On Friday 1 July, the REME Museum will be handing over its social media channels to young members of the REME Corps.

It is part of the national Kids in Museums Digital Takeover Day event, when young people take over the social accounts of museums, galleries, historic homes, archives and heritage sites across the UK.

Supported by Arts Council England, Kids in Museums has held an annual digital takeover since 2014. The charity wants to empower young people and help them learn digital marketing skills, as well as support museums to engage younger audiences. Last year, over 50 museums were taken over and the hashtag #TakeoverDay has even trended on Twitter.

Since this year’s Takeover Day theme is “wellbeing”, the REME Museum has decided to hand over our social media to the Corps in collaboration with its mental health plan, Lifting the Decks. We hope to turn our platforms into positive spaces for young soldiers and officers to talk about their experiences, and for more senior personnel to offer messages of support.

Museum Director, Major (Ret’d) Rick Henderson states:

“The REME Museum is delighted to support the ‘Kids in Museums’ takeover day. The Corps young soldiers and officers are the future of the Corps, but the tasks they undertake in their careers will form part of the history of the Corps in years to come. This year’s theme of ‘wellbeing’ is highly relevant, the Corps of REME like the rest of the country face many challenges. The changing military environment, changes in technology, financial pressures, all of which can have an effect on an individual’s state of mind. This type of initiative will provide a platform to share experiences and open up channels for support if needed.”

The Museum is also extremely grateful for the support of Corps Colonel Jason Philips REME, who stated the following:

“The theme of this year’s Digital Takeover Day connects perfectly with the REMEs Lifting the Decks mental health work, which encourages all personnel to look out for their own and one another’s wellbeing. We hope this initiative reminds our young people that help is always there and to seek support if they need it.”

At the REME Museum, we’re passionate about supporting young people, particularly those in the Corps. We regularly hold engineering workshops and challenges for new recruits who are in training on MOD Lyneham, and encourage young soldiers to help with children’s activities during special Museum events.

To find out more about Digital Takeover Day – and who’s taking part as well as us – visit the Kids in Museums website.

You can follow the conversation on social media by looking at the hashtag #TakeoverDay and following @KidsInMuseums and @reme_museum.