Hello bulb buddies!

I hope you’re all having fun looking after your bulbs.

Autumn has finally arrived in Cardiff. There is a chill in the air and the leaves on the trees are turning lovely shades of orange, yellow and brown.

Autumn has arrived late this year. October’s weather was warmer and wetter than average and this meant lots of the trees kept their green leaves for longer than usual.

The weather on Halloween was extra-special! Temperatures in some areas of the UK, such as south England and north Wales, reached well over 20°C. 

The temperature in Kew Gardens in west London reached a whopping 23.6°C, which is the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK on Halloween. I hope you didn’t get too hot in your spooky costumes!

I think these weird weather conditions are very interesting and am excited to see what strange things you find during your spring bulb experiments.

Has autumn arrived where you live? Are the leaves changing colour and falling from the trees? Why don’t you take an autumnal picture and send it to me in an email? I might even post it here on my blog.

Remember that you should now have started recording the temperature and rainfall on your weather charts. If you can’t remember what you’re supposed to do you can look at the Keeping Weather Records page on my website.

Many Thanks

Professor Plant

A planting day of bulbous proportions!

Eleven thousand and three hundred bulbs were planted by school scientists across the UK to kick start the Spring Bulbs for Schools investigation. Seven and a half thousand pupils from one hundred and seventy nine schools got planting to investigate climate change.

Here is a map to show you where the bulbs were planted.

Here are some of the pictures they sent in. Follow their progress and the questions they raise as they record the local weather and flowering through the winter and into the spring.

Professor Plant

‘From ghoulies and ghosties, and long-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night…’

Last Friday, Natural Sciences staff celebrated Halloween in grand style with a host of truly ghoulish and grizzly specimens out in the main hall at National Museum Cardiff. The National Herbarium was transformed into a ghoul filled graveyard, and a large mosquito model leered down from the entomology (insects) stand, any moment threatening to jump on the jugular of an unsuspecting member of the public. Younger visitors to the OPAL stand were encouraged to stealthily walk through a spider’s web without disturbing its occupant, and learn about glow in the dark scorpions. Meanwhile the biggest creepy crawly that ever lived, Arthropleura, a 300 million year old extinct giant millipede, escaped from the Palaeontology (fossil) stand and went off to explore the Impressionist galleries.

Despite all of the fun, visitors gained an insight about some of the 6 million specimens that are held behind the scenes at the museum, and the incredible work of the staff that care for them.  From bats to giant squid, volcanic rocks to fungi, we covered them all. One of my favourite parts of the day was taking visitors behind the scenes on tours of the Entomology and Molluscan sections to see insects and shells and the Spirit store (not ghosts, but where we keep our specimens preserved in fluid such as sea worms and crabs). It is such a rewarding experience to see the excitement of people visiting the collections for the first time, and proudly talking about all of the great research work that we do.

If you missed it, don’t worry! We have a whole host of open days and curator led sessions coming up. See our What’s Onto find out more!

Museum scientists were out and about during half-term week, when the I Spy…Nature pop-up museum paid a visit to Fairwater Library on 30th October.  Curators from the Botany, Invertebrate Diversity and Palaeontology sections took along specimens from their collection areas to show the public, along with a microscope and quizzes to encourage them to look even closer.

Ingrid Jüttner challenged people to identify as many trees as they could, using beautiful displays of freshly-pressed leaves and fruits.  This activity was a big hit with grown-ups, and it was very pleasing to see so many parents and grandparents encouraging children to learn more about these important plants, which bring our living spaces to life.

The library’s meeting room became temporary home to an impressive array of marine and mollusc specimens from the Invertebrate Diversity section.  People were fascinated by the creatures on display, which evoked a range of reactions (including ‘they’re really gross!’) depending on how they felt about slugs and worms!  Teresa Darbyshire showed some of the diversity of life found around our shores, with beautiful sea shells, lobster, starfish, and a pickled octopus and giant sea worm.  Visitors tried their hands at identifying shells using a key, all good training for trips to the beach!  Ben Rowson challenged people to identify mystery objects under the microscope, and introduced them to slug identification using his recently published book and life-like models.

Lucy McCobb showed visitors a range of fossils from different periods of the Earth’s history, ranging from an Ice Age mastodon tooth and horse’s leg bone, through Jurassic ammonites and ichthyosaur bones, to trilobites, which are among Wales’s oldest fossils.  The ‘what’s in a name?’ quiz was popular with children, and asked them to use the meanings of scientific names to match up the name with the correct fossil.

This was I Spy..Nature's  first venture into libraries, and showed that they have great potential as venues for taking the Museum’s collections and experts out into communities.

 1. Taffywood Mugs

These Taffywood mugs from I Loves the ‘Diff always bring a smile to our faces with their mixture of witty puns and wordplay.  They’re a fantastic present for those living in Cardiff as well as a wonderful reminder of the city for those who have moved away.

2. Welsh dinner kitchenware

Bara Brith, Welsh Cakes, Cawl and Laver Bread, this lovely range of homeware from Victoria Eggs gets ours taste buds going. Hand printed and decorated, the tea towel and apron are made from 100% organic cotton and the mug is bone china. Perfect presents for Welsh foodies.

3. Set of 3 mugs

Te, coffi, sicoled – which to choose? These earthenware mugs are great when you need a warming cuppa of any kind. If making a choice is too difficult, buy a set of all three. These mugs are exclusive to Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales.

4. Bird and butterfly necklaces

We love these pretty necklaces from Ladybird Likes. The illustrations are from vintage French nature books which have been applied to wood and laser cut. Ladybird Likes are a small jewellery company based in London founded by self-confessed craft geek Zoe Jade and her charming necklaces and brooches are both delicate and striking.

5. Colour & Carry Satchel Kit

Stand out from the crowd and get creative with this colour and carry satchel. This bag comes with fabric pens so that you can colour it in and craft your own unique bag. Seedling products are new to the UK and their kits are full of inspiring craft ideas to fire up children’s imaginations.

6. Welsh Alphabet Jigsaws

These gorgeous wooden Welsh alphabet jigsaws make learning fun. Brightly coloured and made from sustainable rubber wood, they look great as well as being educational and come in dragon, dinosaur and crocodile designs.

7. Scrabble yn Gymraeg

Scrabble is the most popular word game in the world and is now available in Welsh. This junior version includes two games, a simpler version for younger children on one side and a more challenging game for older children on the other. For more Welsh language games for children, visit our online shop.

8.St Fagans coaster and placemats

These brightly coloured melamine coasters and placemats will bring memories of St Fagans flooding back. We commissioned local artist Wayne Bedgood to come up with the design and we are amazed at how he has squeezed so many buildings in. See if you can spot your favourite. Exclusive to Amgueddfa Cymru- National Museum Wales.

9. 2015 Calendar

The 2015 Amgueddfa Cymru- National Museum Wales calendar contains twelve images that capture the majesty of the mountains of Wales.  It includes works by Graham Sutherland, Peter Pendergrast, John Piper and Sir Kyffin Williams. . Exclusive to Amgueddfa Cymru- National Museum Wales.

10. Print on Demand

We love this painting by Pissarro of the Pont Neuf in Paris in the snow.  You can own a reproduction of this beautiful work or one of over 250 others through our online print on demand service. From seascapes to castles and from Monet to mountains, browse out print on demand service.

Every purchase supports the work of the Museum.