Hello everybody!

Last week we introduced you into the wonderful world of washing paper. This time, we are going to show you a video where you are able to enjoy a real process.

The lithograph prints were mounted in poor quality mounts and for that reason we decided to remove all of them. The prints were attached to the backing with an animal glue along the very top edge on the back. When put in a bath of water it can be removed easily with the brush. That is what you are going to watch in the video. Enjoy!

Ninety five schools across the UK will be awarded Super Scientist Certificates from Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales this year, in recognition of their contribution to the Spring Bulbs – Climate Change Investigation.

Huge Congratulations to all these schools! They are listed below, is your school listed?

Thank you to every one of the 4200 pupils who helped this year! Thank you for working so hard planting, observing, measuring and recording - you really are Super Scientists! Each one of you will receive a certificate and Super Scientist pencil, these will be sent to your school around the middle of May.

Many thanks to the Edina Trust for funding this project and helping to make this all happen!

Winners 2014

Well done to our three winners for sending in the most weather data! Each will receive a class trip of fun-packed nature activities.

• Ysgol Clocaenog in Wales
• Abronhill Primary School in Scotland
• Dallas Road Community Primary School in England

Runners Up

Each school will receive a gift voucher to purchase lovely things for your gardening projects.

• Ysgol Gynradd Cross Hands in Wales
• Wormit Primary School in Scotland
• The Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School in England

Highly commended

Each school will receive certificates, pencils, flower seeds and herb seeds.

• Abergwili VC Primary
• Archbishop Hutton's Primary School
• Arkholme CE Primary School
• Balshaw Lane Community Primary School
• Bleasdale CE Primary School
• Burscough Bridge Methodist School
• Carnforth North Road Primary School
• Christchurch CP School
• Combe Primary School
• Coppull Parish Church School
• Cutteslowe Primary School
• Darran Park Primary
• Freuchie Primary School
• Gladestry C. in W. Primary
• Glyncollen Primary
• Kilmaron School
• Raglan VC Primary
• SS Philip and James CE Primary School
• St Athan Primary School
• St Blanes Primary School
• St Ignatius Primary School
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Leyland
• St Mellons Church in Wales Primary School
• St Michael's CE (Aided) Primary School
• St Nicholas Primary School
• St Patrick's Primary School
• Stanford in the Vale CE Primary School
• Ysgol Bro Eirwg
• Ysgol Deganwy

Schools with special recognition

Each school will receive, certificates, pencils and flower seeds.

• Auchengray Primary School
• Britannia Community Primary School
• Cawthorne's Endowed Primary School
• Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor
• Culross Primary School
• Greyfriars RC Primary School
• Holy Trinity CE Primary School
• John Cross CE Primary School
• Llanishen Fach Primary School
• Red Marsh School
• St Anne's Catholic Primary School
• St Laurence CE Primary School
• Woodplumpton St. Anne's Primary School
• Ysgol Gynradd Dolgellau
• Ysgol Terrig
• Ysgol Y Plas

Schools to be awarded certificates

Each school will receive Super Scientist Certificates and pencils.

• All Saints' CE Primary School
• Balcurvie Primary School
• Ballerup Nursery
• Blenheim Road Community Primary School
• Brockholes Wood Community Primary School
• Brynhyfryd Junior School
• Catforth Primary School
• Chatelherault Primary School
• Cleddau Reach VC Primary School
• Cobbs Brow Primary School
• Coed-y-Lan Primary School
• Flakefleet Primary School
• Glencairn Primary School
• Golden Hill School
• Henllys C/W Primary
• Hillside Specialist School
• Ladywell Primary School
• Lakeside Primary
• Lea Community School
• Manor Road Primary School
• Manor School
• Milford Haven Junior School
• Newport Primary School
• Pinfold Primary School
• RAF Benson Primary School
• Rogiet Primary School
• Rougemont Junior School
• Scotforth St Paul's CE Primary School
• St Bernadette's Primary School
• St Gregory's Catholic Primary School
• St John's CE Primary School
• St Nicholas C/W primary school
• Trellech Primary School
• Tynewater Primary School
• Woodstock CE Primary School
• Ysgol Bro Tawe
• Ysgol Glan Cleddau
• Ysgol Iau Hen Golwyn
• Ysgol Nant y Coed
• Ysgol Rhys Prichard
• Ysgol Santes Tudful
• Ysgol Sychdyn
• Ysgol Y Berllan Deg
• Ysgol Y Faenol

Daffodil Drawing Competition 2014

Congratulations to the following pupils who produced some excellent botanical drawings! Winners will receive Bird watching kits with mini binoculars.

• 1st: Abbey – Coppull Parish Church School
• 2nd: Louise – SS Philip and James CE Primary School (Pink 3)
• 3rd: Amelie – Stanford in the Vale CE Primary School

Well done, you have all done an AMAZING job.

Professor Plant

Hope all of you had a good Easter!

Now is time to show you one of the most interesting process in paper conservation, the washing treatment. But, can we wash a sheet of paper once it is already made?? Yes, we can. Before washing we have to keep in mind how the art work was made, such as the stability of the ink, damage to the paper, etc. I need to test EVERYTHING to make sure I don’t wash it all away!

We only do the washing if the paper need it. In the lithograph prints we found some dirt, tears, folds, creases, stains and foxing*. Washing them would remove the dirt, some stains and foxing and at the same time would re-forms the hydrogen bonds between the fibres, reinforcing the paper strength and improving the appearance too.

After this process, we deacidified the prints to neutralize the acidity in the paper with an alkaline solution. The alkali reserve will remain in the paper, ready to act against future acidification.

*Foxing: reddish-brown spots (the colour of a fox) over the surface of the paper which can be caused by a mold activity or a chemical reaction due to metal impurities in the paper.

Last week we created a storm in the galleries at National Museum Cardiff with our Easter workshops. Families who took part got to make their own pop-up landscapes inspired by John Constable’s Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows 1831. This activity was part of the Aspire programme, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Art Fund.

Here are some of the mini masterpieces created.

We were impressed by the variety of skies! Some were stormy and brooding. Others filled with colour and light. Butterflies, bees, and a murder of crows all made an appearance – and, of course, some beautiful rainbows.

If Constable were alive today he surely would have approved! For him the sky was the most important part of a painting. It creates feelings, mood and emotions. I wonder what mood our families were in when they created theirs?

Whatever mood they were in at the time, they left the workshop feeling happy! Families were asked to complete the sentence ‘the workshop made me feel...’, and to hang it on our specially-created comments cloud. ‘Happy’ was the most popular response! Here are some others:

The workshop made me feel…

• Happy happy and I loved it a lot - Jack
• Interested because I like learning about Constable
• Hapus fel y gog achos rwy’n hoffi celf a chrefft
• Welcome ♥

Find out more:

Explore Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows 1831 with this interactive guide.

Download a free pack for teachers from our Learning Resources page.

Download our Landscape and Lights family trail

Aspire

Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows was purchased by Tate with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Manton Foundation, the Art Fund (with a contribution from the Wolfson Foundation) and Tate Members in partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service, National Galleries of Scotland, and Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, 2013.

To secure the painting, a unique partnership initiative was formed between five public collections: Tate Britain, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, Colchester and Ipswich Museums, Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum and the National Galleries of Scotland. This initiative, named Aspire, is a five-year project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Art Fund enabling the work to be viewed in partner venues across the UK. National Museum Cardiff is the first venue to display the work.

Adrian Plant continues his fieldwork in the Amazon in collaboration with Jose Albertino Rafael and Josenir Camara from INPA (Brazil’s national Amazon research organisation) in Manaus.

So far two field-trips to remote corners of the Amazon have been successfully completed. The first was to Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira high up the Rio Negra not far from Brazil’s borders with Colombia and Venezuela and the second to a major tributary of the Amazon along the border with Peru at Benjamin Constant.

The forests of the Amazon Basin are flood forests; they become seasonally inundated by the flooded river and the waters bring with them many of the nutrients essential to the forests great productivity throughout the region. This year the forest remains unusually wet for the time of year which has caused a few practical problems for field entomology.- it is an acquired pleasure to slosh around in deep mud and water searching for new and interesting insects under a constant plague of biting mosquitoes. Yet, to an entomologist this is more or less a definition of “fun”!

The biodiversity is amazing of course and many of the insects seen and collected are undoubtedly new to science but will require much study in more comfortable surroundings after returning from the field. Meanwhile, Adrian will shortly be setting out on a third fieldtrip, this time to a little known area  between the mouth of the Amazon river and French Guiana where many exciting discoveries will undeniably be made.