An exhibition exploring how the famous Lake District rain shapes people, nature, and the landscape.

During summer of 2023, Keswick Museum partnered with the National Trust and West Cumbria Rivers Trust to create the Raindrop to River exhibition. The exhibition explored how the famous Lake District rain impacts people, nature and climate as it flows through our landscapes and through our lives. The exhibition also explained how humans influence rivers and their wildlife and how rivers in turn impact on our lives and communities. Crucially, the exhibition also demonstrated how the National Trust Riverlands project and the West Cumbria Rivers Trust are working to restore the River Derwent Catchment to a functioning and sustainable system.

Alongside the exhibition, the National Trust and West Cumbria Rivers Trust ran several events including a lunchtime talk and guided sessions with the augmented reality sandbox.

Interactive Sandbox

A key feature of the exhibition was the augmented reality sandbox — a space for hands-on play that also demonstrated how important the landscape is in shaping our lakes and rivers. Visitors were encouraged to make mountains, plant trees and carve ponds in the sandbox before making the augmented water rain down on their landscapes. Guided sessions with the Riverlands teams explained how particular initiatives, such as rewiggling rivers, can prevent flooding and protect the landscape that we all love to enjoy.

The sandpit is a fantastic way to get kids involved in the exhibition.

— Visitor Feedback

Riverlands Project

To read more about the Riverlands project, please visit the National Trust’s Riverlands page.

Acknowledgements

With thanks to the National Trust and West Cumbria Rivers Trust