Dewch i ailddarganfod trysor Rhufeinig ddaeth i’r fei yng Nghaerllion ym 1926!

Defnyddiwch yr Ap i archwilio'r Amffitheatr a'r Barics yng Nghaerllion. Dilynwch gliwiau a chwrdd â chymeriadau hanesyddol i helpu chi i ddarganfod trysorau'r Amgueddfa - lle cawsant eu darganfod un wreiddiol. Os dewch o hyd iddynt i gyd byddwch yn agor rhith-Amgueddfa Lleng Rufeinig Cymru. Mae'r Ap hwn yn brosiect partneriaeth rhwng Amgueddfa Cymru a Cadw. Mae'n cysylltu trysorau amgueddfeydd â'r lleoedd lle cawsant eu darganfod yn y safleoedd hanesyddol a gynhelir gan Cadw yng Nghaerleon.

Sut i chwarae:

• Defnyddiwch eich dyfais a'r map trysor i ganfod y chwe chliw cudd yn yr amffitheatr a'r barics.
• Rhaid i chi gerdded i bob un o'r chwe chliw llun yn y grid.
• Pan fyddwch chi'n agosáu at y man iawn bydd ceiniog yn ymddangos ar eich dyfais. 
• Pwyswch y geiniog i weld y cliw a chasglu pob ateb i ganfod yr allwedd sy'n agor yr Amgueddfa Lleng Rufeinig Rithwir.

Cwestiynau Cyffredin

• Mae'r ap yn gweithio orau ar Android 4.3 a'r iOS 9.1 neu yn hwyrach. Ni fydd yr ap yn gweithio ar rai ffonau android syml.
• Mae'r ap yn defnyddio data yn ystod y profiad
• Os ydych yn cael trafferth lawrlwytho'r ap, sicrhewch fod gennych gysylltiad gwe da a digon o le ar eich ffôn.

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It’s been a while since we introduced the art trolley as part of the Explore Volunteer fleet, but now it’s time to introduce you all to the evolution trolley. 

The first thing you’ll notice is that this is a much smaller trolley. As such it has a smaller – but no less interesting – number of exhibits for visitors to interact with. We position this trolley in the Evolution of Wales gallery, close to the ever-popular dinosaurs, providing visitors with an opportunity to touch real and replica fossils from the prehistoric world. 

So what do we have on the evolution trolley altogether? Aside from dinosaur teeth, we have a range of fossils from different prehistoric eras. In the video below, we explain each of the exhibits and how they illustrate the evolutionary timeline of earth.

Music credit: "Expeditionary" by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 International License.

Catch up with previous Explore Volunteer posts on our Blog page.

What do you do if you have minerals in your collection that have a tendency to react chemically? For our research student Kathryn Royce this means: growing minerals from a super saturated solution, then sticking the crystals in a climate chamber for a few weeks and forcing them to dehydrate.

Yes, you read right, some minerals can dehydrate. There is a good number of mineral species which are poly-hydrated, meaning, minerals that contain water molecules as part of their crystal structure. Many of these mineral species can, under certain conditions, lose some of these water molecules. This process actually turns the mineral into a different mineral – just one with a lower hydration status.

For example, the mineral melanterite (FeSO₄ · 7H₂O), which has 7 water molecules, may lose some water molecules if kept at a relative humidity below 57%. The resultant products include either the mineral siderotil (same chemical formula but only 5 water molecules) or rozenite (4 water molecules). In the context of wanting to preserve melanterite in a museum collection, the dehydration products siderotil and rozenite, whilst minerals in their own right, would be classed as deterioration products and, hence, their appearance be undesirable.

To understand this process, and define how we would characterise the concept of ‘damage’ to mineral specimens, Kathryn is now analysing the deterioration products using a combination of different analytical techniques, including X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and computerised tomography scanning. The results will help us develop a methodology for long-term monitoring of geological collections in museums and improve the care of such collections in museums.

This research is being undertaken at National Museum Cardiff in collaboration with the School of Geography and Environment at University of Oxford and the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Science and Engineering in Arts, Heritage and Archaeology (SEAHA), and kindly supported by OR3D, BSRIA, the Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust, the National Conservation Service, and the Pilgrim Trust.

Find out more about Care of Collections at Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales here and follow us on Twitter. 

Blancedi Argyfwng Cymreig gan Daniel Trivedy

Trist yw gweld trafodaeth wleidyddol a chyhoeddus heddiw yn troi fwyfwy yn senoffobia, atgasedd at ffoaduriaid a cheiswyr lloches gyda sêl bendith llywodraethau, cenedlaetholdeb mewnblyg a hiliaeth agored. Yn y cyd-destun hwn, gellir gweld gwaith Daniel Trivedy fel gwrthsafiad calonogol. Mae'n dangos Cymru fel cenedl groesawgar, drugarog, gynhwysol a gwlad sydd â nod o ddod yn 'Genedl Noddfa', y gyntaf yn dilyn lansio Cenedl Noddfa – Cynllun Ffoaduriaid a Cheiswyr Lloches Llywodraeth Cymru ym mis Ionawr 2019.

Braint Amgueddfa Cymru felly yw dewis Blancedi Argyfwng Cymreig Daniel fel pwrcasiad blynyddol cyntaf y sefydliad o'r Eisteddfod Genedlaethol. Blancedi argyfwng gyda gorchudd ffoil PET arian ac aur yw'r rhain. Mae'r blancedi'n rhan gyfarwydd o'r golygfeydd o driniaeth annynol mewnfudwyr o Fecsico ar ffin UDA, neu'r mewnfudwyr i Ewrop a achubwyd wrth groesi Môr y Canoldir. Ond rhoddwyd naws groesawgar unigryw a Chymreig i'r rhain drwy brintio dros yr ochr aur (sy'n cadw gwres) batrymau blancedi gwlân traddodiadol Cymreig – esiampl wych o gyfuno'r lleol a'r rhyngwladol.

Mae Daniel yn deall fod gan ddeunyddiau iaith, a bod gan ddefnyddiau penodol gysylltiadau sy'n ennyn ymateb penodol. Ei nod yw dangos i ni beth all ddigwydd o uno'r gwahanol elfennau. 'Ydyn nhw'n gwrthdaro a chroestynnu, neu'n cydorwedd mewn tawelwch anghysurus? Ydyn nhw'n uno ac asio, yn siarad â'i gilydd, neu'n esgor ar ffurf newydd hyd yn oed?'

Ar y naill llaw, dyluniwyd y flanced argyfwng i'w masgynhyrchu yn rhad ac effeithiol, a fawr mwy na hynny. I nifer ohonom, mae'n dwyn i gof boen a dioddefaint ymfudwyr mewn amodau erchyll ar y môr neu mewn gwersylloedd ffoaduriaid. Mae'n perthyn i 'rywle arall' a 'phobol eraill', fel dywed Daniel.

Ar y llaw arall, mae'r flanced wlân Gymreig yn cyfleu cynhesrwydd, traddodiad ac atgof, diogelwch a chysur. Beth sy'n digwydd wrth ddod â'r ddwy nodwedd ynghyd? Dwi'n credu ei bod hi'n neges galonogol. Rydyn ni'n sylweddoli ein bod 'ni' ac 'eraill' yr un fath. Fe allwn ac fe ddylem ni feddwl a gweithredu yn lleol ac yn rhyngwladol ar yr un pryd. Fe allwn ac fe ddylem ni ddefnyddio ein traddodiadau, nid i'n cau rhag eraill, ond i ddod at ein gilydd i gefnogi'n gilydd.

Ganwyd Daniel Trivedy ym 1975 ac mae o dras Indiaidd. Cafodd ei fagu yn ne-ddwyrain Lloegr ac mae bellach yn gweithio yn Abertawe. Yn ogystal â gweithio fel artist, mae'n darlithio yng Ngholeg Sir Gâr, Caerfyrddin, ac yn Swyddog Rhanbarthol Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru, Caerfyrddin. Wedi ennill gradd dosbarth cyntaf mewn Daeareg a Phalaeontoleg yn Imperial College, Llundain (1993-1996), yn ddiweddarach astudiodd Gelfyddyd Gain yng Ngholeg Celf Abertawe (2010-2013).

Andrew Renton, Ceidwad Celf

http://www.danieltrivedy.com/welsh-emergency-blankets.html

Hi all, I’m Pip Diment from the Exhibitions team, and I'm one of a group of staff volunteering to care for the six live snakes we are housing as part of the 'Snakes’ exhibition at National Museum Cardiff.

Our exhibition is now open and runs to 15 September 2019. I was part of the team who cared for the snakes for the second two weeks of the exhibition run. We were trained by Guy Tansley from Bugsnstuff and he showed a group of us volunteers how to check on the snakes safely and provide basic care.

We are not required to feed the snakes – we have Dr Rhys Jones generously helping us with that. Our tasks are to change the water daily, remove any poo, ureic acid crystals (wee!) and calcium plugs, also to remove any shed skin and to check the snakes are not too cold or hot and that they are ok. These checks are all done daily by a team of two or three volunteers.

On my first day volunteering I worked with Melissa Hinkin (from Artes Mundi, who is a snake enthusiast) and Vic le Poidevin (from our Events team). There was great excitement the first morning as Prestwick, the Jungle Carpet Python had shed her skin and had an enormous poo!  She’s a fairly large snake so it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was huge! Like a large dogs! The skin itself came off in two parts and is now being used as part of the handling collections (not too much handling as it is fragile!). Underneath all that shed skin Prestwick has now emerged even more beautiful with her skin a stunning irridescent effect. And this was still only day one.

On day two I worked with Christian Baars (from Conservation) and Robin Maggs (from Photography). Once again, much excitement as Keith, the Royal Python, shed his skin overnight. Much smaller poo – smaller snake, so made sense! He also looked much more beautiful after shedding his skin.

Days three and four were not as eventful – only water changing and general checks required. Everyone seems very healthy and happy, and we are following their care instructions meticulously to ensure they stay that way. 

I admit I have an unhealthy interest in snake poo – and for the end of my first week we’ve had another poo! This time, again, from Keith. I am not the only one now excited by snake poos – see Robin and Christian admiring Keith’s offering (look closely it has substrate on it which makes it looks like it has eyes!)

I’m so glad I agreed to volunteer. I’ve held snakes before, but never spent so much time with them. I love that they all have great names and their own characters:

Thanks for reading. You can read some of our other snake blogs here, here and here.

The exhibition runs till 15 September 2019, entry charges do apply, and all your contributions go towards bringing you even bigger and better exhibitions in the future.

Please note that there is no live handling of the snakes within the exhibition. In August we’ll be having snake handling sessions for the public – see here for details of booking.

Also, make sure you come and visit us this saturday (10 August) for our Venom Open Day!