Casgliadau ac Ymchwil

Parhau i ddathlu bywyd Alfred Russel Wallace...

Croesawyd dros 300 o fyfyrwyr Lefel-A i Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd ar gyfer digwyddiad arbennig ar y cyd ag Ysgol Gwyddorai’r Ddaear a’r Môr Prifysgol Caerdydd.

Ar wahoddiad Athro Dianne Edwards F.R.S, rhoddodd yr Athro Steve Jones F.R.S chyflwyniad dan y teitl ‘Ai anifail arall yw dyn?’

Trafododd yr Athro Jones y cyndeidiau sydd gennym ni a phrimatiaid eraill yn gyffredin, y dystiolaeth enetig dros esblygiad dyn, a gwahaniaeth barn Wallace a Darwin ar y pwnc. Mae’r Athro Steve Jones yn Athro Emeritws Geneteg yng Ngholeg y Brifysgol Llundain ac yn awdur nifer o lyfrau gwyddoniaeth poblogaidd.

A rhoddodd Theatr na nÓg yn berfformiad ardderchog o'u chwarae You Should Ask Wallace.

Aeth y ddrama â ni ar daith o blentyndod Wallace yng Nghymru i’w anturiaethau anhygoel i’r Amazon ac archipelago Malay, lle datblygodd ei theori am esblygiad. Ei ddarganfyddiadau ef sbardunodd Darwin i gyhoeddi ei waith arloesol ar y pwnc.

Bydd arddangosfa o fywyd Wallace yn agor ar 19 Hydref yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd.

Yr wythnos diwethaf, teithiodd staff Amgueddfa Cymru a myfyrwyr lleol i Gwm Nedd  i astudio bywyd Alfred Russel Wallace, ac i ganfod ysbrydoliaeth o’i anturio yn ne Cymru.

Dyma ni’n treulio diwrnod yn dilyn yn ôl ei draed o Bontneddfechan i raeadr Sgwd Gwladys, yn astudio daeareg a bioleg y daith, gyda chymorth arbenigwyr Amgueddfa Cymru.

Adeg ei farwolaeth ganrif yn ôl, cai Alfred Russel Wallace ei gyfri’n un o fawrion olaf Oes Fictoria. Mae Wallace yn fwyaf enwog am ddarganfod proses esblygiad drwy ddethol naturiol, ar y cyd â Charles Darwin, ond prin yw’r bobol heddiw sy’n cofio am Wallace.

Cafod Wallace ei ysbrydoli gan dirlun de Cymru, a treuliodd flynyddoedd lawer yn crwydro’r cymoedd yn mapio hanes natur. Bydd ffotograffau, fideos, brasluniau a chyfweliadau’r myfyrwyr yn dod yn rhan o arddangosfa yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd yn Ionawr 2014. Bwriad yr arddangosfa hon fydd adrodd hanes Wallace yng Nghymru, a gobeithio bydd yn sbardun i rywun arall fynd ati i anturio.

Cynhaliwyd y project hwn diolch i gefnogaeth hael un o Noddwyr Oes Amgueddfa Cymru

Bydd arddangosfa ar fywyd Wallace yn agor yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd ar 19 Hydref.

A lovely pressed fern found between the pages of The Fern Paradise [1876] by Francis George Heath. I'm always a little disappointed that we don't find more pressed flowers in our old botany books so this really made my day.

How long has it been lying quietly cocooned between these dry secure pages? Who picked a live and vibrant frond one summers day and slipped it away never thinking it would stay hidden for decades? Did the sun shine that afternooon? What news was ringing around the world? So many questions...

All photographs in this post taken by the author

On Saturday 21st September Amgueddfa Cymru ran their annual Beachwatch event. This involved fantastic family science activities in the morning attended by 41 members of the public and seven members of staff. Participants looked at strandline and rockpool animals and seaweeds as well as fossilised corals and snails. Inspired by the fossils and shells that they had seen, the children went on to create wonderful pieces of artwork using Plaster of Paris on the wet sand of the beach.

After lunch, the volunteers gathered to clean the beach and do a litter survey recording all the items they found. The beach clean was attended by 59 volunteers including many of the families from the morning activities.

The results will be sent to the Marine Conservation Society who will collect the data from this beach and hundreds of other UK beaches that were cleaned this weekend. As well as making the beach safer for people and marine life, the Marine Conservation Society also use the data to find out where beach litter comes from and contribute to marine conservation.

As you can see from the photo we found a lot of rubbish including 9 tyres, half a canoe and a traffic cone! A huge thank you to our wonderful volunteers, Ogmore Beach now looks even more beautiful!

BEATCHWATCH – Saturday 21 September

10.30am – 12pm. Amgueddfa Cymru staff will be running  fun family activities for the public to  help them learn about the biology and geology of Ogmore beach. They will be looking at rock pools, strandlines, rocks and fossils along the shore.This year we will also have a fun ART activity involving plaster of paris and seashells. These morning activities are now fully booked, but you can still come along in the afternnoon to help out with the beach clean.

1pm – 2.30pm. Help with the Marine Conservation Society’s annual beach clean (Open to all).

Where: Ogmore Beach, Vale of Glamorgan. Meeting on the beach at Ogmore beach car park – down the ramp in front of the lifeguard centre.

Suitable for all ages, hope to see you there.