The Watt Institution

25/06/2026

History = Our Story: Chapter 6 is here!

We're excited to share the next animated short film created by P5B pupils from Inverkip Primary School in partnership with The Watt Institution.

🎬 Chapter 6 : The Creature with the Blue Blood

In this chapter, pupils explore the incredible story of the horseshoe crab, a living fossil that has survived for more than 400 million years. The film examines how human exploitation, from fertiliser production to the harvesting of their blue blood, has threatened these ancient creatures and why protecting them is so important.

Using real museum artefacts as their starting point, the pupils worked collaboratively to research the stories behind the objects and bring them to life through animation. They developed the scripts, created the artwork, 3D models, recorded voiceovers, and produced sound effects, uncovering and sharing this important history with new audiences.

👀 Stay tuned as we release the remaining chapters over the coming weeks! These films will form an important part of the museum's displays and interpretation.

We are extremely grateful to the Scottish Government for its generous support in funding this project.

Discover Inverclyde Inverclyde Libraries Inverclyde Museums Galleries Scotland The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland Wosdec Samee Glasgow Education Scotland HMIE The Scottish Government

24/06/2026

Our Archivist Lorraine Murray will be talking about 'Scottish Storms and Stones – the accusation against Marie Lamont in Inverkip” as part of the 5th Magic & Witchcraft Conference, University of York this week. The event can be viewed online, booking details are through Eventbrite.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/magic-and-witchcraft-conference-2026-nature-and-the-supernatural-tickets-1989231623334

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24/06/2026

Come on Scotland! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Everyone at The Watt Institution is wishing the Scotland team the very best of luck against Brazil! ⚽

From our collection, we have this Scotland national team jersey worn by Greenock-born footballer Tommy Orr (1924 to 1972) during his international appearances against Wales and Northern Ireland in 1952.

A Morton legend, Tommy Orr was an inside forward who gave many years of distinguished service to his hometown club. During the Second World War he also appeared as a guest player for Arsenal and was a member of Morton's 1948 Scottish Cup Final team.

Twice capped for Scotland, Tommy remains one of Inverclyde's footballing greats and a proud part of our local sporting heritage.

Discover Inverclyde Inverclyde Libraries Inverclyde Museums Galleries Scotland The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland

23/06/2026

Today we share with you this fantastic postcard from our collection, featuring the Granny Kempock Stone Gourock. It was postmarked on this day in 1903.

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22/06/2026

History = Our Story: Chapter 5 is here!

We're excited to share the next animated short film created by P5B pupils from Inverkip Primary School in partnership with The Watt Institution.

🎬 Chapter 5 : The Travelling Tree

In this chapter, pupils explore the impacts of settler colonialism through the global spread of eucalyptus trees taken from Australia by colonists. It examines how these water intensive, highly flammable trees can damage ecosystems, reduce biodiversity, and intensify wildfires in a warming, drying climate.

Using real museum artefacts as their starting point, the pupils worked collaboratively to research the stories behind the objects and bring them to life through animation. They developed the scripts, created the artwork, 3D models, recorded voiceovers, and produced sound effects, uncovering and sharing this important history with new audiences.

👀 Stay tuned as we release the remaining chapters over the coming weeks! These films will form an important part of the museum's displays and interpretation.

We are extremely grateful to the Scottish Government for its generous support in funding this project.

Discover Inverclyde Inverclyde Libraries Inverclyde The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland Museums Galleries Scotland Samee Glasgow Scotdec Museums Galleries Scotland Education Scotland The Scottish Government HMIE

19/06/2026

History = Our Story: Chapter 4 is here!

We're excited to share the next animated short film created by P5B pupils from Inverkip Primary School in partnership with The Watt Institution.

🎬 Chapter 4 : Sugaropolis

In this chapter pupils explore how Greenock became known as "Sugaropolis", tracing the town's links to the global sugar trade and the transatlantic slave trade, and examining the lasting legacy of this history in the town's streets, buildings and communities.

Using real museum artefacts as their starting point, the pupils worked collaboratively to research the stories behind the objects and bring them to life through animation. They developed the scripts, created the artwork, 3D models, recorded voiceovers, and produced sound effects, uncovering and sharing this important history with new audiences.

👀 Stay tuned as we release the remaining chapters over the coming weeks! These films will form an important part of the museum's displays and interpretation.

We are extremely grateful to the Scottish Government for its generous support in funding this project.

Discover Inverclyde Inverclyde Libraries Inverclyde The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland Creative Regeneration Samee Glasgow Scotdec Museums Galleries Scotland Education Scotland The Scottish Government HMIE

17/06/2026

History = Our Story: Chapter 3 is here!

We're excited to share the next animated short film created by P5B pupils from Inverkip Primary School in partnership with The Watt Institution.

🎬 Chapter 3 : The Price of Ivory

In this chapter, the pupils explored the story of ivory and researched William Northrup McMillan, whose donations form part of The Watt Institution’s collection, discovering how these objects connect to wider histories of empire, exploitation, and wildlife loss.

Using real museum artefacts as their starting point, the pupils worked collaboratively to research the stories behind the objects and bring them to life through animation. They developed the scripts, created the artwork, sculpted their own clay elephant models for 3D animation, recorded voiceovers, and produced sound effects, uncovering and sharing this important history with new audiences.

👀 Stay tuned as we release the remaining chapters over the coming weeks! These films will form an important part of the museum's displays and interpretation.

We are extremely grateful to the Scottish Government for its generous support in funding this project.

Discover Inverclyde Inverclyde Libraries Inverclyde The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland Museums Galleries Scotland Scotdec Wosdec The Scottish Government HMIE Samee Glasgow Education Scotland Into Film

12/06/2026

David Hockney, the pioneering British artist has sadly died at the age of 88.

We remember him today with this iconic poster from our collection which he designed for the 1972 Munich Olympics.

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12/06/2026

History = Our Story: Chapter 2 is here!

We're excited to share the next animated short film created by P5B pupils from Inverkip Primary School in partnership with The Watt Institution.

🎬 Chapter 2: The Passenger Pigeon
This chapter tells the powerful story of how European colonialism and environmental exploitation drove the passenger pigeon from billions of birds to total extinction by the early 20th century.

By researching real museum artefacts, the pupils collaboratively developed the scripts, artwork, 3D models, voiceovers and sound effects to bring this vital history to light.

👀 Stay tuned as we release the remaining chapters over the coming weeks! These films will form an important part of the museum's displays and interpretation.

We are extremely grateful to the Scottish Government for its generous support in funding this project.

Discover Inverclyde Inverclyde Libraries Inverclyde The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland Museums Galleries Scotland Scotdec Wosdec The Scottish Government HMIE Education Scotland Samee Glasgow

11/06/2026