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Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute
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Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute
Online Exhibitions
Léa Moreau
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Online Exhibitions
Title
Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute
Description
2015 marks 170 years since the stone of Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute was laid. The history of this well-known building in Aberdeen's landscape has however often been forgotten. We hold a small collection of posters and flyers relating to the Institute and its courses and lectures in our Local Studies collection. Mechanics' Institutes were founded in the early 19th Century in Britain to provide adult education and learning opportunities for manual workers, or "mechanics". In particular, they provided basic instruction in technical subjects. The School of Arts of Edinburgh, established in 1821, was the world's first Mechanics' Institute. Two years later, the Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute was established "for the purpose of affording to Mechanics, and others employed during the day, the means of acquiring such knowledge as may be of practical utility to them in their several professions, or which may be useful for cultivating their minds by extending their acquaintance with the phenomena of nature and the arts of life" (A. Yeats, Secretary. Aberdeen Journal, 14 February 1844). The Mechanics' Institute soon became a very important educational force in the city providing a library, public lectures and evening classes in various branches of science and art. It also provided educational advantages for those who otherwise would never have had the opportunity or the means of acquiring them. By the 1830s however, the economic depression became more and more marked and the Mechanics' Institute saw a decline in funding and public interest. From 1831 to 1834, no lectures or classes were held and only informal and rare meetings took place.
2015 marks 170 years since the stone of Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute was laid. The history of this well-known building in Aberdeen's landscape has however often been forgotten. We hold a small collection of posters and flyers relating to the Institute and its courses and lectures in our Local Studies collection.
Mechanics' Institutes were founded in the early 19th Century in Britain to provide adult education and learning opportunities for manual workers, or "mechanics". In particular, they provided basic instruction in technical subjects.
The School of Arts of Edinburgh, established in 1821, was the world's first Mechanics' Institute. Two years later, the Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute was established "for the purpose of affording to Mechanics, and others employed during the day, the means of acquiring such knowledge as may be of practical utility to them in their several professions, or which may be useful for cultivating their minds by extending their acquaintance with the phenomena of nature and the arts of life" (A. Yeats, Secretary. Aberdeen Journal, 14 February 1844).
The Mechanics' Institute soon became a very important educational force in the city providing a library, public lectures and evening classes in various branches of science and art. It also provided educational advantages for those who otherwise would never have had the opportunity or the means of acquiring them.
By the 1830s however, the economic depression became more and more marked and the Mechanics' Institute saw a decline in funding and public interest. From 1831 to 1834, no lectures or classes were held and only informal and rare meetings took place.
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Items included in this Online Exhibition
Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute
Rules and Regulations of the Mutual Instruction Class of the Aberdeen Mechanics' Institution
Aberdeen Mechanics' Institute - Annual Public meeting
Aberdeen Mechanics' Institution - Orrery
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