From the panic buying that saw shop shelves cleared of toilet rolls and pasta, through to a national obsession with banana bread, the stress of furlough, the scrapping of school exams and homemade face masks, the health crisis changed life in a way surely no-one would want to revisit any time soon.

But even if we can’t stomach dwelling on the mayhem caused by Covid-19, the way Glaswegians have dealt with one of the greatest of health challenges will be preserved in a wide-ranging museum archive for future generations to explore.

Glasgow Museums is gathering an eclectic mix of items that will encapsulate how Covid-19 has impacted on citizens to tell the story of the 2020 pandemic from a uniquely city perspective.

To help, social history curators have called for Glaswegians to help them collect objects for a coronavirus archive that will reflect the health crisis, the city’s response and the impact it has had on individual lives.

Items in the collection are likely to range from heart-warming examples of children’s rainbow artwork that appeared as a symbol of hope and thanks to NHS Scotland, handmade face masks, and items such as hand sanitisers and PPE kit made by the city’s businesses for the crisis.

It’s also hoped to gather handmade items made to keep hands and minds busy during the darkest days, and ephemeral items many of us may have already thrown away, such as letters and leaflets delivered to homes by the UK Government and the Scottish Government, children’s lockdown schoolwork and posters that inform of shop or business closures, cancelled events or which celebrate key workers.

Photographs that show lockdown life in Glasgow streets, the temporary NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital at the Scottish Event Campus, and self-distancing signs in shops are also being collected.

“Coronavirus is a massive thing that has affected all of our lives and will have knock-on effects for years to come,” said Isabel McDonald, curator of social history at Glasgow Museums. “It’s really important to document it.

“It might not be something that people particularly want to revisit quickly, but in years to come people will want to know what it was like.

“It’s important to be able to reflect on this time, and to have things that show what it was like.”

Glasgow Museums, including the Riverside transport museum , is preparing to archive items linked to the pandemic with a view to future exhibitions, she added.

Photographs of a city in lockdown are likely to form a major part of the collection, along with items that just a few months ago were far from everyday life but which have become part of the “new norm”, such as face masks.

A series of vivid posters created by art group Cobalt Collective that celebrated key workers is also expected to feature in the final collection alongside south side artist Libby Walker’s drawings of people at home during lockdown.

Posted on her Instagram page, they show stressed out home workers, people exercising in front rooms, bored children and others embracing the lockdown experience by pitching a “festival” tent in the living room, gaming or walking the dog.

Archivists have also called for diaries of the lockdown experience, while it is also expected an oral history will also be recorded. They are particularly keen to gather items that help illustrate children’s experiences of the pandemic.

“We are looking to capture the overall experience of lockdown, that we can look back on in the future and reflect on, and show future generations of the impact the pandemic had on Glasgow and its people,” said Fiona Hayes,

“Some items have become iconic and symbolise the pandemic, such as the rainbow paintings that appeared in windows all over the city.

“We are beginning to see the impact on businesses and jobs, and we want to record these changes. We have a duty to make sure we are recording what is happening using objects and people’s experiences.”

The museum service has asked for people with offers of objects to email with details and photographs first, so its curators can decide what might be suitable and arrange for them to be acquired when it is safe to do so.

Duncan Dornan, head of Glasgow Museums, said: “We are acutely aware Glasgow’s museum collection is an important part of who we are as individuals and part of our identity as a city.

“Collections in archives, libraries and museums are the most reliable and engaging records of previous crisis. They also help us to understand and come to terms with the present by comparison with the past. It’s important our collections react to the coronavirus situation with a carefully considered approach to collecting, which will support the interest of future generations.

“In time this will allow people to look back and understand what we are currently experiencing.”

l If you would like to donate something that sums up your experience please send a few words and, if possible, a photograph to: museums@glasgowlife.org.uk