National Geographic Museum Blog

This photo is taken by one of our current exhibit photographers. Can you guess who?

At the national Geographic Museum we offer a variety of educational options to make your visit more hands on.

One of these activities is out archaeology backpack.

When entering the Anglo-Saxon Hoard: Gold From England’s Dark Ages exhibit families are encouraged to put on their explorers hats and accept the mission of exploration and discovery.

Throughout their mission they are encouraged to brainstorm why they believed the Hoard was buried.

Here are this week’s winners:

Sam: I think that the treasures could have been buried either to be a sort of collection.  To remember times of glory and protect them. I also think that it was being saved for times of need to help people and give them hope.  It would be memories of triumphs.

Sophie: I think the treasure was buried by thieves to come back to retrieve it later. Also, I think the thieves meant to come back for the hoard but couldn’t so it stayed in the ground forever.    

Name: Samantha Beth S. & Sophie B.

Age: 12 & 13

My theory is that it was buried a long time ago.  They wanted to find a place so people would find it one day.  It was like a time capsule.  They came to own it because they were a king.

Name: Lily R.

Age: 9

We think there was a bottle (or many) and all the armor and weapons from soldiers that died stayed there.  Along the years soil covered the things.  We think these things are broken because of the natural disasters (earthquakes and such). That is our theory.

Name: Shira and Marcus M.

Age: 10 & 7

I think the reason why the hoard was buried was because the Anglo-Saxons were being attached by the Picts, Jutes, and Irish and wanted to hide their gold and wealth and keep it for themselves. That way no one could steal it and become wealthy and powerful.

Name: Emily B

Age: 10

Don’t see your theory here? Check back again!

Read past theories here and here.

Join us tomorrow for this great workshop!

Sign up to attend this workshop for those curious about becoming junior archaeologists.

Aethelflaed, the daughter of King Alfred the Great was known as The Lady of the Mercians.

She has been described as ‘our greatest woman-general’ and as one of the most effective leaders the country ever had. She commanded troops for eight years and ruled a country as well.

She drove back the marauding Danes and seized Watling Street, a strategic highway that represented the border between the Danes and Anglo-Saxons.

In the early summer of 913AD, with her Mercians, she marched to Tamworth, and at the junction of its two rivers, established a fortification.

Aethelflaed also founded a series of Burhs, including Stafford.

She died in Tamworth in 920 AD, an event which resulted in Mercia being merged with Wessex.

Source: http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk/history/key-characters/the-lady-of-the-mercians-aethelflaed

Brian Skerry shares the challenges and rewards in creating a unique underwater image of a giant leatherback turtle. Click here to watch the video: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/video/player#/?titleID=skerry-leatherback-turtle-underwater&catID=7

Have you been putting off your trip to the Animal Grossology exhibit? Well, don’t wait any longer as the exhibit ends this weekend on January 8th. In celebration of all the cool things we learned from the exhibit, here’s a final Fast Facts post with tons of cool animal secrets.

A cockroach can live for over a week without a head.
The regal horned lizard squirts blood out of its eyes to repel predators.
Kangaroos lick their forearms to stay cool.
Some sea stars break off their own arms when frightened.
Some spiders eat their own webs.
Some fish eggs hatch in the dad’s mouth.
Giraffes are the only animal born with horns.
Raw termites taste like pineapple.
One of the world’s most expensive coffees comes from animal droppings.
The world’s termites outweigh the world’s people.
The total earthworm population in the US weighs ten times more than the total human population.
650 houseflies weigh less than one ounce.
Wombat waste is cube-shaped.
A Scottish dish called haggis is cooked inside a sheep’s stomach.
You drink the same water as dinosaurs!
The lifespan of an adult mayfly is one day!
Some frogs glow when they eat fireflies.

Are you curious about what an Anglo-Saxon village would have looked like? This game let’s you and your children figure out what an ancient town looked like and how modern day explorers discover interesting facts about historic times.

Follow this link to play: http://www.pastexplorers.org.uk/village/

King Offa of Mercia, 757 AD became the most powerful of all Saxon rulers. He is also known as King of all the English.

He erected a palace in Tamworth so magnificent in style and furnishings, that it was declared to be ‘the wonder of the age’.

In 799 AD he fortified the town with a huge earthwork – a wall and a ditch – resting on the rivers Tame and Anker and encircling the town. This is known as Offa’s Dyke.

Charters were granted by Offa from the palace at Tamworth.  Offa spent Christmas at Tamworth in 781 AD.

He had links with the famous King Charlemagne, exchanging letters and gifts and he established trading connections as far as Arabia.

There is still the unanswered question as to why he killed so many of his relatives following his victory at the Battle of Seckington.

In the late 8th century the first watermill was constructed in Tamworth.

Source: http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk/history/key-characters/king-offa-of-mercia