Hi Bulb Buddies, I have enjoyed reading your comments and studying your data. I’ve also enjoyed the photos that have been shared on Twitter showing some of you taking your weather readings. It looks as though you have been outside in all weathers in the pursuit of scientific study! Fantastic!

In week two, most of you reported colder weather, and some reported frost! What do you think the weather will do between now and Christmas in your area? Do you think you will have a white Christmas? Why not write down your thoughts, and then look at the MET Office website to see if meteorologists (weather scientists) think the same?

 

Your Comments:

 

Carnbroe Primary School: Hi, this week our weather has been very cold and some of our class went out to check the plants. They were alright. On Thursday and Friday it was very wet.

Professor Plant: I’m glad to hear that you are keeping an eye on the plants Bulb Buddies, and that they have had a nice watering from the rain!

 

Canonbie Primary School: Hello, we have felt it slightly warmer this week and our results highlight this through our measurements. We even remembered to do them on Pudsey Bear Day in our Pj's.

Professor Plant: Wow Bulb Buddies, I’m glad you’ve had some nice weather. I hope there is a photo of you taking readings in your pyjamas- it sounds like a funny sight to see! Good work!

 

Betws Primary School: I look after the plants and they are growing so well.

Professor Plant: It sounds like you are doing a great job! Remember to let me know if there are any signs of the plant sprouting, this is likely to happen January-February.

 

Pembroke Primary School: Detailed Data weekend 11th and 12th November
11/11 Rain 6.2mm mean temp 10.2 High 12.8 @ 10:00 Low 7.8 @ 00:00
12/11 Rain 0.6mm mean temp 6.7 High 8.6 @ 14:00 Low 4.2 @ 21:30
13/11 Rain 0mm mean temp 5.7 High 8.6 @ 15:30 Low 2.2 @ 04:00
14/11 Rain 1.4mm mean temp 10.4 High 11.7 @ 10:30 Low 6.8 @ 00:30
15/11 Rain 1.4mm mean temp 11.1 High 12.9 @13:30 Low 9.8 @ 06:00
16/11 Rain 0mm mean temp 9.7 High 13.3 @ 12:00 Low 5.2 @ 00:00
17/11 Rain 0mm mean temp 5.6 High 9.8 @ 12:30 Low 2.7 @ 04:30

Professor Plant: Lovely to see your detailed data for the week. Can you work out the average temperature and rainfall for the week? It’s nice to see that the readings you are taking and the detailed data you have are so similar!

 

Bardney Church of England & Methodist Primary: Another dry week!

Professor Plant: Fantastic news Bulb Buddies, you’ve been luckier than some other schools!

 

Arkholme CE Primary School: This week has been fairly cold some rain with a little bit of frost on a couple of days.

Professor Plant: Thank you for your overview of the week Bulb Buddies, it’s nice to have a description of the weather on different days whilst studying the data.

 

Our Lady of Peace Primary School: This was our friends that helped this week.

Professor Plant: Lovely, I’m glad that other classes are getting to take part and see what you are doing as part of the project!

 

Harmony Primary School: On wed our rain collector had fallen over.

Professor Plant: Thank you for letting me know Bulb Buddies, had it been raining on Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning?

 

Scoil an Droichid: We are going to change the position of the rain gauge because we didn't get much rain in the rain gauge.

Professor Plant: Hi Bulb Buddies, is there something obstructing the rain fall?

 

Auchenlodment Primary School: It's been a lot colder this week!

Professor Plant: A few schools have reported the same! I hope you have your hats and scarves ready for the winter!

 

Peterston super Ely Primary School: So far we are really enjoying taking our measurements and can't wait for the bulbs to sprout.

Professor Plant: Fantastic Bulb Buddies, I’m really enjoying the project too and I’m looking forward to seeing photos of your plants once they have started growing!

 

St Paul's CE Primary School: Cold and windy all week. Some frost early morning. Rain on Thursday and Friday.

Professor Plant: Thank you for your weather observations Bulb Buddies!

 

Inverkip Primary School: The lowest was 5 degrees Celsius. We enjoyed doing it this week.

Professor Plant: I hope you continue to enjoy taking readings Bulb Buddies. It will be interesting to see how the weather changes between November and March.

 

Portpatrick Primary School: Brr! Feeling chilly.

Professor Plant: Oh dear Bulb Buddies, it has been getting colder as we approach the end of November! Make sure you wrap up warm to take your weather readings!

 

Darran Park Primary: We haven't had a lot of rain this week. The temperature has remained very similar to last week.

Professor Plant: Good observations Bulb Buddies, thank you for your update.

 

Ysgol San Sior: Thank you for this great project – A.

Professor Plant: Thank you for taking part and for sharing your work with us A.

 

Stanford in the Vale Primary School: Hi this week has been a week that has been hot and cold. Been very cold in the mornings. Bye Bye see you next week.

Professor Plant: See you next week Bulb Buddies!

 

Ysgol Y Traeth: Wedi bod yn wythnos oer iawn yn Abermaw!

Athro’r Ardd: Gwnewch yn siŵr eich bod yn cadw'n gynnes wrth gymryd eich darlleniadau tywydd Cyfeillion y Gwanwyn.

 

YGG Tonyrefail: Wythnos braf a sych.

Athro’r Ardd: Dda i glywed Cyfeillion, rydych wedi cael tywydd gwell na rhai ysgolion eraill.

Forget Raindrops on roses, you can keep your whiskers on kittens…

With such varied collections that we have in the museum I can’t help noticing some fabulous objects.

Thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, we have had funding so we can enhance records and add images for you to view in Collections Online, soon you’ll be able to search the museum catalogue and discover your own favourite things.

These are a few of my favourites:

What a fabulous picture this is! (I may be a little biased). This picture shows the first ever test match between the Wales and New Zealand rugby teams in 1905. Wales won 3 – 0 (a try was only worth 3 points in those days rather than 5 points as it is now).

Roman copper alloy figurine of a mouse

This lovely little mouse (only 3cm high) was found in Loughor, or Leucarum as the Romans knew it. Is it nibbling some cheese, or has it found a biscuit somewhere?

Electric locomotive

It might look like something from Thunderbirds, but this is an electric locomotive used in Glamorgan Haematite Iron Ore Mine (Llanharry Iron Ore Mine) from the 1960s. These locomotives replaced the use of horses for haulage in the mine.

Detail of the silver thread embroidery on the court mantua. 

This shows detail of a dress from the 1720s. This is a very grand court dress (known as a mantua) which would have been worn for presentation at court by Lady Rachel Morgan the wife of Sir William Morgan of Tredegar House. Just look at the incredibly detailed embroidered silver thread on silk damask. The best thing about it I think, is that it was altered during the 19^th century by one of Lady Rachel’s descendants, probably to wear as fancy dress! The dress will be on display in the new galleries at St Fagans National Museum of History in the autumn of 2018.

Puzzle jug made by the Cambrian Pottery c. 1800

What’s the puzzle about this puzzle jug? Try and pour from it, and you’ll end up with beer all over the place. To find out how these were made, and importantly, how you’d use it, check out this video by the V&A museum.

If you want to see more of the collections you can explore online or come and visit one of our museums. Not all of our items are on display, so before you make a special trip to see something specific, check that it’s on display first.

Thank you for sharing your comments when entering your weather data Bulb Buddies. It's always fascinating to hear what your experiences of the project have been. I've answered the comments from week one of the project below. Keep up the good work!

Professor Plant

 

Your Comments:

Stanford in the Vale Primary School: Hi this is Stanford in the vale primary school, we done this amazing project last year. I am R one of the gardening club members. I was the one that recorded and submitted this data last year. I loved doing this project last year, I hope I will this year to. I will be also teaching some of my friends how to do this project this year too. Bye Bye R.

Professor Plant: Hi R, it’s fantastic to hear that you enjoyed the project last year and I hope you enjoy it even more this year! Well done for sharing your knowledge by teaching others. You will be able to see your results from last year on the website, and can compare them to your findings this year! Good luck.

 

Belvoir Park Primary School: Thermometer has broken so no record for temperature.

Professor Plant: Thanks for letting me know Bulb Buddies. A new thermometer is in the post and should be with you early next week.

 

St Andrew's RC Primary School: It has been a cold week with low rainfall.
We had so much fun doing this job.

Professor Plant: I’m glad to hear you are enjoying the project Bulb Buddies. Keep up the Good work!

 

Tonyrefail Primary School: We had to move our rain gauge on Wednesday as we realised it was very close to a shelter. There was no school on Monday.

Professor Plant: Well done for noticing that the rain gauge reading was being affected and for finding a more suitable place Bulb Buddies. Good work!

 

Carnbroe Primary School: Hello Professor Bulb our names are B and F. We are the rainfall and temperature measurers this week. The weather this week has been dry, sometimes sunny and we have only had rain on one day!

Professor Plant: Hi Bulb Buddies, thank you for sharing your weather observations with me! I hope that you are enjoying the project.

 

Canonbie Primary School: We really liked this week because everyone had a good time measuring rainfall and temperature. We liked using the correct scales to measure temperature in Degrees Celsius. We made sure that our results were accurate whilst having fun as well! It has been quite cold this week but the afternoons have been brighter-lovely fresh weather. See you next week.

Professor Plant: Hi Bulb Buddies, I’m glad to hear that you are enjoying the project! It sounds as though you are being very thorough in your investigation. Fantastic work!

 

St Kieran's Primary School: I have really enjoyed the planting of the bulbs and reading the thermometer and rainfall gauge.

Professor Plant: It’s lovely to hear that you are enjoying the project! You might also enjoy comparing your results with those from other schools across the country by using the weather record graphs on the website.  

 

Whitestone Primary School: Children are excited about taking part in this project again this year.

Professor Plant: Fantastic to hear, I hope they enjoy the project and that they engage with the resources on the website to further develop their knowledge and skills from last year.

 

Steelstown Primary School: We have been enjoying taking part in the project so far.
Everything is going successful at the moment. We are happy that we joined the project.

Professor Plant: I’m glad to hear everything is going well Bulb Buddies. Keep up the good work!

 

Carnforth North Road Primary School: It was very muddy but we really enjoyed it.

Professor Plant: I’m not sure if planting your bulbs was muddy, or if it was muddy when you collected your weather readings? I’m sure mud will have added to the fun in both cases!

 

Waddingham Primary School: This week the whole class read the temperature and rainfall measurements so we knew we were accurate.

Professor Plant: Fantastic Bulb Buddies, it’s a good idea to take readings together to begin with to make sure everyone is getting the same answers. Good work.

 

Llanishen Fach Primary School: We've enjoyed being weather monitors this week.

Professor Plant: You’ve done a fantastic job as weather monitors Bulb Buddies. I’m glad to hear you are enjoying the project.

 

Ysgol Bro Pedr: Our data is collected at the same time every day. We had two frosty early mornings, but it opened up beautifully by the time we recorded the temperatures. Tuesday was a washout!

Professor Plant: Good work Bulb Buddies, consistency is important to scientific investigations. Keep up the good work!

 

Inverkip Primary School: Our temperature has been the same all week. We hope this will make our bulbs grow faster.

Professor Plant: That’s very interesting Bulb Buddies. Are you able to check the thermometer in the morning, just to be sure that it is working properly? It’s likely to be colder in the morning than it will be in the afternoon. Why do you think that is?

 

Pembroke Primary School:

We have a Vantage Pro2 weather station and we can provide more accurate data.
This will include daily low, high and mean temperatures and daily rain to nearest 0.2mm. I was unable to paste an image of records so typed below.
Monday 6th Mean temp 8.3 High temp 11.7 @13:30 Low temp 3.9 @ 06:00 rain 0.2mm
Tuesday7th Mean temp 9.3 High temp 12.1 @11:00 Low temp 4.1 @ 00:00 rain 3.6mm
Wednesd8th Mean temp 6.2 High temp 10.4 @14:00 Low temp 2.8 @ 07:00 rain 0.2mm
Thurs 9th Mean temp 10.4High temp 15.4 @12:00 Low temp 6.6 @ 00:30 rain 0.0mm
Friday10th Mean temp 10.9High temp 12.4 @13:00 Low temp 7.8 @ 00:30 rain 0.0mm

Professor Plant: This is very exciting Bulb Buddies, thank you for sharing. There’s lots you can do with this data, including finding the average temperature and rainfall for the whole of November! Once you have this, you can compare your data to the average for the UK!

 

Betws Primary School: I think that the spring bulbs are growing up faster than last year.

Professor Plant: You’ll have to watch your pots carefully, and let me know when you see the first signs of growth!

 

Auchenlodment Primary School: We are working hard to learn how to read scales and record the important data.

Professor Plant: Fantastic Bulb Buddies, you are doing a great job!

 

Ysgol San Sior: Great first week.

Professor Plant: I’m glad to hear it Bulb Buddies!

 

Arkholme CE Primary School: We are the first to record the weather and temperature and are bulbs are safely planted!!

Professor Plant: Fantastic Bulb Buddies, thank you for your hard work!

 

St Robert's R.C Primary School: Our first week of records Professor Plant from Dosbarth Seren.

Professor Plant: Diolch Dosbarth Seren, great work!

Ysgol Y Traeth: Mae hi wedi bwrw glaw yn Abermaw wythnos yma ond dydi hi ddim yn

ofnadwy o oer.

Athro’r Ardd: Diolch am rannu eich sylwadau, cadwch lan hefo’r gwaith da!

 

Ferryside V.C.P School: Roedd yn wythnos sych a'r tymheredd yn gyson.

Athro’r Ardd: Dda iawn Cyfeillion y Gwanwyn, diolch am rannu'ch sylwadau.

 

YGG Tonyrefail: Wedi mwynhau.

Athro’r Ardd: Rwy'n falch o glywed hynny Cyfeillion y Gwanwyn.

Nearing the four-month mark since I stepped into National Museum Wales for the first day of my Professional Training Year (PTY) placement from Cardiff University, my goal of achieving new experiences in the world of marine invertebrate research is definitely underway. This is now taking form in the way of the Magelonidae, the shovelhead worms, a family of polychaetes with many unanswered questions hovering around them in regards to their ecology, taxonomy and behaviour.

Through starting with live observations in the museum lab in July of Magelona alleni, a rather chunky species of magelonid, my project has developed into some exciting discoveries regarding not only the feeding of these amazing worms, but also how they poo, hence the title of the blog post! As boring as worm defecation sounds, this is not the case when you watch how these amazing animals decide to actually get rid of their dinner (there will be more about the details of this in my next blog post when we have finished working on this interesting behaviour).

These findings have led me down a road of using many new techniques to be able to present my work in a professional and scientific manner. This includes scientific drawing using a camera lucida attachment on a microscope, photography in the way of time-lapse captures, film and image stacking, image editing, reviewing relevant literature, statistical analysis, dissection and SEM (scanning electron microscopy) to name but a few.

In addition to these skills I have learnt much about day to day tasks the museum carries out, including learning methods of curation for an impressive collection of marine invertebrates, holding over 750,000 specimens and having the opportunity to partake in sampling trips to collect more animals for the further development of my project and other projects around the museum. I have also settled into the role of tank maintenance for not only the shovelhead worms, but also some of our resident anemones, hermit crabs, starfish, sea potatoes and prawns. I have even tried my hand at outreach on one of the museum’s stands during the evening event ‘After Dark at the Museum’ with Cardiff University, which saw nearly 2000 people (mainly families) enjoy a hands on experience.

One crucial advantage that I feel I have obtained over these last few months is that I am starting to enjoy a great appreciation for the diversity of life in our seas, from the very tiny, such as organisms like diatoms and foraminiferans to the impressively large, like the young humpback whale skeleton on display in the museum, which I get the pleasure of walking past most days. All in all, my experiences so far have been beyond valuable and who knows what the next few months of research here will bring.

Find out more about how I got on when I first started at the museum

Hello Bulb Buddies,

Thank you for all the work you have done so far and for sharing your photos! It was extremely hard to choose just five winners. The chosen photos are from schools in Wales who are not participating in the Edina extension projects. If you are participating in the Edina Trust extension projects then your photo has been entered into that competition, and the Edina Trust will announce winners soon.

Here are the winning schools:

Ysgol Carreg Emlyn

Severn Primary School

Shirenewton Primary

St Julians Primary

Ysgol Bro Hyddgen

Your prizes will be posted to you soon. Well done Bulb Buddies.

I’d like to send a big thank you to all the schools that have shared photos with us. It has been lovely to see the work that you have been doing, so please continue to share your photos! I will use these in my Blog Posts over the coming weeks.

Keep up the good work Bulb Buddies!

Professor Plant