National Museums Liverpool Blog - Monday, March 19, 2012

John Moran, demonstrator from World Museum's planetarium, on an exciting event taking place this Friday 23 March at Sudley House:

Sudley House's uninterrupted view of horizon offers good platform for stargazing.

One night, several different types of telescope, binoculars and the whole night sky to explore. Sound good? Then come and join us for an evening of celestial fun.

Staff at the planetarium will be running this event in conjunction with Dark Sky Discovery who have awarded us a grant of £1500, which is nice of them, with the aim of increasing people’s awareness of the night sky.

We have decided to run this event at Sudley House as there are uninterrupted views to the horizon, much less light pollution and if it's clear gives us the scope (no pun intended) to see more of the sky then we would normally have from the level 5 balcony at World Museum.

By the way, we will be utilising the terrace and rose garden area of the grounds so please don’t wear your best Jimmy Choo’s or your Louboutins, that includes the guys. Please wear suitable footwear and dress warm.

We will have a wide range of telescopes for your viewing pleasure and to give you some idea of the difference between a reflecting and refracting telescope. It gives us so called experts the chance to show off our knowledge of the night sky because as well as telescopes and binoculars to look through we will also be doing some naked eye observing and giving you some tips on how to find your way around the constellations. Don’t worry its not as daunting as you think, plus we'll be putting out some information sheets to take home with you!

There will also be some simple crafts like badge making and colouring in for the little ones and there will also be limited access to Sudley House so you can get yourself a cuppa and a sandwich if you like.

The event is open to the public but, working with the Communities team, we are also hoping to bring in groups from across the city.

So if you fancy close-up views of Jupiter, Venus and Mars as well as a whole array of celestial treasures join us from 6.30pm-8.00pm on Friday 23rd March at Sudley House and grounds; I bet we can amaze you!

In the event of bad weather we will have to postpone the event until the following Friday (30th March) when we will hold it from 7.30-9.30pm. Please keep an eye on the website for updates.

Tomorrow is one of my favourite days of the year (except for Christmas and Derby Day). It’s St Patrick’s Day, and if you’re not in Ireland, Liverpool really is one of the best places to celebrate.

The early 19th Century saw half a million Irish people settle in the city, and the country’s music and culture has thrived here ever since. So much so, that we have our own Irish Festival, which takes place in October each year.

The Museum of Liverpool celebrates many of the cultures and communities that have made the city their home, and the Irish connection can be seen throughout the galleries whether it be through music, poetry, exploring the Scouse accent or politics.

This spiral motif was found on Neolithic stones in South Liverpool

In fact, as you walk into the Museum one of the first things you see has a link back  to Irish heritage. The stunning Atrium is dominated by a sweeping elliptical staircase, which has been mirrored on the ground floor by a spiral motif that’s not just a pretty pattern.

This New Stone Age motif was discovered on large stones known as the Calderstones near what is now a park of the same name in South Liverpool, where the remains still stand. Virtually all other prehistoric burials with the same type of carvings are found in Ireland and this suggests close contacts with people around the River Mersey and the Irish Sea more than 4,000 years ago!

So our connections with the Emerald Isle go way back, and if my family’s anything to go by, we’ve all got an Irish connection somewhere along the line so there’s no excuse not to celebrate tomorrow.

The folks at the Liverpool Irish Festival have not only arranged a parade in the city to mark the occasion, but also organised some fantastic events at the Museum of Liverpool tomorrow. The Waterfront Café is cooking up some proper Irish grub and there will be talks, storytelling, music and dancing throughout the day, so come down to enjoy the craic!

I’m really exited to announce that the Britannic (III) bell was the first object to be installed for the exhibition. I met with our handling and transport team Monday morning and it’s always fascinating to watch these guys work. One of main assets within NML is the collections the bold and beautiful items that range from the very small to the very large. The Maritime Museum collections include the pilot cutter Edmund Gardner – the largest accessioned object in National Museums Liverpool – as well as delicate paper items from our archives.

The logistics involved in handling and transporting this wide range of objects is just one of the important behind the scenes jobs involved in museum and art gallery work.

The Britannic Bell will be displayed in the ‘Living On’ section of the exhibition.  The significance of the Britannic (III) bell is that the ship which was built in 1930 was the last to sail under White Star Line colours. Together with the Georgic, both ships were the last to be built before the company was finally merged with Cunard in 1934. You can follow exhibition news on our Twitter account @MerseyMaritime and the Merseyside Maritime Museum facebook page.

Titanic and Liverpool: the untold story opens 30th March 2012.

Bye for now.

Here, Laura Cox, Visitor Assistant at the Museum of Liverpool shares the next of her favourite things.

Laura at the Museum of Liverpool life, by the Punch and Judy display

My second favourite object in the Museum of Liverpool is situated in the Wondrous Place galley, it's a whole case dedicated to Codman's Punch and Judy. The case contains a Punch, a Judy, a Crocodile and perhaps even a sneaky clown who goes by the name of Joey.

The family run Codman's Punch and Judy show used to take place at Lime Street and then later at Williamson Square, pictures around the case show crowds of people watching a show. These shows were way before my time, we're talking the 1800's here, so you may be wondering why it's one of my favourite things in the museum... Well, Codman's Punch and Judy holds a very special place in my heart and as soon as I set eyes on it in the new museum the memories came flooding back.

I remember the same display being in the old Liverpool Life museum, this was my favourite museum when I was little. I remember visiting on soggy Sunday afternoons and having the absolute treat of watching a live Punch and Judy show.  Professor Ronald Richard Codman whose Great Great Grandfather was The George Codman who started the family business in the 19th century, would come and perform his Punch and Judy act in the traditional booth - you can just make it out on the left in the picture. 

My photographic evidence of these soggy Sunday afternoons doesn't paint the best picture of it, not sure why I'm looking so shifty, although I do have a vague recollection of opening my car door on the puppeteers car by accident - whilst he was inside! I was probably terrified that he would come and beat me up with a Punch puppet!

Fear aside, I loved the Punch and Judy show. It's such a timeless tradition and no matter how old you are, where you're from, or what language you speak, a puppet hitting another puppet over the head and then possibly being eaten by a crocodile is and always will be absolutely hilarious!

Recently a visitor suggested that the items in the case should be brought to life... Well I couldn’t agree more. Get Punch and Judy and the puppeteer back! 

One of the stars of the show in the 'Age of the Dinosaur' exhibition is the Camarasaurus. Curator and dino-expert Geoff Tresise tells us more about this herbivorous dino...

One of the stars of the show, the Camarasaurus

The largest of all dinosaurs were the sauropods, giant plant-eating herbivores.  The commonest North American sauropod was Camarasaurus and this is the form seen in the Age of the Dinosaur exhibition. 

Camarasaurus lived during the late Jurassic period 150 million years ago.  Fossils of adult and juvenile animals are found from the same localities, suggesting that, like elephants today, these dinosaurs lived and travelled in protective family groups.

When sauropod fossils were first found in the 1870s, there was considerable confusion between the bones of three forms: Camarasaurus, Apatosaurus (then known as Brontosaurus) and Diplodocus.  Only when more complete skeletons were found did it become clear that Apatosaurus was the largest and bulkiest, Diplodocus had an exceptionally long neck and tail while Camarasaurus was the smallest of the three. 

Even so, it could reach 20 metres in length and weigh an estimated 20 metric tons.  (By comparison, a large African elephant weighs less than 5 tons.)  It was only by Sauropod standards that Camarasaurus can be considered small!

Extract from Blue Funnel wages book showing Victoria Drummond as 10th engineer on Anchises (reference OA/986/1922).

This is an entry from a wages book for a voyage on the Blue Funnel vessel Anchises beginning in August 1922. It might not look significant, but it is.  This is the first voyage of Victoria Drummond, signed on as 10th Engineer and paid £12 a month.  Drummond was the first woman to qualify as a marine engineer and she managed to have a successful career at sea despite encountering prejudice and discrimination.  She was awarded the Lloyd's Bravery Medal and an MBE for heroic actions during the Second World War when her ship Bonita was bombed.  More information about her life can be found online here and the Maritime Archives & Library holds a copy of her biography.  Her pioneering life is also remembered by the Victoria Drummond Award given by Nautilus, the Merchant Navy Union, to women whose achievements boost the profile of women at sea. 

This Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 March 2012 from 11am – 4pm, William Brown Street will come alive with Historical Happenings. The Victorian street will be transformed into a time machine where visitors will be greeted by figures from the past, inspired by Horrible Histories on at the Liverpool Empire.

At World Museum families can get involved with free hands on activities including Saxon helmet making, flint knapping, heraldic shield making, as well as a trail around the medieval streets of Liverpool.  Visitors can watch a medieval falconer or listen to the ancient sounds of the Gold Lyre of Ur, a replica of a 4,500 year old instrument. There will also be a  chance to meet and chat with Ancient Romans, Greeks, Vikings and an English longbowman.

Meanwhile, at the top of William Brown Street, the Walker Art Gallery will be hosting a weekend of activities dedicated to the Tudors. Home to one of the most famous paintings of Henry VIII, the gallery will be Tudor-tastic with mask making and dressing up. There will also be a Tudor painting demonstration to find out how paintings were made 500 years ago, as well as an opportunity to make your own portrait of King Henry VIII.  

We have teamed up with the Empire to offer two families the chance to win a family ticket for the show at 11am on Sunday 11 March. To win simply let us know how many wives Henry VIII had. Send your answers to press@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk.

Check the website for more information on the fun family activities at Walker Art Gallery and World Museum that weekend.

A little time traveller gets into the spirit of things. (c) Mark McNulty

Discover the methods and materials used by Hans Holbein's in his portrait of Henry VIII.

Some of you may remember the John Moores Painting Prize 2010 exhibitor, Sigrid Holmwood. She came to the gallery, during the run of the exhibition to discuss her work, 'Butchering a Pig'.

This weekend Sigrid is back at the Walker Art Gallery for a special weekend of all things Tudor. On Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 March 2012 between 11am and 3pm, she will be giving demonstrations and revealing traditional methods and materials she uses to hand-make her own paints.

Sigrid, who is also a Tudor re-enactor, will discuss the role of natural materials before advances in chemistry made synthetic colours popular. Discussing how clays and vegetables taken directly from earth were ground by hand with linseed oil, she also reveals which colours are the most volatile and even deadly for artists to produce themsleves 

The demonstration explores the techniques used by sixteenth century artists such as Hans Holbein in his famous portrait of Henry Vlll, on display at the gallery.

It is just one part of an action-packed weekend inspired by Horrible Histories at the Liverpool Empire. We have teamed up with the Empire to offer two families the chance to win a family ticket for the show at 11am on Sunday 11 March. To win simply let us know how many wives Henry VIII had. Send your answers to press@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk by noon on Wednesday 7 March.

Check the website for more information on the fun family activities at Walker Art Gallery and World Museum that weekend.

HMS Liverpool leaving the Mersey for the last time.

It's lovely down by the Mersey today, as long as you can avoid the cold wind.  The crew of HMS Liverpool were braving the wind as they stood on deck during the ship's final voyage down the river this morning.  We took this photograph from the window of the Maritime Archives & Library as HMS Liverpool, built in Birkenhead by Cammel Lairds, headed to Portsmouth for decommissioning.  It was a sad moment, but we were pleased to see that, like us, many people stopped to pay their respects. 

It's planet-hunting time! Here's John Moran from the planetarium to tell us what to look out for this month...

During March there will be more planets on view that you can shake a reflecting telescope at! Even if you have an obstructed view of part of the sky there will still be a planet or two to look at in the part of the sky that you can see.

At around 9pm we will still have Venus shining bright in the extreme west of the sky; in the south there is Jupiter, south-east there is Mars and finally in the east we have Saturn. If that doesn't get you excited then nothing will. It's at times like this that I wish I had a telescope with 'go-to technology' - just press a button and it finds your target instantly. Plus, you can also hook it up to a laptop. Sounds brill doesn’t it? 

Planetary conjunction with Venus and Jupiter. Image courtesy of Peter Vandevelde from the astronomie.be website.

On the 13 March we have a planetary conjunction with Venus and Jupiter. This is when two or more planets come very close together in the sky from our viewpoint, at which point they will be less than the width of a full moon apart. So, if you look through a telescope or binoculars they will be in the same field of view as each other. Try and notice from now on these two planets as they draw ever closer to each other.