Cuil Lodair Culloden Battlesite

On my way north this week I visited the Culloden Battlesite. The site is located just out of Inverness on a windswept, boggy moor. The battle took place on 16 April 1746 and was the last major pitched battle fought on British soil. Bonnie Prince Charlie led the Jacobite forces against British government troops in the final battle of an uprising that had begun the previous year. Having marched all night in cold, wet conditions, the Jacobites were not in the best of conditions by the time the battle began at 12pm, tragically in under an hour over 1500 Jacobites and 50 government troops had been killed and the battle ended.

The site has been sensitively interpreted with a new visitor centre and exhibition opened in December 2007. The centre has a low profile using local stone and timber that allows it to blend in with the surrounding landscape. The centre houses a shop, cafe and exhibition that skillfully weaves the story of both the Jacobite and government sides of the battle and contextualises events with a broader international political landscape. As with much of the Highlands area of Scotland much of the signage and interpretation is bilingual Gaelic/English. The move to provide more prominence for Gaelic throughout the Highlands is supported through schools, cultural groups and some television programs. No doubt the bilingual labels seen here and in many other museums and galleries in the Highlands supports these moves.

The exhibition incorporates audiovisual components including the thoughts of those who took part in the battle retold by actors in Gaelic and English, table top projected moving maps of the events leading up to the battle and the battle itself and a 360 degree full height film of a re-enactment of the battle. Archaeological material from the battlefield is on display and well as contemporary documents artwork and maps and a range of weaponry including guns, swords, cannon and targe (a leather studded shield).

A fantastic handheld multimedia interpretative device triggered by GPS produced by ZolkC is provided as part of the entry fee and provides an enriched experience for visitors walking through the outside site. As well as tours in English, Gaelic and various other languages, the tour also provides a child centered tour and audio description for those with vision impairment.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh

Over the weekend I visited the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens. The gardens were filled with the rich reds and yellows of nature's autumnal palette. It was delightful to sit at the top of a hill within the gardens and look across at the Old Town of Edinburgh.

The recently completed John Hope Gateway building is located at the western entrance to the Botanic Gardens. The building is designed to promote sustainbility through the use of sustainable materials, energy saving measures and the production of renewable energy. It houses a wonderful array of exhibitions, restaurant, shop and education centre. A newly planted Scottish biodiversity garden surrounds the centre which has the feel of a highland meadow.

The exhibitions are beautifully presented and focus on biodiversity both in Scotland and across the world. There are a range of activities for children, some within an activities room and others within the exhibition area. A small tent type structure has been completely covered with children's drawings inspired by the exhibitions.

The main exhibition was on the surprising topic of fungi! Exploring everything from mushrooms to athlete's foot the exhibition looks at the role of fungi in mythology, medicine, brewing and as a hallucinogen. A very neat hand held audio guide is provided for free. The audio is activated using infra red light at various points through the exhibition.

The Gardens have worked closely with artists on a range of projects. A project with a local design school was on display- the students designed screen prints for tights, inspired by plants preserved in the Herbarium. In conjunction with the Fungi exhibition is "The Secret Sounds of Spores" a project supported by New Media Scotland . The project uses a video camera attached to a microscope to record the release of spores from a series of mushrooms. The recording is displayed on a screen adjacent to the Fungi exhibition. Alongside the screen are a series of microsopes where visitors can examine a range of fungi.

MA conference- walking the earth lightly

This was a session I attended on Wednesday focussing on a range of sustainability issues that impact museums and galleries, speakers included:

Carole Hammond, Museum Victoria

Looking at the sustainable development of exhibitions, Carole suggested using a 4 step process to move to more sustainable exhibition practices including:

1. Recognise your design sustainability weaknesses

2. Design a strategy of change

3. Locate the tools that can be used to guide sustainability (such as Cost of Life Indicators)

4. Create and activate green, grey and black lists (for materials and techniques)

Carole mentioned a great website Green Exhibitions http://www.gex.org.au

Paul Broadhurst & Laila Christies

Cunningham Martyn Design

Paul discussed the reality of sustainability where plans to recyle showcases don't always come to fruition and a wonderfully pragmatic approach to developing environmental control in a dedicated pod within a large industrial heritage space. He also highlighted the use of simple procedures and practices such as the total power down of energy hungry AV extravaganzas and the replacement of PVC display panels with designs printed on wallpaper pasted on walls

Julian Bickersteth, International Conservation Services and AICCM Environmental Guidelines Taskforce discussed measures being taken to develop new environmental guidelines for collecting institutions in line with international moves. Julian informed us that the European National Museum Directors Conference (NMDC) are looking to address the following:

1. Intelligent Standards

2. Air conditioning- not assumed

3. Natural/sustainable environmental controls

4. Primary objective- reduce carbon footprint

Barbara Reeve, Australian War Memorial

Barbara spoke of her 5 month sabbatical at Wolfson College Cambridge looking at European cultural heritage initiatives for sustainability. Barbara highlighted the need to address cradle to cradle design (take, make, regenerate, make more) and the triple top line of economy, equity and ecology.