Press Releases

New interactive era opens at Amgueddfa Cymru

Museum’s Discovery Gallery opens to the public in a bigger and better way

A new gallery that will offer people a hands-on connection with the past opens at National Museum Cardiff this Saturday (11 July). The new Clore Discovery Centre has been made possible by a grant of over £160,000 from the Clore Duffield Foundation, founded in 1964 by the late Sir Charles Clore - one of Britain's most successful post-war businessmen and one of the most generous philanthropists of his day.

“Our new gallery will give people an exciting hands-on association with the past,” said Ceri Black, Head of Learning, Amgueddfa Cymru. “They will be able to handle pieces from our collection such as bronze age axes and fossils, view historic documents and enjoy an interactive experience that will help bring the past to life.

“This is the beginning of a new era of innovation in learning at Amgueddfa Cymru. More learning spaces will open next year, which will greatly extend the service we are able to offer families, schools and visitors of all ages who visit us regularly.”

The Clore Discovery Centre replaces the former Glanely Discovery Gallery and will be bigger and better, both in size as well as in substance. It will store several new resources to encourage object handling and exploration in more depth than ever before.

Grace Todd, from the Learning Department who has been heavily involved in the new arena along with Jo Langley said:

“We have knocked down the false walls and have made room for additional cases. Therefore, we can now accommodate several objects, which we were unable to display in the previous space.

“Visitors will be able to physically touch the objects on display, comprising items from the Museum’s collections, including geological objects, natural history specimens, archaeological artefacts and items highlighting aspects of the art collection.”

The objects will be placed in the discovery drawers, each one containing handling objects relating to a theme or topic. There will be a booklet in each one, which will allow the user to further explore and engage with the items.

On weekends and during school holidays, the Discovery Centre hopes to welcome large numbers of families to handle real museum objects within relaxed surroundings. There is a broad range of weekend programmes, holiday activities, talks and trails planned, as well as workshops for various educational groups, all designed to help stimulate their imagination and with handling as the main focus.

This redevelopment would have been impossible without the fiscal support of the Clore Duffield Foundation. Sally Bacon the Foundation's Executive Director commented:

“We have funded many Clore education and discovery spaces, all over the UK, and we are delighted to see such a wonderful refurbished gallery opening in Wales. The Clore Discovery Centre will be a fabulous space for hands-on learning, enabling many children and young people to explore the Museum’s collections close-up, whether they visit with their schools or with their families.”

The Clore Duffield Foundation is a grant-making organization that concentrates its support on education, the arts, museum and gallery education, cultural leadership training, health and social care and enhancing Jewish life. It has placed a particular emphasis on supporting children, young people and society's more vulnerable individuals. Currently, the Foundation is chaired by Dame Vivien Duffield DBE.

Ceri Black thanked the Foundation for its sponsorship:

“With the generous backing of the Clore Foundation, we have been able to transform the Glanely Discovery Gallery - a space which has always brought visitors and the Museum closer together. We are very proud of the new Clore Discovery Centre and hope our regular and new visitors will be too.”

Families and schools will also be able to make use of the Clore Meeting Place, designed for meetings, to eat and to simply take a break during your visit.

National Museum Cardiff is one of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales’s seven national museums. The others are St Fagans: National History Museum, the National Roman Legionary Museum, Big Pit: National Coal Museum, the National Wool Museum, the National Slate Museum and the National Waterfront Museum.

Entry to the Discovery Centre and each Museum is free thanks to the support of the Welsh Assembly Government.

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For further information, please contact Catrin Mears, Communications Officer on (029) 2057 3185 / 07920 027067 or email catrin.mears@museumwales.ac.uk.