SOFO Museum's Reminiscence Pod

A successfully funded project - with help from the local community!

With support from West Oxfordshire District Council and the Tesco Bags of Help scheme, SOFO installed a Reminiscence Pod in the main gallery in 2019. The pod was unveiled during a special Collections Day event held at the museum on 2 November 2019, with content developed and curated by our Collections Manager Peggy, along with Collections Intern Jessica Tam. The Remi Pod was designed so that different sets of objects, audio, video and even smell boxes could be easily swapped around to cover different themes in a multi-sensory approach to really bring back memories!

The first theme we used the Pod for was ‘R&R’, or 'Rest and Relaxation'. The items that were collected for this first display were from volunteers, trustees and staff. Future plans for themes include a Second World War shop, and when the items currently on display are swapped out they can then be used to create an outreach box for Reminiscence sessions such as those SOFO has held at local care homes in the past.

With a global pandemic hitting us just a few months after it first opened to visitors, we'll be keeping the 'R&R' on display for a little while longer now to allow you more chance to see, hear, and (yes!) smell it. Drop in today, to see all kinds of  objects perfect for the summer holidays, including a soldier of the Oxfordshire Yeomanry's album of post-war holiday snaps taken while still stationed abroad.