ETWIE

Last throwback to #BIGSTUFF2025! The final day of the conference was hosted by chair Julie De Groot (University of Antwerp) at the beautiful Zuiderpershuis. We started the morning with three thought-provoking talks, followed by a lively Big Stuff Future session, where we reflected on what lies ahead for the preservation of large technology heritage. In the afternoon, we headed outdoors to explore the MAS | Museum aan de Stroom’s open-air collection, thanks to Waander Devillé and his colleagues. Half of our group discovered (and even climbed!) the museum’s impressive crane collection, while the others explored the fascinating dry docks site and the West-Hinder ship. Many thanks again to the committed volunteers who welcomed us on 'their' sites 🙏 We concluded both the final day and the conference at Stormkop, sharing a last drink together as our coordinator Davy Herremans delivered a heartfelt address of thanks and farewell. The perfect ending to a very inspiring week! Until next time, Big Stuff community, see you at the next one! 🌍⚙️ 📷 (c) Still the Time for ETWIE 📷 Dry Docks site: (c) Jeroen Broeckx for MAS

Looking back to last week, chapter three of #BigStuff2025. After an inspiring day in Ostend, we returned to the familiar halls of the Museum of Industry Ghent, where chair of the day Pieter Neirinckx hosted a deep dive into national strategies for safeguarding traditional skills. Does a national approach work better than informal knowledge sharing? Should every skill be passed on? And what matters most — the cultural or the economic value of a skill? Plenty of food for thought, and a lively debate joined by our colleagues and Big Stuff founder Alison Wain, University of Canberra from the Perth hub. For many of us, it was a real highlight of the conference! 🚀 In the afternoon, we hit the road again, visiting Stoomtrein Dendermonde-Puurs and the Booms Steenbakkerijmuseum 't Geleeg. We were warmly welcomed by passionate volunteers who keep these sites running, and it was truly inspiring to see how quickly our international group of experts connected with the stories and people behind our local heritage. We ended the day with a wonderful conference dinner at Brik Boom, thanks to EMABB vzw, the perfect close to an inspiring day! 📷 Train Centre Dendermonde: (c) Dylan Van Der Jeught for ETWIE 📷 All other photos: (c) Still the Time for ETWIE Streaming by SWING, Merelbeke #BigStuff2025 Jorijn Neyrinck

Looking back to last week, chapter two of #BigStuff2025. After Ghent on day one, day two took us to the Belgian coast. Visiting Stad Oostende! 🌊 We kicked off the day at the InnovOcean Campus, thanks to our host Erfgoedcel Kusterfgoed and went on excursions in the afternoon. Half of the group explored the impressive Atlantikwall Museum, one of our key conference partners, where we learned about managing and interpreting military heritage on site. The other half embarked on a tour of Ostend’s harbour - the ferry is highly recommended! - stopping by the passionate volunteers restoring the Watson Lifeboat 3 and getting a peek inside the engine room of the Zeilschip Mercator. A huge thank-you to all for the warm welcome! 📷 Atlantikwall Raversyde: (c) Dylan Van Der Jeught for ETWIE 📷 All other photos: (c) Still the time for ETWIE #BigStuff2025

What an amazing "Night at the Museum" we had last Tuesday! After a warm welcome by director Ann Van Nieuwenhuyse and a tasty conference dinner in the beautiful Elvira Hall, the entire Big Stuff delegation toured the floors of the Museum of Industry Ghent, enjoying many demonstrations, presentations, and great conversations. A big thank you to all our colleagues for making it such a memorable evening, and thanks to L’Usine for the delicious food! 📷 Still time for ETWIE #bigstuff2025 VisitGent Toerisme Vlaanderen - VISITFLANDERS

Each day of this week, we're doing a throwback to exactly one week ago. Today, we look back on the official kick-off of our Big Stuff conference and two fascinating excursions! After the keynote and presentations at the Museum of Industry Ghent, half of the group headed to Herisem to marvel at the paper mill and former cardboard factory, and - of course - enjoy some pancakes. Meanwhile, the other half visited Eperon d'Or in Izegem. Our international guests were shocked to hear that the museum will soon close. “A real shame. The city definitely needs to rethink this,” they agreed. It was a day full of meaningful exchanges, and the evening program was still to come... #BIGSTUFF2025 photo's: Herisem (c) Still the time voor ETWIE - Eperon d'Or (c) Isaac Ponseele voor ETWIEBigStuff2025

Throwback to last week when we kicked off our Big Stuff 2025 conference with a visit to the Luminus power plant in Ham, Ghent. This was a special pre-conference activity for those already in the country who could fit in one more excursion before the official start of the event 🙃 The conference brought together museum professionals, restoration companies, volunteers, and academics from around the world for four days of discussions and visits on the theme “Skills and machines – a living partnership.” We explored how to care for historic machines and support the people who keep them running. Many thanks to our guide Steven, who made sure this was the perfect kick-off for our conference! 📷Still the time for ETWIE #BIGSTUFF2025

Karen Fisher and Matilda Vaughan’s “Beyond Steampunk” presentation closed our morning, highlighting how Museums Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, balances restoration and conservation. For many years, the museum hosted Machines in Action Days four times annually, giving visitors the chance to see engines and machines in motion. When these events paused in 2017, maintenance routines lapsed and the volunteer community drifted away, exposing the collection to risks such as contaminants, fluctuating humidity, pests, and unregistered parts. From 2021 onwards, cleaning days helped revive some machinery and engaged visitors: a child from a primary school asked the volunteers: “Are the machines real?” Detailed boiler inspections were conducted using photography and digital tools, and renewed efforts now focus on knowledge transfer and systematic documentation, including training, written guides, photos, videos, and digital repositories. “Projects like the Cowley Steam Up video make the collection more visible for the broader public, while the unedited version shows us all we need to know to run a steam engine.“ Watch the video via the link in the comments. #BIGSTUFF2025 Zuiderpershuis University of Antwerp

We held our fourth and final conference day at the stunnig Zuiderpershuis-venue in Antwerp, thanks to our partner University of Antwerp. With Julie De Groot - Heritage Studies University of Antwerp - as chair of the day, canal historian Mike Clarke first took to the stage, followed by researcher Vic Bervoets. One of our oldest and youngest speakers of the Big Stuff concerence, united in their appreciation for crafsmanship. “If we’re talking about industry, we should really be talking about the craftsman.” Mike Clarke reminded us that “the craftsman in England was really the key to the Industrial Revolution.” You can see this even in the machinery, for example, the development of the mule. “Most improvements were done by craftsmen, people working in the industry. It was often left to the person who was maintaining the machinery.” Yet throughout the 20th century, recognition of these skills declined as academic qualifications began to outweigh practical expertise. By the 21st century, basic craft skills were regarded as “much inferior.” Clarke notes that we’ve created “two sorts of intelligence”, practical and academic, and allowed the practical to fade. Today, he argues, it’s “really important to appreciate the benefits of skills.” Showcasing craftsmanship and working machines in museums and public spaces can help people rediscover its value. In his presentation “From Machines to Hands: Knowledge and Skill Transmission in Maker Spaces,” PhD researcher Vic Bervoets (University of Antwerp & KU Leuven, Crafting Futures) explored how technical knowledge and craftsmanship are shared in today’s maker spaces. Rather than focusing on industrial heritage or historic machines, he examined the human side of making. Drawing on observations and interviews in four Belgian maker spaces, Bervoets found that these shared workshops, with their open and hands-on approach, offer a powerful model for situated learning. Knowledge isn’t transmitted through formal courses but shared organically through collaboration, volunteering, and working side by side. “Machines are the contact points for knowledge to be shared between people,” he noted. In these spaces, learning by doing builds not only technical competence but also a strong sense of community. #BIGSTUFF2025

Nothing beats still-working machines: their deafening sound and the smell of oil bring Tilburg’s textile past vividly to life. To conclude yesterday's presentations Jantiene Van Elk and Michelle Baggerman presented their work to keep this heritage alive, explaining how they reached out to bicycle mechanics to take over from the current team of volunteers at the TextielMuseum who keep the machines running. “They are the last generation with active knowledge, so it's crucial to transfer this knowledge to younger people.” However, not all machines can be brought back to life, so the team is exploring other approaches. Through their “Hack the Heritage” project, they are equipping Jacquard looms with hardware and software to create new ways for makers and the public to engage with historical textile machines. #BIGSTUFF2025 at Museum of Industry Ghent

Next up was industrial archeologist Daniel Schneider, who talked about the legacy of Hamilton Manufacturing Co., once the world’s largest wood type shop in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Though the original factory is gone, the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum preserves the tools and runs working pressrooms where letterpress printing is still taught. At the center is the pantograph router, the key machine that carved letters from wood blocks. This skill and its traditional teaching methods are at risk. “Typecutting was taught to employees by beginning with simpler typefaces, like sans serifs, from the original Hamilton wood type catalogues,” Schneider said. With only two original typecutters left, preserving this craft is vital. #BIGSTUFF2025 Museum of Industry Ghent