'Knowledge Exchange has no boundaries' - Harry Pointon's historical and botanical experience with National Museum for Wales

In this blogpost, history student Harry Pointon tells us how he saw his knowledge shared and valued by host organisation Museum for Wales.



Knowledge Exchange has no boundaries.

The emphasis that TAP puts on placements being a two-way knowledge exchange process is not misplaced, there really is infinite possibility for support, expertise and passion to flow both from placement hosts and those on placement and vice versa. Initially, arriving at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff, and touring its vast and grand exhibits of historical art, botany, fossils, animals and more, as well as research facilities, libraries and archives, I felt completely out of my depth. What could I possibly offer such a prestigious institution and its expert staff, as a second year history student? That’s when I reflected on my TAP sessions and remembered being told that my experience, knowledge, and interests were entirely unique, and that I will always have something to bring to the table. I would encourage others starting placements who have similar feelings to be honest and upfront with their hosts about what prior knowledge they do not have or any uncertainties, as well as being equally enthusiastic about what they can offer and where their interests can potentially fit. I interacted with welcoming staff from various departments, and I began to realise that this applied to everyone. No two people I met had the same career path, or field of work, or background knowledge - but they all displayed inspiring passion for their respective subjects. Some had teaching backgrounds, or had completed museum and archival work in other roles or subjects. This demonstrated to me the versatility of the working world and how adaptable transferrable skills and knowledge can be. TAP had prepared me for an experience defined as “imposter syndrome” – a feeling that you should not be or do not deserve to be somewhere due to lack of confidence or experience and knowledge. Though I did not feel this to a significant degree, there was a daunting realisation that I would be working in a subject area I had little knowledge of or experience in, but it became quickly apparent that I would not only be able to use my field of study but that the museum was asking me to do so to bring a new perspective on its archives, which reassured me massively.

Initially my primary task - to explore the narratives and stories intertwined with the two volumes of unread exsiccate – Musci Americani by Thomas Drummond (and write a report), was very daunting. I had no background in botany or in natural history, despite my interest in the placement, and none in archive research. But as I was introduced to the software and techniques used in the museum, such as use of the Biodiversity Heritage Library, I realised that I was not needed for this knowledge, but for my historical and source analysis skills, which I had developed through my two years of history degree study at Sheffield. This institution and the botany department in particular, had its staff so inundated with prioritised workload, that they required an individual with these skills to sit down and spend time analysing texts thoroughly, before composing a report which offered an informed interpretation and perspective – which enabled me to use my studies of decolonisation. To be trusted to do so and have my work permanently attached to the museum archives for future curators, researchers and potentially visitors to see and consume, was an empowering experience to say the least, as it made me feel that my work and efforts were valued, of the professional standard required and well received considering it was my first attempt at this format.




Thomas Drummond

At face value, trawling through pages and volumes of dried moss seems a demanding and unfamiliar task. But as I became immersed in the narrative of a real explorer, his writings, feelings, and experiences - holding his real, two hundred year old works in my hands had huge gravity and I felt the desire to do his story justice by drawing new conclusions and interpretations of my own. Never in my syllabus had I felt such a connection to a source, especially one I had such little contextual knowledge on to begin with. His systematic and relentless collection of samples along his journey reads as quite an exhausting process that evoked a sense of respect – and the corresponding samples of mosses of numerous genus’ such as Phascum, Sphagnum and Hypnum made tangible such descriptions as the one below harrowing and easy to immerse myself in.








Though I was completing independent research, I worked in a productive environment among different students and staff who were completing different projects on botany, entomology, museum curation and more. To share our experiences, understanding and encourage one another to share our findings felt incredibly motivational and professional. Independent research, I came to realise, doesn’t have to be purely independent at all – it benefits hugely from knowledge exchange and these kinds of interactions. In an academic environment such as the museum, this can be as simple as recommending sources, assisting with enquiries, just proofreading text or offering specialist opinion – common occurrences I observed during my placement. This kind of support not only has practical benefits but also social ones like motivation and validation that isolated work can deprive people of.

Unfortunately, the museum industry is one facing dire threats, questions around its usefulness leads to cut funding, cut staff and consequently less research and public entertainment. A particular section of my report which sparked the interest of my supervisor was my suggestion that cross referencing the primary sources with secondary narratives could reveal patterns in climate change and impact conservationism provided a tangible response to such questions. My supervisor was impressed and expressed interest in me creating an extended article based off this premise, and getting it published in professional academic journals. For my individual work to contribute to the justification of organisations that have meant so much to me in nurturing my childhood imagination and harnessing my academic interests made me feel like a true, active placemaker. Growing up I visited museums frequently with a keen interest in military history, and as someone often fixated by books and reading in general, I could not understand how people could be ignorant of museums, and by extension the history that shapes the world they live in. History for me explains the past, informs the present and predicts the future, and this outlook informed my degree choices, alongside creative interests like writing and acting which had been largely influenced by historical fascination. To contribute even the short amount of time I had to aid the museum and use this imagination and fascination perhaps made me a placemaker in the sense of upholding and supporting the work of a network of vital and wrongly threatened institutions, even if only on a very small scale. The fact that I alone out of all staff had this unique knowledge on the sources having been the sole studier made me feel like I had substantial content for knowledge exchange and improved my confidence further.


Overall, my placement at National Museum of Wales was thoroughly enriching! Despite the placement only being the lower option of 40 hours, my supervisor adapted the workload to this so I was not overwhelmed, and this allowed me to dive deeper into the detail of what interested me as opposed to more comprehensive tasks I have also developed a network of contacts through which I hope to benefit my career and research interests – as I had aimed to. I got to try my hand at my degree subject in a professional environment and gauge what departments and interests I may wish to go into in the future, whilst also assisting a prestigious and historical institution in their research endeavours – which I hope will lead to the publishing of the article, a degree of credit given to Native American contributors to the exsiccatae samples, a revival of Drummond’s history and more justification to the sceptics for the amazing and essential work that goes on here.

Thank you Harry!