Last Saturday 20^th September we ran our annual Beachwatch event at Ogmore Beach in the Vale of Glamorgan. This was part of the national campaign run by the Marine Conservation Society encouraging communities to get out and about to care for their local shorelines. This is the 10^th year that museum staff have been organising a Great British Beach Clean at this beach.

In the morning families took part in workshops with museum curators finding out about different types of seaweeds and animals in the strandline and in rock pools. There were fossil hunts where people discovered lots of fossilised bivalve shells and sily lilies (crinoids) in the rocks. Families also helped create our ‘Beach Museum’ making Landart, inspired by the works of artists like Richard Long.

After lunch the serious work began, museum staff and families scoured a 150m stretch of beach near to the slipway searching for rubbish. Sadly this wasn’t a challenge, we collected over 35kg of litter in an hour!  Each piece of rubbish found was logged and all this data will be sent on to the Marine Conservation Society who will use it to find out where beach litter comes from and contribute to marine conservation. Over the last 10 years we have seen a change in the rubbish that we have collected on this beach. During initial cleans one of the greatest problems encountered were cotton bud sticks, however these have declined over the years. Sadly one of the greatest problems encountered this year was dog poo in plastic bags and hypodermic needles. Over 65 people took part in the day’s activities and we look forward to taking part in Beachwatch the same time next year.

Dyma ddiweddariad am ein prosiect fflach amgueddfa.

Rydym yn creu fflach Amgueddfa ynglyn a Chaerdydd, gyda Amgueddfa Stori Caerdydd, gyda cefnogaeth Cronfa Dreftadaeth y Loteri, ar gyfer Cynhadledd Cymdeithas yr Amgueddfeydd yng Nghaolfan y Mileniwm, Caerdydd, ar 9-10 Hydref. Cyn i ni ei greu, rydym wedi gofyn i bobl Caerdydd a thu hwnt i’n helpu i gasglu straeon a gwrthrychau.

Cyn belled, rydym wedi cynnal 3 gweithdy yn Amgueddfa Stori Caerdydd. Rydym wedi casglu dros 30 o straeon Caerdydd ar ffilm a chardiau stori a wedi gweld gwrthrychau gwych a gwahanol sydd i gyda a rhywbeth i’w ddweud am Gaerdydd yn eu ffordd unigryw eu hunain. Mae’r broses wedi dod a phobl ynghyd i drafod a rhannu eu straeon am Gaerdydd. 

Cynhaliwyd y gweithdy diweddaraf yn Amgueddfa Stori Caerdydd rhwng 6-8yh ar 11 o Fedi. Roedd caws, gwin a diodydd ysgafn ar gael i ychwanegu at awyrgylch gymdeithasol y noson. Erbyn diwedd y sesiwn, roedd 20 o bobl wedi picio i mewn a rhannu eu straeon. Fe aethom a camera fideo allan ar y stryd a ffilmio 20 voxpop gan grwp amrywiol o bobl! Roedd rhai yn hynod o ddigri, a byddent yn cael eu dangos yn ystod y fflach Amgueddfa yng Nghaolfan y Mileniwm.

Y Gwrthrych Cyntaf

Corgi polystyren oedd y gwrthrych cyntaf i ni ei dderbyn. Roedd wedi cael ei adael allan gyda'r sbwriel ar stryd yn y Rhath - ond cafodd ei achub, ei olchi, ac mae bellach yn byw yn hapus gyda ei berchnogion newydd mewn ystafell fyw yng Nghaerdydd.

Cynllunio’r fflach amgueddfa

Fel mae’r nifer o storiau a gwrthrychau Caerdydd yn tyfu, tyfu hefyd mae’r angen i ni feddwl ynglyn a sut mae arddangos yr hyn sydd weid ei gasglu. Bydd y Fflach Amgueddfa yn symud i Ganolfan y Mileniwm ar y 9-10 Hydref ar gyfer Cynhadledd Cymdeithas yr Amgueddfeydd felly bydd yn rhaid iddo fod yn hyblyg ac yn hawdd i’w greu.

Rydym wedi dechrau mynd drwy storfa Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd am gasus, silffoedd, seddi, unrhywbeth! Dyma gasgliad o beth rydym wedi ei ddarganfod:

• Bwrdd mawr lle gall pobl eistedd a trafod eu straon. Un syniad o ran arddangos yw rhoddi bocsus clir ar y bwrdd, a’u rhoddi ar ben ei gilydd fel bod yn arddangosfa yn tyfu dros ddeuddydd.
• Ambell i gas hyfryd sydd ar hyn o bryd yn yr orielau celf cyfoes yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd. Bydd hyn yn caniatau i ni arddangos gwrthrychau o Amgueddfa Stori Caerdydd a’r casgliadau cenedlaethol sydd yn dweud rhywbeth am Gaerdydd yng Nghanolfan y Mileniwm.
• Mwy o seddi! Rhai eithaf neis allan o ddefnydd llwyd.
• Ac yn olaf…Billy y Morlo!

Nid ydym yn siwr eto os fydd Billy’n cael dod gyda ni i Ganolfan y Mileniwm, ond rydym yn ceisio gweld os bydd yn bosibl. Mae ysgerbwd Billy wedi bod yn rhan o gasgliadau Amgueddfa Cymru er y 1940au. Daeth Billy i Gaerdydd yn 1912, pan ddarganfu pysgotwyr ef yn eu rhwydi. Cafodd yr enw Billy cyn canfod cartref newydd yn Llyn Parc Fictoria.

Yn ol y son, fe wnaeth Billy ddianc pan fu llifogydd a nofiodd lawr Cowbridge Road. Ar y ffordd, stopiodd mewn siop bysgod leol ac archebu ‘dim sglodion, dim ond pysgodyn os gwelwch yn dda’. Aeth yna i’r Admiral Napier am beint, hanner o ‘dark’, ond cafodd ei ddal a dychwelodd i’r llyn.

Wyddo ni ddim os yw hyn yn wir, ond mae nifer o drigolion lleol yn taeru eu bod.

Dilynwch y blog hwn i ganfod os caiff Billy ddianc eto!

Gwybodaeth bellach

Gweithdy nesaf y fflach Amgueddfa

27 Medi 11.00yb-1.00yh, Amgueddfa Stori Caerdydd

Am fwy o wybodaeth ynglyn a chreu fflach Amgueddfa dilynwch y linc yma (Saesneg yn unig):

http://popupmuseum.org/pop-up-museum-how-to-kit/

Graham Davies, Digital Programmes Manager, Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales

"Content is King". The phrase is strong, infallible, sitting proud on his pedestal, a little like the Queen Mother, or the National Health Service. Sacrosanct. But has the time come to question some of our long held adages in the world of digital content and web design? Is content actually 'King' anymore?

Fresh back from an energising few days with the fab team at Culture24 at the Let's Get Real workshops and conference, I am determined not to let the enthusiasm and momentum get buried by the squillions of things in my inbox that greet me now that I am not 'Out of Office' anymore.

The discussions of the last few days have left me pondering over our constantly evolving digital landscape.

Which direction, and how high do we have to throw our digital content ball to get it successfully into the constantly moving net of engagement?

Jessica Riches, in her talk on 'Learning from Brands' seemed very surprised that she was the first of the day to mention the phrase ‘Content is King’

This made me think. And think again. About the shift in focus to be more about platforms, the importance of audiences and what channels those audiences use and reside in.

So has the time come to update or even rewrite the rulebook?

1. Content is King?

Surely it's not just raw content that is king anymore. Who your content is intended for significantly alters how it should be written and where it should be published. What is the intent of those people reading it? (as apposed to the intentions of those writing it). So I give you rule rewrite number 1:

Content, Intent and Purpose are the new King, Queen and Jack

By thinking of it this way, you are reminded that content on its own doesn't stand any more. It's equally important to also think of why you are writing it and where the people are who want to read it?

2. Build it and They Will Come?

This fell off its pedestal a long time ago, but if we were to prop it back in place the stonemasons would need to re-carve the plinth to read: 

Write it and take it to where they are. Or perhaps better still: Go pay them a visit and have a chat

This helps reinforce the idea that we can't be institutional broadcasters anymore, we should be working with our audience to help them answer what they want to know, rather than what we want to tell them.

To demonstrate this, Shelley Bernstein provided us with a superb keynote speech at the Let's Get Real conference on how the Brooklyn Museum are trusting the audience and developing a wholly user-centric approach to their new responsive museum.

3. Design Responsive Websites

Great, Yes, very good. Although a revision of this phrase can encompass web design by default whilst primarily focussing on content:

Optimise your content to be platform independent

4. Think Mobile First

Yes, we must, and we should make this behaviour ingrained. By turning this rule upside-down, our new banner proclaims (and by its very nature automatically assumes mobile first):

Remember to check the desktop

Think back to those good old days where everything had to be retrofitted to work in IE 6. Who now retrospectively checks that everything reads and works well on a desktop? Not many I'm guessing.

But beware. Herein lies the paradox: Remember, people looking to visit one of our venues are more likely to be looking us up through a mobile device. However, people looking at in-depth long-form curatorial and academic material are predominantly still using desktops.

This is where headline metrics can be misleading, if your website as a whole shows a rise in mobile, that doesn't mean that all the content on the site is being accessed through mobiles. This is why metric analysis is so crucial before we apply blanket statements based on overall trends.

This brings me onto to something bigger I have been mulling over recently...

"Can we put it on the website please"?

Quite frankly, I dislike the term "Website". I often ask what section or area people are actually referring to, for websites these days have come to contain many distinct areas and functions, serving completely separate and different audiences and requirements. Maybe this is the crux of the problem? At the moment we are all busy working on a 'one solution fits all approach'. Shouldn't we be thinking of applying separate templates and content strategies based on different audience requirements within our own websites?

Going back to our rewritten rule number one, and this should be applied within (and throughout) our own organisational websites too.

All this can help us ensure that we consistently put the users needs at the centre of our goals and ambitions. Just by thinking a little differently about our assumptions, we have the ability to take a quicker, more direct route to successful engagement.

Ffermdy Hendre'r Ywydd Uchaf

Mae Elan yn gwirfoddoli gyda fforwm ieuenctid Sain Ffagan. Yn ddiweddar, treuliodd Elen amser gydag ein Uned Adeiladau Hanesyddol ac mae wedi ysgrifennu am ei phrofiad isod;

Arddangosiadau Tîm Adeiladau Hanesyddol

Fel rhan o’r arddangosiadau Tîm Adeiladau Hanesyddol yn Sain Ffagan, es i i Hendre’r Ywydd Uchag i weld saer coed wrth ei waith. Pan gyrhaeddais roedd yn brysur yn gweithio ar ffrâm ddrws ar gyfer y Pentref Oes Haearn newydd gyda phren a oedd o’r safle ac wedi cael ei dorri y bore hwnnw. Roedd rhaid i’r gwaith gael ei wneud gyda llaw heb unrhyw gymorth oddi wrth beiriannau. Roedd e’n fwy na hapus i siarad â ni ynglŷn â’i waith ac i ateb ein cwestiynau. Soniodd ynglŷn â’i hanes proffesiynol, ei fod wedi gwneud NVQ mewn gwaith saer hanesyddol a’i fod newydd orffen ei brentisiaeth ar ôl gweithio yn yr amgueddfa am bum mlynedd. Roedd ei edmygedd tuag at wybodaeth y crefftwyr mwy profiadol yn glir ac roedd yn ymwybodol fod y wybodaeth hon yn dod o brofiad ac nid ar sail cymwysterau.

Esboniodd wedyn sut daethant â’r adeiladau i’r amgueddfa gan ddisgrifio’r cynnyrch terfynol fel ‘flatpack buildings’ wrth iddynt rifo’r holl friciau o amgylch ochrau’r adeilad cyn ei dynnu i lawr a’i ailadeiladu. Defnyddiodd Dŷ Hwlffordd a Gorsaf Drenau Raglan fel esiamplau. Roedd pwysigrwydd cadwraeth yn y broses hon yn eglur wrth iddo sôn mai dim ond tynnu’r hyn sydd angen ei dynnu ffwrdd roedd rhaid gwneud wrth atgyweirio adeiladau. Esboniodd sut byddai datblygiadau newydd sydd ar droed yn Sain Ffagan yn arwain at waith newydd e.e. Palas y Tywysog o Ynys Môn lle bydd rhaid iddynt drin 480kg o bren! Dyma oedd amser gwerth ei dreulio er mwyn deall sut roedd yr adeiladu’n digwydd yn Sain Ffagan.

by Elan Llwyd

We ran an ‘I Spy…Nature’ drawing competition across the summer to celebrate our natural sciences pop-up museum and launch of a new exhibition at National Museum Cardiff. Our young visitors used some of the specimens from the museum collections as inspiration for their drawings. We had some fantastic entries and it was extremely difficult to choose the best nine drawings. However, after much deliberation we have chosen first, second and third places in 3 age categories (under 6, 6-9 and 10-13). The winners will be receiving natural history goodies from the museum shop. Many thanks to everyone who took part, we have really enjoyed seeing all of your wonderful drawings.