Co:Lab takes you behind the scenes of museum-making.

 

Get on in.

 

In Co:Lab you can see how objects are cared for, how archives are assembled, how stories are pieced together and shared, and how personal memories connect with formal records.

 

Co:Lab is a place for asking questions, comparing perspectives, and contributing knowledge - whether through conversation, research, or sharing your own story.

 

Museums are not finished spaces. They are places of enquiry, shaped by the people who use them.

Co:Lab is where you can find the wooden hippo - IYKYK!

 

The hippo is one of the famous play sculptures created by artist Peter Hand. Peter created 35 bespoke play sculptures - all different kinds of animals - for shopping centres across the country including the Broad Marsh centre in Nottingham and Brent Cross Shopping Centre. But his first commission was the Arndale Centre in Poole.

 

For many people of a certain age, a trip to the shopping centre was defined completely by playing on (or getting stuck in/falling off) these charismatic sculptures!

 

The wooden animals produced for that commission included our hippo, a turtle, a whale and a snake. The turtle and whale are on display at The Lighthouse, but sadly, the snake has departed.