When a major visitor attraction moved to a new loch-side location, it called on academic know-how to create interactive models showing the ingenious ways people from the past built an ancient dwelling over the water, known as a Crannog.

The Scottish Crannog Centre on Loch Tay had been working with universities for several years as it transformed from visitor centre to museum, and into a museum that matters, sharing stories of life 2,500 years ago for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of visitors to Loch Tay. Therefore, it was a natural decision to turn to Interface’s Lorna Watson to help them find the right academics for the next phase of development – showing visitors how Iron Age dwellers were masters of complex engineering principles.

Two groups of students from Heriot-Watt University were given a unique insight as they helped design interactive model crannogs from sustainable materials left over from the reconstruction of the life-size Crannog, working with crafts people, structural engineers, architects and archaeologists, learning about Iron Age building methods – and, in turn, helping to provide valuable skills and knowledge to the team on site.

The new Crannog is due for completion in late 2025, whilst the model Crannogs will be built and ready to use in the Centre in late Spring 2025, allowing visitors to interact and learn about its unique engineering qualities.

We caught up with the project partners to find out a little more about the lessons shared from Iron Age builders to the next generation of engineers.

Rachel Backshall, Assistant Director, The Scottish Crannog Centre

The Scottish Crannog Centre has worked with multiple universities over the years – what has working with academics and students brought to the Centre?

It is always wonderful to collaborate with academics and students, as we all learn from each other and gain so much, from networks and friendships to developing new ideas and ways of engaging with audiences. For us this work has resulted in all sorts of outcomes, from a graphic novel set in a Crannog, available in the shop, to annually hosting Creative and Digital Media Foundation Apprentices who takeover our social media platforms, to the entire branding of the new museum (colour schemes, logo, fonts, everything!).

How has your team benefitted from the input of academic expertise on this latest project with Heriot-Watt University students?

We have benefitted greatly from working with Theo and the fantastic teams of students working with us, it has been an opportunity to explore the engineering principles that go into building a Crannog and capturing what is so exciting and ingenious about these ancient techniques. The fresh thinking and new ideas brought into the organisation have been reinvigorating, and we are excited to be able to soon display some incredible interactive models which all our visitors can enjoy.

Dr Theodore Lim, Associate Professor, School of Engineering & Physical Sciences, Institute of Mechanical, Process & Energy Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

What skills have the students brought to the Centre?

Over the course of the first semester, the student teams have spent time visiting and reflecting on suitable solutions that bring to life, at scale, something where visitors can appreciate the engineering underpinning the construction of the Crannog. As mechanical engineering students, their knowledge around structures and forces are key to delivering an interactive model where visitors can ‘play’ at constructing a Crannog. The student teams also bring along elements of creativity through design of the interactive models. For the model to function at scale, the immediate challenge is sizing the interactive elements to form factors that can replicate as closely as possible to the actual structures.

How unusual is it for students to discover up close the skills of iron-age builders?

This is an unexpected turn for mechanical engineering students as they have always seen the discipline from an industrial perspective, for example, automotive, shipbuilding, aerospace, bridge building, etc. Few assimilate construction with mechanical engineering, where in reality the principle skills and knowledge about structures do not differ much between the disciplines. By visiting the Scottish Crannog Centre, they have come to realise how iron-age builders have ingeniously engineered solutions that stood the test of time. There is still much to learn how they achieved this. 

Lorna Watson, Business Executive, Interface

You’ve been working with the Crannog Centre for several years – how have you gone about supporting them as they develop as a museum?

I live near the Centre so have got to know the team there really well over the years. I first started talking with Mike (Benson, the Director) in around 2018 after a referral through Perth and Kinross Council, and have been helping them get to where they want to be as a nationally renowned museum ever since. This has involved me really understanding their aims and ambitions and talking to various team members about opportunities for research and development with universities around Scotland. They are a fantastic example of geography being no barrier to plugging into academic expertise as they have collaborated with the University of the West of Scotland, Heriot-Watt University, and University of the Highlands and Islands. Students have played a valuable part of the Centre’s development and the learning has been two-way with some great results.

How can Interface’s service support visitor attractions/museums and strengthen the sector? 

Interface can support visitor attractions and cultural heritage organisations in a variety of ways, from organizing knowledge exchange events in collaboration with industry partners such as ASVA (Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions), sharing information on new and developing technologies, to providing insights into digital technologies such as robotics, AI or XR, helping attractions understand the art of the possible and how they can benefit from using such technologies.

A good example is The Loch Ness Centre, which has developed some exciting new digital technology projects and is now collaborating with two Scottish universities on projects using an underwater camera and VR technology to help them tell new stories for visitors and local communities.

An informal chat with our team, based across Scotland, can help attractions interested in collaborating with academics and developing innovation but don’t know where to start.