Kristian Martin

Exhibitions Curator

I work on temporary exhibitions and permanent displays at the Museum. I’m part of a team that selects and researches objects for display and creates storylines around them. I also work with designers and other staff in and outside the Museum to produce exhibitions that are accessible and enjoyable.

My favourite part of my job

I enjoy exploring weird and wonderful collections, discovering unusual or rarely seen objects and bringing them together to tell new stories.

The questions I'm asked most often

How do you get a job in a museum?

I can’t emphasise enough the importance of work experience. You get to know the museum environment, the broad range of jobs on offer and gain a feeling for whether it is the right job for you. It will also help you to make some important contacts, which may be useful as referees or in getting further experience. Try to get a volunteer placement in both a larger museum and a small local institution – each experience will be quite different from the other. Finally, more and more museums are asking for candidates to have a post-graduate qualification in Museum Studies, or a related discipline, so it is well worth exploring this as a way into museum work and it will broaden the opportunities available to you.

Did Nelson wear an eye patch?

Despite the enduring popular representation of Nelson wearing an eye patch, there is no evidence to suggest that he ever wore one over his blind right eye. Nelson did not lose his eye but only the sight of the eye when he was injured at the siege of Calvi in 1794. He does, however, appear to have sometimes worn an eye shade attached to his hat which protected his good eye.