It’s not unusual to visit a museum and find yourself standing in the middle of the main hall wanting to take a photo with a prehistoric creature. For the last eight months thousands of people have done exactly that at National Museum Cardiff, and now finally those who have smiled with the Mammoth can call him by his name…Tom Bones.
Mammoths like the one Tom is based on, once lived and grazed the green green grass of home and, despite being found across the border in Shropshire, Tom Bones has done exactly what Sir Tom Jones sang about in 1967 by declaring I’m coming home and settling for a place in National Museum Cardiff.
During the naming process, the Museum received over 1400 suggestions. The two other shortlisted names – Macsen and Morus – also proved popular with voters during half term, but were ultimately pipped to the post by the winning name, Tom Bones.
Notable entries suggested by the public that didn’t make the final three included: Bendigeidfran, Merlin the Mammoth, Tusks, BFM (Big Friendly Mammoth), Sir Tusk-A-lot and – of course – Mammoth McMammoth Face.
Mared Maggs, Head of National Museum Cardiff said…….
“We are delighted to finally be able to give our newest resident a name. It was hard whittling the entries down to three, but I’m delighted our campaign managed to capture public imagination and the name was ultimately chosen by our visitors. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who submitted suggestions and visited the museum during half term to cast their votes.
While Tom is part of the National Museum Cardiff family, he truly feels like a friend to us all. We’re excited to welcome as many of you as possible to have your photo taken with our new icon, Tom Bones.”
So, if it’s cold outside this winter why not pop into National Museum Cardiff and have your photo taken with Wales’s boniest celebrity.
Amgueddfa Cymru’s exhibitions and public engagements programme is made possible thanks to players of the People’s Postcode Lottery. Alongside the mammoth, this includes exhibitions currently running at National Museum Cardiff including Hip Hop: A Welsh Story.
