Documenting the pandemic

We are a museum of Edward Jenner and the history of vaccination, but we are also a museum of public health and the history of disease. In our collection we hold documents and objects relating to the ways in which we’ve sought to tackle and overcome disease, before and after Jenner.

It seems only right, therefore, that we also document the history of this current pandemic. But we need your help to do this.

Today we are launching our COVID-19 Diary Project, an opportunity for you to contribute to our repository of stories, observations and memories from this pandemic for the benefit of future researchers. We hope that you will join us in keeping a diary of your experiences, from the mundane to the profound, anything that sheds light on daily life in the midst of a pandemic.

We hope to use extracts from your diaries, anonymously, to curate virtual exhibitions whilst the museum is closed, as part of our displays when the museum reopens, and as a permament record of this uncertain time in history.

To take part, you will need to fill out a brief form on our website where we will ask for some details from you. Your name and email address are required only to contact you in relation to the project, will be stored seperately from your diaries and will be deleted once the project has been completed. Once you’ve completed the form we will be in touch with more details.