back as 2600 BC.

We have a nineteenth century apothecary cabinet and bottles in our collection, which you can see and read about here.

Day 6: iPod

Welcome back to our second week and sixth day of objects. Today’s object is an iPod, a portable media player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001. Only the iPod Touch remains in production, as music technology is such a fast-moving industry.

In our collection we have created a display showing the development of music technology. You can see the shelf display below and read about each item here.

Day 5: Lithic Arrowhead

Our day 5 object is a lithic (stone-age) arrowhead. It comes from southern Britain, and dates to what is known as the mesolithic (literally “middle stone”) period, from 8000 to 4000 BC.

During this period there was a stretch of land (called the Doggerland) between Britain and mainland Europe, which meant that you could walk from one place to the other. It was just beginning to flood with rising waters.

You can find out more about the arrowhead in our collection here.

Day 4: Egyptian Papyrus

Our Day 4 object is a fragment of Egyptian Papyrus. Papyrus was a plant that once grew abundantly along the river Nile, and the ancient Egyptians were first known to use the plant to make all sorts of things from mats and baskets to clothes and paper.

Day 3: Ammonite Fossil

Our Day 3 object is a Jurassic limestone ammonite fossil, which is between 200 and 240 million years old. These are very well-known fossils with distinctive spiral shells. They belong to a group of predators called “cephalopods”, whose modern relatives include the octopus, cuttle fish and squid.

Day 2: Temari Ball

Our day 2 object is a Temari Ball. These beautiful balls originated from a practice in China, and later, Japan, of using fragments of old kimonos to make intricately designed balls. It eventually became an art which was practised by the Japanese upper classes.

You can read more about them here – you may have spotted our Rumble Museum Temari Ball in reception!