Few places have as rich and complicated a back story as Folkestone Museum. Opened in the 1860s, it bounced around several temporary homes for almost two decades before eventually finding a home with the town library. Towards the end of the 20th century and the start of the 21st, interest in the museum waned before it closed its doors in 2010. This drew uproarious opposition and a pressure group formed with the aim of convincing the town council to re-open its museum. It worked. The town council identified its Town Hall, a stone's throw from the harbour, as the perfect location. After a great deal of refurbishment, the museum re-opened the doors of its new home in May 2017. The artefacts, which had been kept in storage by the county council since the closing of the former museum site, were gifted back to the town council and museum.
And what a selection of artefacts Folkestone Museum boasts, spanning 100 million years of local history. From ammonite fossils, to bronze age artefacts, Roman pieces and Anglo Saxon burials, from natural history collections, to Victorian costumes, and all the way to Folkestone's notable part in both world wars. Museum Curator and Director, Darran Cowd, never ceases to be amazed by the collection. "There's never a moment when I go into the stores and don't end up looking at something I hadn't intended to". Darran, who has worked in the heritage industry since he was 14 years old, has an almost ludicrously wide span of duties which include, but aren't limited to: curating the collections and the temporary exhibitions; running workshops, marketing and press for print, the website and social media; reporting on KPIs to the trustees; fundraising duties; managing the staff; and being on hand to help the council with HG Wells' house, Radnor Park and megafauna fossil discoveries. "I never have a day the same" admits Darran, with a touch of understatement.
With such a vast array of artefacts and exhibits, one would think monitoring the air temperature, humidity and light levels would be the biggest challenge. However, there was a more immediate danger to the exhibits, as Darran found out on his first day on the job in October 2019 when he entered the museum to find it closed and full of dehumidifiers. "The week before I started, the museum flooded." Luckily, none of the collection was damaged. With a stroke of luck, Darran noticed an Eltek system was already in place monitoring temperature and relative humidity. By this point, Darran had used Eltek products for the better part of a decade in his previous roles, and was confident they could help. "The Eltek system is really flexible with what you can expand it with" Darran notes. So, within no time, he had added flood detection monitors to the temperature and humidity sensors. Shortly thereafter, they upgraded to 4G with SMS capability, allowing Darran to get text updates on the condition of the museum. Then they increased their armada of temperature and humidity sensors. Then they added people counting. One of the KPIs Darran has to report on is footfall and, as entrance to Folkestone Museum is free, numbers aren't counted on the till. Eltek's people counting monitors allows Darran to report his KPIs without fuss. The environmental monitoring allows Darran to understand conditions and decide whether to be more economical with heating or cooling, or whether further investment is needed. With no plans of slowing down since their re-opening (a Michael Dillon exhibition is starting next February), Folkestone Museum will continue to use Eltek every day. It is a relationship that is going from strength to strength. "I'd recommend Eltek every time".
