Panorama Bungalow takes part in The Royal Mint's ‘Museum in a Box’ scheme.

The Royal Mint Museum provided an innovative ‘Museum in a box’ to our service users at Panorama Bungalow to help them reminisce about the changeover to the decimal system of money in 1971. 

Expanding Horizons’ Panorama Bungalow is a residential service supporting those with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD) with complex needs including dementia, autism, physical disabilities, sensory loss, and non-verbal communication backgrounds. 

Each box contained a collection of original and replica objects to bring back memories of decimalisation, including pre-decimal coins, government posters, and newspapers from 1971 and used the latest technology to ‘talk’ to our service user. The boxes are designed to help people relive cherished memories, and bring a little fun to the day. 

Each object contains a micro-chip which, when placed on the box, plays audio clips and tells an aspect of the story of the changeover. It is hoped the boxes will provide a fun, stimulating activity for people who lived through the period, and an opportunity to talk about their memories. 

This initiative brought into Panorama Bungalow highlights our ‘Active Support’ model where we aim to engage our service users across all of our services to be engaged in range of activities that provide a meaningful and fulfilled life. 

Organiser of this event and Service Manager at Panorama Bungalow, Laura Johnson said “I heard about this initiative through Age Cymru. We were all very excited to receive our box and it did not disappoint as both the service users and staff thoroughly enjoyed the experience.” 

“It was like bringing the Royal Mint into the home, as we could handle the old money and reminisce about memories from the past. There were audio microchips on some of the items so we were all able to listen to historical stories, which all service users enjoyed as it brought back happy memories from childhood.”