We will be making St Dwynwen's Day cards this saturday (drop in session in Oriel 1 at the usual times of 11 until 1 and 2 until 4). Am still working on the designs for our cards, so far I have tried and been happy with two different pop up cards, one with material, and one with felt. For those who are a bit more adventurous (or possibly the adults!) we will be making felt hearts - you could even add a little pocket to leave a love note!

January 26th marks a special day at National Museum Cardiff as it is the opening day of a very unique and exclusive exhibition.

From Steep Hillsides: Ancient Rock Carvings from Dazu, China is a collection of rare Chinese religious sculptures from the World Heritage site in Dazu.

The very earliest sculpture at the sites date from the mid 7th century and these beautiful carvings depict and were influenced by Buddhist, Confucian and Daoist beliefs.

The exhibition will contain sculpture mostly from the 10th to the 13th century. Eclectically bringing these religions together, they create a highly original manifestation of spiritual harmony and give life to the exceptional Chinese history of this particular period.

Off limits to visitors for many years, the carvings were only opened to Chinese travellers in 1961 and foreign visitors in 1980. The result is that they remain in excellent condition despite their creation centuries ago.

While many of the larger carvings still remain embedded in the cliffs and mountain sides of Dazu, this is the first time the more manageable sculptures have left Chinese shores and travelled West.

National Museum Cardiff will be the only museum outside of China to host this extraordinary exhibition, providing a fascinating insight into ancient rock art and Chinese culture to all those who come and visit.

See more Dazu images on Flickr, keep up to date with Dazu on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @museum_cardiff  #dazuwales

After all the snow and freezing temperatures, today seems almost hot in Cardiff at 10 degrees Celsius. My bulbs must have noticed too - because they have already started to grow! It really cheered me up to see some life returning to my garden!

Ysgol Porth Y Felin reported: "Now the snow has cleared we can see that the plants are growing. It is getting warmer!" Excellent news! Let me know if the bulbs in your school have started to grow or if you have seen any other signs of spring locally? Send me photographs if you have any.

At this time of year all schools taking part in this spring bulb investigation should be busy collecting weather records for a chance to win a trip and checking your bulbs daily for signs of growth. Please use the resources below to be sure to know what you are looking for and how to record properly.

• Keeping flower records
• Video diary http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/1762/
• Win a trip http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2505/

My favourite question of the week comes from Bishop Childs C.I.W Primary. They asked: "If you plant your bulb at the same time as your partner will they open their flowers at the same time?"  Let me know what you think the answer is and I will reveal next week....

Lots of rain & floods. Unfortunately, many areas of Wales are now suffering with floods, including our museum at St Fagans. Maesycwmmer Primary School reported that they have had "A very wet week!" with over 100mm of rain in one day. Take a look at our recent weather reports sent in from schools to see how much rain they are getting. 

Across the world, many countries are suffering very badly from flooding. In Brazil, Australia and Sri Lanka floods have affected the lives of many people. Although you can't make a direct link between the recent floods and climate change, they do hold a warning for the future: Scientists predict such extreme weather events will increase both in intensity and frequency as the planet warms.

This is why the work that each spring bulb school is doing is so important - so please keep up the good work!

Professor Plant

First it was the snow and now it's the rain! The Ely burst its banks at St Fagans today and rose pretty high. A mere trickle compared to what's happening over in queensland though... You can help victims of the floods in Australia here

I've blogged about it before, but we have started a quilting club here in Oriel 1, St Fagans: National History Museum. We meet every two months on a saturday morning between 11 and 12.30, our next meeting is on 5th March. It's a relaxed and informal session with a mixture of complete beginners and people that have been quilting for a while. Samantha Jenkins is there to help out when we make quilting errors and generally to offer hints and tips.

It's been really lovely and I have started making my own quilt too

It looks pretty garish in this photo so I hope it's going to turn out ok! It would be great if the quilters in the group could email me photos of their works in progress too - my email address is sian.lile@museumwales.ac.uk