: Community Engagement

Since the last post the local families coming to the Museum from Ely and Caerau have been enjoying taking part in a variety of exciting sessions, including:

• experiencing what it was like to go to school in Victoria Wales
• learning to handle a newt found during pond dipping in the Tannery ponds
• making clay coil pots to take home.

So far 102 people have taken part in this programme of activities at St Fagans and the feedback from everyone has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I enjoyed the experience of going to a Victorian school because I learnt new things and how they learnt back then.”

“I had a good time holding a newt and looking at all the pond bugs.”

“Brill, we had lots of fun, will be coming back!”

“I liked pottery because you can get messy and it is crafty.”

“Calming session.”

The children are learning a lot, so are the parents, and so are we. We’re finding out just how much families love to learn together and the families are discovering all that the Museum has to offer them. Many of these families had not visited St Fagans until coming along to one of these sessions, and now they are thinking of coming back again. This is why we value our partnership with ACE Action Ely Caerau so much, as they are able to help us meet and work with these lovely groups to show them just how relevant the Museum on their doorstep can be to their lives.

With one more week to go we are looking forward to welcoming more families to Bryn Eryr, the Iron Aged farmstead, to help us with an authentic Iron Age smelt, and a very enthusiastic group who will be coming in to take part in a traditional weaving workshop.

Keep following this blog for more updates.

If you are interested in taking part in fun family activities and events at St Fagans over the summer there are lots of opportunities to get involved, just check our What’s On for more information.

Jack is 21 and lives in Carmarthenshire, South West Wales. He is a keen sportsman and is particularly interested in rugby. Jack goes to Ammanford College three days a week and both Jack and his father felt that Jack would really benefit from incorporating some work experience into his weekly routine. Jack lives in a very rural part of Wales and this adds to the challenge of accessing work opportunities. The family contacted WorkFit to see if we could help. WorkFit is a project run by the Down’s Syndrome Association to support people with Down’s Syndrome aged between 14 and 25 to access volunteering opportunities, work placements and paid work by removing barriers to employment.

Jack Volunteer at the National Wool Museum

Jack is enjoying college and getting a lot out of his studies but he wanted to start using his skills in a work environment. After his vocational profile was completed, it was clear that Jack was ready for a challenge; he is a very sociable young man, fit and eager to learn.

We felt that Jack would benefit from a role where he was able to try different tasks and learn different skills and approached potential placements with this in mind.

We approached the National Wool Museum in Dre-fach Felindre. Ann Whittall, the manager of the museum, is always looking for volunteers to help out. She was happy to consider Jack but agreed that the free Down’s syndrome awareness training was going to be essential for the museum to be able to properly support him. It was great to see all the museum’s members of staff at the training.

Feedback from the training session included:

“Think of tasks, break it down to simple steps, and make visual aids if needed. Be aware of the need to show Jack the process.”

“Informative and proving how much less daunting working with someone with Down’s syndrome can be.”

“Very positive – also in understanding needs of visitors with Down’s syndrome and considerations of ways in which we can improve their visitor experience.”

“Excellent – I wish I’d had this training years ago when I had a young person with Down’s syndrome in my school registration class.”

Jack has been volunteering at the museum since November 2015. His tasks include organising the woollen display and helping in the retail and reception area; helping with activities in the children’s area; assisting with the inter-active displays; and cleaning the café and museum. Jack has also helped out during the seasonal events at the museum and particularly enjoyed putting up their very impressive Christmas tree!

At first, most of Jack’s tasks were indoors as it was the winter. He is looking forward to getting on with outdoor work during the spring and summer. This will include ground maintenance, weeding, planting and helping with outdoor events.

Jack has also been working on independent travel as part of his experiences at the museum. He has been supported in learning to walk from the village to the museum. This is a small but very important development for Jack.

Ann Whittall said that “working with Jack has been a great experience for all the staff here at the National Wool Museum. It has been great to see Jack gaining confidence, coming to the museum on a weekly basis and developing in his role. Jack is now happy to work independently, supported by his colleagues at the museum. The support and initial training provided by the WorkFit project was particularly helpful in setting us up to provide Jack with a good work experience opportunity.”

Jack said “I really look forward to going to work at the museum on Fridays. I have learnt new skills and tried jobs for the first time. I enjoy all the jobs except using the hoover.”

WorkFit will continue to support both Jack and the National Wool Museum and are looking forward to working with Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales to find other opportunities across the organisation.

This week we welcomed the lovely Croeso Club from Caerphilly to St Fagans. They are an informal community group set up by a local resident, Sandra Hardacre, almost ten years ago. The group aims to support community members to learn new skills, be sociable with others and go on new adventures.

Over the last 6 weeks they have been working with Groundwork Cymru to help to pilot a new project called Go Green 4 Health, which is all about inspiring, supporting and encouraging individuals to use the outdoors to be more active. Each session focuses on a different aspect of using the outdoors for activity, such as ‘the benefits to being outdoors’, ‘overcoming barriers’ and ‘’staying safe’.

Over the summer we are working with ACE Action Ely Caerau (Communities First) to put together a series of fun and accessible family workshops and activities for local families. The programme was developed ahead of time with ACE and includes sessions such as:

Traditional Toys

Wash Day with Beti Bwt

Rag Rug Making

Life in the Iron Age

Pond Dipping

Pottery

So far we have had lots of fun making rag rugs, learning about and playing with traditional toys, discovering what life was like for our ancestors living in the Iron Age and experiencing what it was like to go to school in Victorian Wales.

Making Rag Rugs

Did you know that an exhibition of sculpture for the blind was held at National Museum Cardiff in 1980?

Neither did I until a colleague of mine mentioned it recently. Intrigued, I did some digging to find out more.

The exhibition was the first of its kind in the Museum. It brought together 10 sculptures of different materials and textures which blind and visually impaired visitors were invited to touch. Rodin's 'Illusions Fallen to Earth', and Frederic Leighton's 'Needless Alarm', which shows a nude female figure startled by a frog, were among the works on display.

To protect the works, a thin layer of burnished wax was applied and visitors wore gloves with the fingertips cut off to reduce the risk of damage from rings or watches. It would be interesting to know what conservators today would advise!

Rubber mats and carpets were used to help lead visitors to the plinths, and the Museum's Friends were on hand to guide visitors around and engage them in conversation about the works.

To complement the exhibition and add a multisensory dimension there was also a display of seasonal scented plants and spices from the Botany collection!

Even though this exhibition was held almost 40 years ago, it is interesting how little has changed. All of the challenges they faced back then – how to strike a balance between conservation and accessibility, how to help orientate visitors, and introducing a multi-sensory element – are ones we’ve been thinking about recently.

We haven’t got a new exhibition planned (although it’s something to think about for the future!), but we have been working with members of Cardiff Institute for the Blind on a series of audio description tours. These tours will be offered to blind and visually impaired visitors starting this October.