New Camera! 16 May 2009 There is no sign of second clutch, although the birds continue to spend much of their time around the nest on the east clock face. The birds are still showing some pair bonding behaviour, spending time together and today putting on an aerial display. Despite showing this behaviour the birds have not been seen mating. The longer we wait, the less chance of success.At last we have some good news to bring you! Our fantastic new camera is up and running! It even has its very own windscreen wiper-what will they think of next! We have much improved views of the peregrines and now have a full screen image to show visitors. Unfortunately, the new camera image is not yet available to internet viewers (but we're working on it!), so why not come down to the museum to check it out for yourself?! See you there...
The sound of the Neanderthals Elizabeth Walker, 14 May 2009 Reconstruction painting showing an Early Neanderthal Man. The first live performance of Neanderthal at the National Museum Cardiff, February 2009. Neanderthal remains dating back 230,000 years have been found at Pontnewydd Cave, Denbighshire in Wales. The teeth and stone tools provided the inspiration for composer Simon Thorne to create a soundscape, Neanderthal, to play in the galleries at Amgueddfa Cymru to bring otherwise silent displays to lifeNeanderthals were an evolutionary dead-end, although modern humans such as ourselves shared a common ancestor with them some 600,000 years ago. They have the same inner ear and vocal structures as us, and therefore had the ability to create and hear sounds. It is possible, however, that Neanderthal brains worked in very different ways from ours. The links between different parts of the brain might not have been as fluid as they are in ours. They might not have been able to form language as a way to communicate.Neanderthals might have had a better capacity than us to communicate and to express themselves through song. The soundscape Simon has created is based on the voice and recordings of natural sounds recorded during a visit to Pontnewydd Cave. These include the drips from the cave roof and the river flowing in the valley bottom. The sounds a Neanderthal heard would have included the communication of animals and bird song. Neanderthals would have made sounds themselves too. These would have included the chipping of stone tools; when flint is knapped (or struck) an unflawed nodule rings with a bright sound and the knapper knows whether the flint is suitable for making the flakes needed to create a stone toolkit. Neanderthals could use their voices; perhaps they sang their way through their landscapes and used sound to communicate to one another while hunting.Neanderthal is pure imagination. However, it is based on science and helps to bring an otherwise silent museum display to life in new and exciting ways.Article by: Elizabeth Walker, Curator of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic ArchaeologyThe Neanderthal soundscapes: Download [1mb, MP3] Download [64kb, MP3]
Urdd.org. Mary Lloyd Jones Sian Lile-Pastore, 12 May 2009 Above is a photograph of Mary Lloyd Jones in front of a piece of work she created with pupils from Aberystwyth and Newcastle Emlyn in response to the poem 'Triongl' or Triangle written by pupils from Meirionnydd with the poet Ifor ap Glyn. The final part of the project happens this weekend when pupils from Cardiff will compose music in St Fagans and thus completing the triangle!!Mary Lloyd Jones is a fascinating artist based in Aberystwyth. Her works are beautiful studies of landscape, history, storytelling and memory and some more images of her work can be seen on her website
Urdd.org Sian Lile-Pastore, 11 May 2009 Here's a picture from the launch of Urdd.org last week, from left to right are Nia Williams (Learning Manager,St Fagans), the artist Mary Lloyd Jones, the broadcaster Hywel Gwynfryn and Elen Phillips and Owain Rhys who are the curators of the exhition. The exhibition can be seen in Oriel 1 in St Fagans:National History Museum until 12 July.Oh, and here's another photo, but I'm in it this time on the right, wearing my 'urdd colours' scarf for the occasion...
Have you ever been a member of the Urdd? Sian Lile-Pastore, 11 May 2009 In the Urdd.org exhibition we have a wall where visitors can write down their memories about the Urdd. The visitor memories have ranged from the 1950s to the present day, if you would like to reminisce about your experiences of the Urdd or staying at Llangrannog and Glan-llyn let me know by commenting below or adding to the wall on your next visit to Oriel 1.Here are some photos of the wall so far.
