The British Motor Museum in Warwickshire is now offering its curators as speakers for conferences, with each session built around the event’s own theme.
The museum says its curators will pick out stories from the history of British car-making that relate to whatever an event is about. It gives two examples: a conference on business transformation could hear how companies have handled fast change in the past, and a tech audience could hear how human creativity and engineering have worked alongside new technology.
Organisers decide how much time to give the curators, from a ten-minute introduction at the start of the day to a breakout or a longer slot. Sessions can also use cars from the collection, items from the archive or a walk round the museum.
The museum says its collection of historic British cars is the largest in the world. Its archive holds photographs, film and first-hand accounts that curators can also draw on.
Toby Batchelor, head of commerce at the British Motor Museum, said: “The point is not to turn every event into an automotive conference. It is to understand what the organiser wants delegates to think about and then find the stories within our collection that can provide a different and engaging perspective.”
The talks join tours, archive visits and car displays on the list of extras event clients can add through the venue’s Enhance Your Event package. Batchelor said: “Organisers increasingly want venues to contribute more than space and catering.”
Gaydon is just off junction 12 of the M40, and the venue takes groups of 6 to 600. Its 600-capacity conference and exhibition suite has its own entrance and can be reached by vehicle.
The museum is a charity, and says the money it makes from events goes towards looking after the collection and sharing it with the public.
The team is exhibiting at CHS Manchester on stand F144.