Saturday 26 April to Saturday 9 August ( 10:00 - 16:00 )
Scottish Maritime Museum (Denny Tank) , Castle Street, Dumbarton
Every Saturday Friday Thursday Wednesday Tuesday and Monday
The community created ‘Denny Social’ exhibition goes on show at the Museum which itself stands on the site of the former shipyard and features the shipyard’s innovative Denny Experiment Tank at its heart.
Through ‘Denny Social’, visitors can explore the social and work life of the people who made the shipyard and the Denny Experiment Tank a centre of maritime engineering excellence from 1844 until 1963.
Interactive displays show how structure and the daily rhythms of the Tank workers were vital to post-war shipbuilding. The rigid schedules of early morning shifts starting at 7.45am and carefully timed tea breaks mirrored the precision required in Denny’s groundbreaking naval architecture work.
Original artefacts and photographs illustrate the strict demarcation between roles, from the blue-collar workers on the Tank floor and the white-collar staff in the offices, from the skilled model makers who crafted miniature vessels to the engineers and scientists who conducted revolutionary hydrodynamic tests.
A community crafted stained-glass artwork sits at the heart of the exhibition. The panel, which was made under the supervision of stained-glass artist Eilidh MacKenzie, takes inspiration from images and stories in the ‘Denny Arkivz’, a ‘scrapbook’ of social events kept by Denny staff as well as the group’s own personal experiences.
Another highlight of the exhibition is ‘Memory Lane’, a collection of stories from the shipyard which would not normally be included in a formal exhibition. It includes oral histories and newly gathered memories from those who worked both in the Tank and wider shipyard. The Museum is keen for visitors to add their own stories of the shipyard to this rich social history.
Museum open Monday to Saturday, 10am - 4pm. Exhibition included in Admission