Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Museum of Farming Life.
I understand
it’s your first visit here, so I’d like to give you some background information about
the museum and then explain a little about what you can see during your visit.
So, where we’re standing at the moment is the entrance to a large building that
was constructed in 1880 as the home of a ……local businessmen……………….
Alfred Palmer, of the Palmer biscuit factory. It was ……later sort………. and became
a hall of residence for students in 1911, and a museum in …1951………. In 2005, a
modern extension was built to accommodate the ……museum
collections……………………. Q11
The museum’s owned by the university, and …apart from………… two rooms that
are our offices, the university uses the …main part…….. of the building. You may see
students going into the building for …lessons………, but it’s not open to museum
visitors, I’m afraid. It’s a shame because the ……interior architect
feature……………… are outstanding, especially the room that …used to
be………………… the library. Q12
Luckily, we’ve managed to keep ………entry to museum free…………………. This
includes access to all the galleries, outdoor areas and the rooms for ……special
exhibitions……………….. We run activities for ……children and
students………………, such as the museum club, for which there’s ……no
charges………….. We do have a …donation box……………. just over there so feel
free to give ……whatever amount………………….. you consider appropriate. Q13
We do have a cloakroom, if you’d like to leave your ……couches and
back…………………….. somewhere. Unlike other museums, photography is
allowed here, so you might like to …keep your camera…………………….. with you.
You might be more comfortable not carrying around ……heavy rock
sats……………, though keep your …course and jacket on …………………as it’s
quite cold in the museum garden today. Q14
——
I’d like to tell you about the different areas of the museum.
Just inside, and outside the main gallery, we have an area called Four Seasons. Here
you can watch a four-minute ……animation………… of a woodland scene. It was …
design……….. especially for the museum by ……a group of young
people……………………..on a ……thumb studies coach……………….., and it’s
beautiful. Children absolutely love it, but then, so do adults. Q15
The main gallery’s called Town and Country. It includes a photographic collection of
prize-winning sheep and shepherds. Leaving Town and Country, you enter Farmhouse
Kitchen, which is … well, self-explanatory. Here we have the …adult
collection………………of equipment for making butter and cheese in the country.
And this morning, a specialist cheese maker…………………… will be giving
demonstrations of how it’s produced. You may even get to try some. Q16
After that, you can go in two directions. To the right is a …staircases…………. that
takes you up to a landing from where you can look down on the…galleries………..
To the left is a room called A Year on the Farm. There’s lots of …sitting
here………….. here as sometimes we use the room for …school visits……………..,
so it’s a good place to stop for a rest. If you’re feeling …
competitive…………………., you can take our …memory tasks………………. in
which you answer …questions………….. about things you’ve seen in the
museum. Q17
The next area’s called Wagon Walk. This contains farm carts from nearly every part
of the country. It’s surprising how much reasonable very ancient………………….
there was. Beside the carts are display boards with information about each one. The
carts are ……old……. and fragile, so we ask you to ……keep your children close to
you………………………….. and ensure they……don’t climb……………… on the
carts. Q18
From Wagon Walk, you can either make your way back to reception or go out into the
garden – or even go back to take another look in the galleries. In the far corner of the
garden is Bees are Magic, but we’re …redeveloping………………… this area so
you…can’t visit……………..that at the moment. You can still buy our honey in the
shop, though. Q19
Finally, there’s The Pond, which contains all …kind of interesting……………………
wildlife. There are…baby duck………….s that are only a few days old, as well as …
tiny frox……………. The Pond ……isn’t deep……………. and there’s a fence
around it, so it’s …perfectly safe……………….. for children. Q20
