Join us to explore, debate and play as we share how we have been opening up our Sound Archive to children under 5 and their families.

The British Library is home to the nation’s Sound Archive, an extraordinary collection of over 6.5 million recordings of speech, music, wildlife and the environment, from the 1880s to the present day. However, the nation’s sound collections are under threat, both from physical degradation and as the means of playing them disappear from production.

In July 2017, the Library started a five-year National Lottery Heritage Fund-funded project Unlocking Our Sound Heritage, to help save the nation’s sounds and open them up online for everyone to hear.

For the Family and Community Team at the British Library, this project has been an exciting opportunity to explore how under 5’s and their families engage with our Sound Archive. Using storytelling, dance, art, mindfulness and new technologies we have been busy experimenting with sound. From lockdown virtual workshops to large scale Family Days and targeted Family Projects, we have explored different techniques for successfully engaging under 5’s with sound.

Join artist Judith Brocklehurst and musician Paul Rubinstein in this practical CPD to find out more about this exciting project and experiment with some of our favourite activities.