Made in Africa

A British Museum Tour

Supported through the generosity of the

Dorset Foundation

Torquay Museum, 26^th July - 6^th October

Torquay Museum is continuing with it's dynamic and varied exhibitions programme for 2007 with the opening of its latest exhibition, "Made in Africa", which is on tour from the British Museum.

The exhibition, which opens at the museum on Thursday July 26^th, will feature some of the world's oldest artefacts. These exquisite objects - a chopping tool and two hand axes - come from Olduvai Gorge, now in Tanzania; their discovery in 1931 by Louis Leakey helped to change scientific thinking about human evolution. 

The first technological invention was the stone tool and these three remarkable objects are representative of the oldest form of material culture anywhere in the world.  They also represent the very first spark of creative genius, which set humans apart from the animal kingdom.

When chopping tools first appeared about 2.5 million years ago they fulfilled many of the everyday needs of our earliest ancestors.  As the brain developed in size and complexity just over 1.5 million years ago, a new tool was invented - the teardrop shaped hand axe.

Ros Palmer, Director of Torquay Museum said:

"Being able to host touring exhibitions from the National Museums is an incredible achievement for Torquay Museum. This exhibition, from the British Museum, is an opportunity for visitors to see and handle some of the most significant objects from human history. It is also particularly relevant to Torquay as the museum cares for the artefacts excavated by William Pengelly from Kents Cavern. The items from the caves are also proof of long human antiquity and have contributed to our understanding of our earliest ancestors."

The examples on show are masterpieces of the toolmaker's art. Their size, symmetry, quality and the choice of material suggest that the skill of making them was as important as the function for which they were intended.

During the exhibition there will be session where visitors can also handle stone tools, made in the Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania 1.5 million years ago.

Made in Africa is a British Museum Partnership UK touring exhibition made possible through generous support from the Dorset Foundation.

Modern Day Explorer

Arrives from Ethiopia

                                                                        
On Thursday 2^nd August, Nick Danziger (photojournalist, author and documentary maker)

will arrive fresh from him latest expedition to Ethiopia to officially open the new Explorers Gallery at Torquay Museum. The new gallery, designed by the award winning Bremner & Ore team, will be the main showpiece of the museum and features 20 cases of objects and artefacts collected by Torquay’s Explorers during their travels across the globe. Many of the objects that have found their way to the museum over the last 160 years were previously in store and inaccessible and will be on show to the public for the first time. A number of the artefacts, including the Egyptian Coffin, have undergone extensive conservation work to repair the damage of time and restore them to their former glory. The new gallery also contains a number of tactile exhibits as well as interactive elements, ensuring that a visit appeals to everyone. The collections contained within the gallery have been assessed and classified of regional importance, with some items being of national importance, such as the Chinese Mandarin’s child robe and a number of Buddhist figures. When Nick Danziger cuts the ribbon on the 2^nd of August it will be the culmination

of a project that Torquay Museum started nearly 3 years ago and has involved thousands of hours of work, creating one of the most modern and exciting galleries in Devon. 

Torquay Museum Summer Exhibition

Outpost of Empire: Romans in Devon 

This summer Torquay Museum, in partnership with the Royal Albert Memorial Museum Exeter, hosts the region's largest exhibition on Roman Devon. From its origins as a small town in central Italy, Rome grew to control one of the largest empires the world has ever seen. The exhibition tells the story of the rise of the Roman Empire, the conquest of Britain and its effect on local Celtic peoples.

In the newly refurbished hall visitors can see a range of Roman artefacts from across Devon as well as items from Italy and Europe.  In 1993 a body was discovered in Paignton, on the Hookhills estate. At the time of excavation it was believed that the skeleton was prehistoric but recent research by Torquay Museum and the Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit in Oxford has shown the body to be that of a young woman who died between AD230 – 390, during the late Roman occupation. Evidence of burial in the county in this period is extremely rare and this remarkable find is displayed for the first time in the gallery. 

The exhibition also has a number of interactive elements, including the opportunity to try on a Roman helmet and shield, the chance to play a typical Roman game and a film show about the Roman Empire.  Many of the items on show are on loan from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter as part of their AlsoRAMM programme, designed to allow access to their collections during the forthcoming closure of the museum for refurbishment.

To support the exhibition Torquay Museum will also be hosting a series of activities and workshops throughout the summer. There’ll be the chance to meet Roman soldiers, try on Roman costumes, make shields and practise drilling at Palk Street Gardens.
 
If this doesn’t appeal you can try your hand at making mosaics in the Museum or sit back and listen to some Roman tales at Torquay and Paignton Libraries. There will be a day of junior chariot racing and to round off the programme of activities a Roman re-enactment group will be visiting Torquay on the 1st and 2nd September giving people the chance to visit a Roman settlement and see first hand how Roman soldiers and civilians lived.

For details of times / dates and venues call the museum on 01803 293975 or visit www.torquaymuseum.org 

On July 28th 2007 Torquay Museum will open its brand new Explorers Gallery
following a year long refurbishment and the support of a Heritage Lottery Grant.

The new gallery pays tribute to famous explorers associated with Torquay and Devon and brings to life the adventures of these intrepid explorers.

With amazing artefacts and objects, thrilling stories and interactive activities for all the family the new gallery is set to become the showpiece of the museum.