Museums in Annan, Dumfries and Sanquhar Exhibitions, Events and Workshops April - September 2018 ADMISSION FREE THE ARCHAEOLOGY AND KIRKCUDBRIGHT ARTISTS Welcome COLLECTIONS OF DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY COUNCIL ARE 2018 is Scotland’s Year of Young People. As we prepare our new programme we hope that it will have something in it for you. Whether you are young, old, or somewhere in between, we look forward to welcoming you to our venues. To download a PDF of this programme visit www.dumgal.gov.uk\artsandmuseums RECOGNISED AS NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT COLLECTIONS AWARDED BY MUSEUMS GALLERIES SCOTLAND ON BEHALF OF THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT EVENTS FOR SCHOOLS AND GROUPS For further information on school or group visits please call Dumfries Museum on 01387 253374. Why not visit our museums in Dumfriesshire? Loans boxes Special workshops We offer special workshops We have a wide range of loans The museums are free to visit and Camera Obscura based on some of our boxes available for schools and temporary exhibitions - look presentations at Dumfries Museum are free to school groups community groups to borrow out for further information on when booked in advance. If you are studying a specific topic free of charge. These cover GLOW or through education topics such as Robert Burns, email circulars. and think that we can help please call us. We have a range of Domestic Life, Education and worksheets which may help structure your visit. Childhood and many more. To keep up to date with our news and get additional information follow us on Facebook (@DumfriesMuseum) and Twitter (@DumfriesMuseum). Cover background drawing by Melanie Huxtable Annan Museum EXHIBITIONS AT ANNAN MUSEUM Annan Museum NEW FOR 2018 A watercolour view of Bank Street, Annan DG12 6AA Annan in 1883 by John Tel: 01461 201384 Dixon CE, a printed ceramic jug from the Admission free Bush Inn, Annan and the carefully conserved Open 30 March - jacket that belonged to 31 October 2018 Lieutenant-General Colin Monday - Saturday Mackenzie (1806 - 1881) 11am - 4pm are just some of the items that will added to This family friendly museum houses a permanent the local history gallery Friday 30 March - Friday 25 May - Saturday 23 June exhibition on the history of Annan and the displays for 2018. Saturday 19 May Lady Florence Dixie - Scotland's surrounding area. A fascinating journey through Space: Fact time takes visitors from the prehistoric period Forgotten Radical up to the era of nuclear fission. Displays include and Fiction Florence Dixie was born in 1855. As part of the costume, First World War memorabilia, town This exhibition explores a Douglas family she was brought up and later regalia and a remarkable collection of paintings brave new world of science lived at Kinmount near Annan. One of the most depicting Annan and the Solway shore. Look facts and takes a giant leap prominent figures of the late 19th Century she is out for a 4000 year old Bronze Age burial urn, into science fiction. From remembered for her involvement with the British mummified baby crocodiles and the 110 year old a local observatory to the Ladies Football Club. She was a political activist piece of chocolate! Galloway Dark Sky Park who campaigned for women’s right to vote and The museum also hosts a lively programme of and galaxies far, far away stood for election, speaking out for the restoration special exhibitions and events throughout the there are plenty of hands of the Scottish Parliament. She was a traveller season, together with visitor information and a on activities for all ages to and even at one point a war correspondent. This shop stocking pocket money buys as well as local enjoy. exhibition explores the life of an enigmatic and history books and greetings cards by local artists. often misunderstood local figure. This exhibition has been developed in partnership with historian Stuart Biggs. TALKS AND EVENTS AT ANNAN MUSEUM Booking is required unless otherwise stated. Please phone Annan Museum on 01461 Saturday 8 201384 to reserve a place. September - Events are free unless otherwise stated. Wednesday Donations towards costs are always 31 October appreciated and help to make the museum Roman sustainable in the longer term. Invaders in the Solway Friday 29 June - Saturday 1 September The story of The Flow Country the Priestside The Flow Country is a vast area of peat bog in the highlands anchor and of Scotland and is the best example of its type in the world. the ships that This touring exhibition offers a rich and interactive insight carried into the importance of our peatlands – the diversity of habitat Roman they provide, their role as a huge carbon store in the fight invaders to our shores 2000 years ago. against further global warming and how they are restored We know that the Roman Army was Festival of Museums 2018 following damage by large scale afforestation. The exhibition almost invincible on land of its own also highlights how people live and work in this fascinating choosing but what is less well known Friday 18 May, 6.30pm landscape, and how they are connected to it. The exhibition is that it was closely supported by sea The Case of Robert Smith – Last has a rich variety of artwork, displays, and interactive media by a formidable navy. For many years Public Execution in Scotland and also offers hands on fun for children. an ancient iron anchor from Priestside 2018 is the 150th anniversary of the last near Annan has been on display in This exhibition was created by the Peatlands Partnership, lead public execution in Scotland. Robert Smith was Dumfries Museum. New studies have project partner RSPB Scotland. convicted and hung in Dumfries. The Mostly revealed that this may be one of the Ghostly Tour team describe their research rarest survivors of an invading Roman findings and the history behind this shocking navy. Find out more about the anchor crime which took place near Cummertrees in and how the Romans used boats to Dumfriesshire. conquer and colonise. TALKS AND EVENTS AT 27 and 28 July Visits to Silver Flowe Silver Flowe is Dumfries and Galloway's Flow Country, and this is a rare opportunity to visit, in the company of expert guides from the Forestry Commission and the Crichton Carbon Centre, this remote and special place, hidden deep in the Galloway Forest Park. The site takes it's name from the myriad of bog pools which, when viewed from the surrounding hills, sparkle in the sunlight. The bog surface is a carpet of delicately-patterned mosses, which support specialist boglife such as Sundews, Large Heath butterflies and rare Azure Hawker dragonflies. Meeting point - 10.30am at Clatteringshaws Visitor Centre car park, near New Galloway. Participants will transported by minibus on bumpy forestry roads for the last 5 miles of the journey. Access over the bog will be on foot and dependent Thursday 28 June, 6.30pm on weather conditions, but expect wet, rough ground. Return – approx 2.30pm at For Peat’s Sake: Peatlands Past, Present and Future Clatteringshaws car park. To coincide with the opening of the Flow Country exhibition we will explore the Friday 27 July history, wildlife and environmental importance of peatlands on a national scale, Open to all, but especially for those working in peatland restoration or with a illustrated with examples from Dumfries and Galloway. particular interest in the ecology of bogs. We will visit Beggar’s Moss, where Andre Berry from Natural England will describe the long history of peat use in restoration is planned as part of the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership Scheme, Britain. Extending back to the Bronze Age it has been put to some extraordinary then on to Silver Flowe to discuss the ecology of the most important upland bog in uses over time. This talk explores the tools, techniques and landscapes of hand south west Scotland and its role in climate control. peat cutting, with reference to the collections in the Dumfries and Galloway Museums. Saturday 28 July Enjoy an introduction to boglife in one of Dumfries and Galloway's wildest places. Peter Norman, former Biodiversity Officer, will describe the special plants, insects, No previous experience necessary, with (optional) limited walking across the bog birds and other wildlife of our peatlands. From the intricate world of Sphagnum surface to discover wildlife and visit the bog pools. mosses to the mysterious nocturnal song of the Nightjar, each species is adapted to a life on bogs. These free events are being organised in partnership with the Crichton Carbon Finally staff from the Crichton Carbon Centre, will tell us about how bogs can be Centre and the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership. brought back to life after forestation and how important bogs are in capturing carbon – a major factor in controlling climate change. Refreshments will be served. FREE FAMILY EVENTS AT ANNAN MUSEUM Suitable for aged 5 and upwards, all children must be accompanied by an adult. Please wear old clothes - workshops can be messy! Where booking is required this opens one month before the event. To reserve a place please phone Annan Museum on 01461 201384 during normal opening times (Monday - Saturday 11am - 4pm). Activities are free. Donations towards the cost of materials are always appreciated and help to make the museum sustainable in the longer term. Drop in spring activities Friday 30 and Saturday 31 March and Friday 30 March - Saturday 19 May, Monday 2 April, 11am - 4pm Monday - Saturday 11am - 4pm Find the Easter Ducklings Gallery activities to accompany the Find all of the ducklings hidden around the museum Space: Fact and Fiction exhibition and answer the Easter quiz questions to win a wee • Be an astronaut or an alien in our dress up bay chocolate egg and lots of satisfaction.