17 May 2013.
All art groups and societies from Exeter and the surrounding area are invited to submit their entries for the 2013 Local Art Show. Shortlisted entrants will be featured in the Express and Echo throughout August and readers will vote for their favourite one. The name of the successful group will be announced on 29 August and they will exhibit their members work in the museum from 24 September to 16 October. All entries must be submitted before Friday 19 July. Entering groups will need to complete the competition entry form and submit it along with a CD/DVD containing five captioned images representing the group/societies work and 200 words stating why they think their group or society should win. Greg Sheldon, lead councillor for environment and leisure, said: “This is the second year that we are giving local groups the chance to display their work at RAMM. Last year’s winner, Fairstream Arts in Wonford, put on a wonderful display and clearly showed what a wealth of artistic talent there is locally. Exeter City Council is pleased to be working with the Express and Echo to give other local groups this wonderful opportunity. I wish all the entrants the best of luck and look forward to seeing another stunning display.” Local Art Show 2013 is run jointly with the Express and Echo newspaper. Full terms and conditions are included in the competition entry form.

07 May 2013.
A grant from the Leverhulme Trust has enabled RAMM to review its Blackfoot collections with the active participation of representatives from Blackfoot Nations in Canada and the USA. Co-ordinated by Dr Alison Brown of the Department of Anthropology in the University of Aberdeen, staff from RAMM and the University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) will be linked with the Blackfoot Nations of Siksika, Piikani, Kainai and the Blackfeet. A series of reciprocal research visits will improve identification, interpretation and care of the museum collections and allow the Blackfoot to evaluate the importance of the artefacts. Blackfoot contact with objects held in European museums has been very limited. On Blackfoot territory the results of the UK investigations will be disseminated and discussions held with a wide range of community members with a view to developing future cultural and educational projects. The Cambridge and Exeter collections Both collections were accumulated during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a time of tremendous change for Blackfoot people. They include early examples of clothing, ceremonial objects and items connected with other aspects of Blackfoot ways of life. The collections reflect the historic political relationship between the Blackfoot nations and Great Britain, formalized in 1877 by the signing of Treaty 7. Indeed, the RAMM collection includes items acquired from one particular Blackfoot political leader at the signing of this treaty, this includes regalia once worn by Issapumahsika otherwise called Chief Crowfoot. Representatives of the Blackfoot Nations will visit RAMM in November.

25 April 2013.
RAMM’s apprentice recruitment practice has been highly commended in the Creative & Cultural Skills Apprentice Employer of the Year Awards. RAMM introduced the Cultural Heritage Venue Operations Apprenticeship last year to provide a practical opportunity for young people to start their career in the heritage sector. The 18 month apprenticeship provides broad experience of workings in a museum, both in visitor services and behind the scenes. Supported by managers, colleagues and a ‘buddy’, hands-on experience is combined with weekly study programme provided by PlymouthUniversity. The winners and commendations were announced at an awards ceremony held at The British Music Experience Exhibition in London in March. Creative & Cultural Skills campaigns to encourage a change in recruitment culture within the creative sector.

23 April 2013.
Nominations needed: If you and your children enjoy RAMM, its displays, exhibitions and events, why not tell Kids in Museums, the voice for family museum visitors across Britain. They are collecting nominations for their annual award: the 2013 Telegraph Family Friendly Museum Award. RAMM’s collections are here for all to enjoy and awards can help publicise the museum, letting more people know what’s on offer and help us offer more. Email: award@kidsinmuseums.org.uk Post to: Kids in Museums, CAN Mezzanine, 49 – 51 East Road, London N1 6AH For further information visit: www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk

17 April 2013.
An Otter valley landowner has donated a newly found mammoth tooth to the museum’s collection. The 2.2kg tooth is from an Ice Age mammoth and dates to around 70,000 to 20,000 years ago: the last glaciation. It was found by an officer from the Environment Agency who was investigating bank erosion in the Otter valley after recent flooding. The tooth is a right upper second molar and has characteristic ridges for grinding up the tough tundra vegetation. The animal was about 20 years old at time of death. Mammoth teeth are very dense and tend to survive better than other mammoth bones but they are, however, still very rare. There have been a handful of recorded finds in East Devon river valleys including finds made in the 1840s by the Sidmouth antiquarian Peter Orlando Hutchinson. He recorded a number of finds of mamoth teeth and tusks. Not all of them still survive but RAMM has a tusk on display in the Down to Earth gallery.

03 April 2013.
The museum Friends have acquired a rare coin for RAMM’s numismatics collection: an Exeter minted penny from the reign of William II. The coin is one of only a small handful of William II coins from Exeter that are known to still be in existence. The amount of provincial coinage produced during his reign dropped considerably and the number of mints was reduced from 70 to 55. This coin is of particular interest because Saewine, the moneyer who physically created the coin, was also a moneyer in William I’s reign and there is a clear continuation of design style across the two reigns. There are over 350 Anglo-Saxon and Medieval coins from Devon mints in RAMM's collection making it one of the most important in the country. Many of them can be can be seen in the Making History gallery displays. Friends support the museum in many ways and enjoy a wide range of benefits. A new automaton donations box in the Queen Street foyer given to the museum by FEMAG encourages visitors to contribute towards the improvement of RAMM.

01 March 2013.
Devon charity, the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, has donated a large collection of butterflies, moths and other insects to RAMM. The Conservation Trust oversees Paignton Zoo, Slapton Ley, LivingCoasts and Newquay Zoo and the specimens were collected by Dr David Stradling, the former Chairman, who passed away in July 2012. His collection was started in the 1950s and includes specimens from the UK, Switzerland, Trinidad, Argentina and Botswana. Greg Sheldon, Exeter City Council’s Lead Councillor for Environment and Leisure, said “We are delighted to accept his collection of local and scientifically valuable specimens. They will strengthen RAMM's existing nationally important butterfly and moth collection. Of particular interest is a first Devon record for a small green moth found at Starcross”. Simon Tonge, Executive Director of the Trust, said: “This is a large private collection of invertebrates put together by a professional entomologist during the course of his working life. RAMM will take all the UK specimens, most of which were collected in the West Country. There are some moth specimens that appear to be first records for Devon. The remaining material will probably go to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. They are building a collection of international significance and David’s specimens will fill some gaps. “Many of the specimens have details of where and when they were taken, which gives them genuine scientific value. We can’t keep the collection because it needs careful and knowledgeable care which we cannot provide, and we don’t want it to gradually deteriorate.” Dr Stradling lectured on entomology and ecology at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad, working on the ecology of leaf-cutting ants, tarantulas and hawkmoths. Back in the UK, he worked at the University of Exeter for many years, becoming a trustee of the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust in 1981 and Chairman in 2001.

22 February 2013.
If you live within 10minutes walk of the cathedral, you can get involved in a new project: This City’s Centre. To get involved, send in a picture of the view through your window and briefly state what you dream of, thinking of or longing for when looking out of it? These views will be collected throughout March, they will be the inspiration for city-centre performances in September and a selection will be developed into a summer-holiday video installation at RAMM. This City’s Centre is a new media project happening in and between the homes, streets and vistas of central Exeter. A contemporary portrait of an English rural city, the project explores the tensions between public, private and privatised public space, through the views from the windows of 20 Exeter homes and the views of the people who live with them. Organised by Devon-based artist collective Blind Ditch, This City’s Centre is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and Exeter City Council and delivered in partnership with RAMM, Exeter City Council, Exeter Phoenix and ExeterCollege. To find out more about taking part visit www.blindditch.org or email contact@blindditch.org.

11 February 2013.
Twelve brave University of Exeter students have volunteered to research their favourite object in RAMM’s displays and give a short public talk about it. Dubbed the RAMMbassadors, they will be getting on their soapboxes and singing the praises of their chosen object on Saturday 2 March between 10.30am and 3.30pm. Many of the chosen objects could easily be missed on a fleeting visit and coming from varied disciplines (English, Classical Studies, History, Archaeology, Anthropology and Biochemistry), they have selected a wide range of objects, including a tiny Egyptian bracelet from the 1920s, a carved flying angel and a desk watch. The presentations, a fascinating blend of personal insights with informed research, will be posted on YouTube along with supporting drawings. The RAMMbassadors follow the 2012 success of a group of third year Art History students from PlymouthUniversity who presented talks about the paintings in our opening exhibition, Into the Light: French and British paintings from Impressionism to the early 1920s.

09 February 2013.
The Silver Award in the tourist attraction category of the South West Tourism Excellence Awards 2012-13 was presented to RAMM at a special ceremony in Cornwall’s Eden Project last Friday. RAMM shared the silver award with the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth. The Roman Baths in Bath won gold and Cotehele in Cornwall won Bronze. The tourist attraction award was sponsored by Take One Media. The awards event was hosted by well known BBC Radio Journalist Daphne Skinnard, with presentations made by Eden Project founder Sir Tim Smit and comedian Lloyd Griffith. A total of 61 different awards were announced following a rigorous judging process in which over 300 entries from Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Gloucestershire were considered. A full list of winners can be found on the South West Tourism Awards website.