There’s nothing like seeing your childhood as a Museum exhibit! From iconic pop culture artefacts to the everyday items that filled our homes, 'I Grew Up 80s' is a walk down memory lane. The exhibit offers an immersive journey back to the decade that shaped my generation.
In this blog, we review the exhibit, and the Maidstone Museum itself, from a social tourism perspective. Our reviews focus on five components of social tourism: Social Good, economic benefit to the local community (which we title Trea$ury), Accessibility, Relationships between tourists and locals and last, but certainly not least, Sustainability. If you'd like a visual version of the blog - so you can see the neon 80's icons for yourself, click the link on the video below.
Maidstone is the largest town in Kent (the country known as the Garden of England) and is home to three museums. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, and historically, the river carried much of the town's agricultural trade. There is evidence of settlement in the area dating back before the Stone Age, and they like to highlight a claim to fame of sparking palaeontology - the scientific study of dinosaurs, because in 1822, Gideon Mantell used fossils found in Maidstone to reconstruct the skeleton and life of the Iguanodon
The museum is a beautiful huge Elizabethan manor house, housing an incredibly varied collection: ancient Egyptian artefacts, Japanese culture, natural history, contemporary art, local history and more. Plus along with their great fixed collections they have regular changing guest exhibits, and there is always something for everyone. We were lucky enough to catch - the “totally bodacious” exhibit I Grew Up 80s.
Sometimes, you just come across little gems and this exhibit just seemed tailor-made for us. It took us straight back to our childhoods.
The exhibit, created by Matt Fox, is packed with everything from iconic toys and games to fashion, music, and technology that defined the decade. The detail is incredible. They even have original packaging and promotional materials that really take you back. They’ve got everything from Transformers and My Little Pony to Cabbage Patch Kids. Toys were such a big part of childhood for so many of us. As we walked through we reminisced about friends we played with and the imagination these toys sparked.
And who could forget the fashion of the 80s? Neon colours, shoulder pads, leg warmers - it's all here and cringe-worthy. There is even a small rack of clothes you can dress up in if you really feel the need to relive a bygone fashion. But I do miss the colour. Everything just seems so much more fun in fluorescent.
It would be hard for younger generations to believe it, but the 80s was an age of technological revolution. 80s gadgets all seem primitive now, but they were the cutting edge back in the day.
It was fascinating to see the evolution of technology that we take for granted today. Everything was so much bigger! The exhibit had a displays of enormous ‘boom boxes’ (or ghetto blasters as we called them in my neighbourhood), In fact most of the technology was related to music - I remember that life in the 80s seemed to have a continuous soundtrack.
There was the birth of MTV, when music videos became what you watched, what you talked about and what you posed to in front of your bedroom mirror. The decade was all about iconic music and unforgettable music videos. I remember the times I’d stand poised by the boombox, finger hovering over the record button, so I could capture the latest DuranDuran on cassette. I also remember my monthly magazine subscription - I’m not sure I ever read any of the articles to be honest, it was straight to the pinups. I shudder in embarrassment now - my wall was covered in Johnny Depp from his 21 Jump Street days.
The 80s were also a golden era for movies and television. Of course what to us were groundbreaking effects are now considered classics: films like "E.T.", "Back to the Future", "Ghostbusters", and "The Breakfast Club" became cultural touchstones. These films not only entertained but also shaped our views and provided memorable quotes and scenes that are still referenced today.
Television was equally influential, with shows like "The A-Team," "Knight Rider," "Miami Vice," and "The Wonder Years" becoming must-watch TV. Saturday morning cartoons like "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe," "G.I. Joe," and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" were a staple of childhood.
Social Good
This exhibit was definitely a lot of fun for us - and it was the only museum exhibit I’ve been to where everyone stopped and talked to each other, reminiscing about the good old days. But how does it rate on our Social Good star? The first question we ask is “What did we learn?”
There was a lot of information on the walls with some interesting facts. But for us the information was more like a reminders than new information, but they were good reminders that made is reflect on changes in society today.
But honestly I’d have to say I thought that what was presented gave a very limited perspective on an entire decade.
The exhibit made the 80s look entirely about colour, fun and flamboyance, almost frivolous (which, to be fair, for our age group it probably was) but in fact the 80s was a time of incredible social and political change.
The Cold War dominated global politics, with the threat of nuclear war between Russia and the US feeling like a very real thing. I remember posting nuclear free New Zealand stickers on my classroom windows. There was also the impact of free-market principles, with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher on every television screen, talking about deregulation, privatisation and tax cuts. And I learnt my first ever Russian words; Perestroika and Glasnost.
As a teen it was a fascinating time to learn about world politics. There was a global debt crisis, the emerging HIV/AIDS crisis, and the Chernobyl disaster which brought the environmental crisis to the forefront. So it’s interesting to see a decade of ‘crisis’ politically portrayed as a decade of fun and games socially. I would say there are a number of untold stories behind this exhibition - perhaps it's just a little too soon in ‘history’ for a museum to consider presenting the full picture.
However, the mission of Maidstone Museum is to inspire, educate, and engage the public, and we could see just that. It was a busy little place; not over-crowded, just a comfortable bustle of people of all ages and languages, including school groups. They offer a range of educational programs and workshops for schools, families, and community groups. They offer group talks for 10 to 30 people, that you can arrange in advance for a cost £15 per person.
Volunteering is a significant aspect of the museum’s operations, with volunteers playing a crucial role in supporting daily activities and special events. However these are targeted to locals and there are not many roles that would be suitable for travellers.
Trea$ury
Next we consider how well the site contributes to the economy of the local community, as an employer and tax payer. A bit of research on the web showed us that the museum is a respected employer in the community. It’s known for its supportive and inclusive work environment, and the opportunities it offers for professional development and growth. Both employees and volunteers praise it as a positive workplace.
Entry to the Maidstone Museum is free! There is just a small charge for visiting pop-up or temporary exhibits (4 pounds for adults for the 80s). The museum operates as a charitable trust, which means it relies heavily on donations and grants to keep up operations and build new exhibits. The museum gets financial support from Maidstone Borough Council, as well as from individual donors and corporate sponsors.
One of the key contributors to the museum’s finances are its members. Their membership program not only brings in revenue but also brings together a community of dedicated supporters who are passionate about preserving and promoting cultural heritage. Patrons also enjoy exclusive previews of new exhibits, discounts in the museum shop and café, and invitations to special events.
Accessibility
Maidstone museum has put a lot of effort and thought into accessibility issues. Wheelchair access is catered for throughout, and we loved the touch of sign-language tutorials on the signage. And the “smell-o-vision" was a fun interactive touch for everyone. But you should know that the 80s exhibit itself does have a sensory warning due to flashing lights
We were there in early July, and it was great to see the pride flags were still up in the museum. Toilets were gender divisive. The UK as a country scores 71/100 on the equaldex ranking, so a little bit of work to do yet. Check out this link to Equaldex if you’d like more information.
Relationships
The staff / volunteers at the museum were friendly and informative. We felt at home roaming around, and really enjoyed the different exhibits, many of which were interactive and hands-on. Darryl had fun trying on the gear of a roman soldier, while I tried to piece together an archeological find. With free entry to see so much, and a very low cost on the exhibit, we can definitely call this value for money.
The museum housed much more than we expected and we actually didn’t get time to visit it all, having spent a lot of our time at the 80’s exhibition. We will be going back to check out the natural history exhibits upstairs.
Sustainability
Maidstone is reachable via public transport, about a one hour train from London - the best station is Maidstone East, which is a quick walk to the museum and the centre of Maidstone itself.
The city council is dedicated to sustainability issues, with wildlife corridors, an electric vehicle programme, conservation programmes, and activities like regularly clearing plastics from the river. The borough has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030, a strategy that includes Decarbonising and insulating homes and buildings, Generating renewable energy and increasing biodiversity.
Conclusion: Something for everyone!
So overall, whether you’re a history buff, an art enthusiast, or simply looking for a family-friendly activity, Maidstone Museum has something to offer. And the town of Maidstone itself still has much more to see and do. Once we’d left our childhood in the eighties behind, we wandered around the town only to be met by icons of modern childhood…the town was overrun by Shaun the Sheep!
Shaun the Sheep in the Heart of Kent is a fun trail of 109 colourful sheep sculptures, with a free app that takes you on the trail and gives you information about the artists and their inspiration. We had so much fun on the trail we made a video for that too!
All up, the Shauns really brought an extra pop of life and colour to Maidstone, which combined with the 80s exhibit at Maidstone Museum made our day here a lot of fun.
We recommend you keep your eye on Maidstone’s event calendar because it really feels like a town that is keen on providing a variety of activities for locals and tourists to connect together.
We hope you get a chance to visit here soon. In the meantime, happy travels everyone!
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