The childeren director of Warmuseum Overloon
In addition to the 'great' director, the Overloon War Museum also has a Children's Director. The museum found the perfect candidate in Jesse Wijngaard. Jesse briefly introduces himself below:
My name is Jesse Wijngaard, and as of this fall, I can proudly call myself Children's Director. This is a great honour for me. The road to get there was challenging, but I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time in and around the museum in the near future. Both during regular museum days and at the well-known events. I also take my job of inspiring young people to visit the museum very seriously.
I am almost fourteen years old and live in Deil. I go to school in Geldermalsen, where I am in the third grade of secondary school. For as long as I can remember, my parents have taken me everywhere—often to cities and museums, but also to historical sites.
My father grew up in a similar way, and together we share a keen interest in the wars of the past. Our fascination started with the Napoleonic era, but actually we are gripped by stories from all kinds of periods. We regularly cross the border to England, Germany, Belgium and France to discover new places. Normandy has now gained a special place for us—not only because it is beautiful, but also because it is where the road to freedom began. A path full of stories that need to be told.
During meetings with veterans and people who were involved in wars and conflicts in other ways, I realized how important it is to keep these stories and history alive. Stories are passed on through events and objects—exactly what a museum does, and that's something I value very much.
I also collect special objects whose history I like to trace, or I build models to bring stories back to life. I notice that peers find this interesting, and that it can encourage them to visit a museum such as the Overloon War Museum. In the end, it's all about the most important motto: "War belongs in a museum." As Children's Director, I am proud to propagate this in the coming period and to tell everyone about it
