Blog: Learning

Hi Bulb Buddies, 

Here are our amazing Bulbcast submissions for this year!

Enillwyr/Winners: 

Cortamlet Primary

Yn Ail / Runners-up: 

St Patrick’s RC Primary

Leslie Primary

Pinehurst Primary

Yn Drydydd/Third Place:

St Michael’s Clady

Well done everyone, it has been lovely to see all the hard work you have put into the project this year. Thank you for taking part in this competition, we hope you enjoy your prizes!

-Professor Plant

As the technical team planned their rigging for Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon, I was dealing with a different challenge: How to create inspiring Moon workshops that linked to our collections and would still appeal to pupils after the installation had left the building.

I started by going to the experts – our potential audience. The Stanwell School Astronomy Club were key to the development of these workshops. In our first session together I introduced the possible collections we could use and they voted for the specimens they found most interesting. 

In their subsequent feedback session, they developed questions they hoped the workshop would answer, and it became clear that having some genuine photographs of the Apollo 12 mission (which collected the Goodwill Moon Rock on display in our Evolution of Wales gallery), would help set the scene. 

With the help of Natural Science curator Dan Cox and the NASA archive, I tracked down images of Astronaut Alan Bean’s time on the lunar surface. He collected the actual Moon rock that is displayed in our Evolution of Wales gallery, so it was great to find photographs of him taking rock samples on the Moon.

Photographs of Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean collecting lunar rock samples, courtesy of NASA,  and the Moon Rock on display at National Museum Cardiff

The students had selected examples of replica lunar dust and iron meteorites as some of their favourite items. National Museum Cardiff has an excellent rock and meteorite collection, so to give learners a sense of the lunar landscape, I added some samples of olivine basalt and an unusual rock called anorthosite, both of which can be found on the Moon. Although the anorthosite in our workshop is from Norway, the same rock was found by the Apollo missions in the lunar highlands (which make up the lighter patches we see on the Moon).

Two secondary school teachers then helped to develop the workshop narrative, and we invited Stanwell Astronomy Club back in to test our possible activities.

Testing the workshop with the Stanwell School Astronomy Club

One of the things that delighted me was the enthusiasm the pupils showed for the detailed maps of lunar craters. Robin Maggs from the photography department was able to produce high quality replicas of maps of lunar craters from the 1970s, so students could use these for their own measurements – and learn about our map collection.

Finally, we refined the sessions with help from Tim Curtis, Numeracy Lead at Cardiff West Community High School and his pupils, and hope they will be enjoyed by learners for years to come.

The workshop is truly authentic – it allows pupils to explore photographs of the Apollo missions, maps created at the time, and rock samples from our collections that are so close to the lunar rocks that only a geologist could tell the difference. Real experiences, with real specimens, and real scientific outcomes.

Pupils from Cardiff West Community High School taking part in The Moon, Maps and Meteorites workshop

Find more information on the The Moon, Maps and Meteorites workshop on our Learning pages

Results of the Super Scientist Competition 2026

Congratulations to all the amazing schools who contributed to this year’s investigation. All of the schools listed below will be sent Super Scientist certificates and pencils in recognition of the great work they have done. Schools who entered the most data have been sent additional prizes including seeds to plant. The runners up received gift vouchers, and the winning schools are to be awarded an extra special prize for their class. 

This year we are also celebrating 20 years of the Spring Bulbs for Schools project; an exciting milestone achieved through the efforts and dedication of each and every school who has taken part – so thank you all so much!

Professor Plant would like to thank all the schools that contributed to making this year’s investigation a success.

Enillwyr / Winners:

Cymru / Wales: 

Henllys Church in Wales

Lloegr / England: 

Lammack Primary School

Yr Alban / Scotland: 

Langbank Primary School

Gogledd Iwerddon / Northern Ireland: 

Scarva Primary School

Yn Ail / Runners up:

Cymru / Wales: 

Pil Primary School

Lloegr / England: 

Pinehurst Primary School

Yr Alban / Scotland: 

Leslie Primary School

Gogledd Iwerddon / Northern Ireland: 

Irvinestown Primary School

Cydnabyddiaeth Arbennig / Special Recognition:

Cymru / Wales: 

Raglan CiW VC Primary School

Ysgol Gymraeg Aberystwyth

Ysgol Bryn Deri

Ysgol Tir Morfa

Ysgol Twm o'r Nant

Ysgol San Sior

Ysgol Glan Conwy

YGG Tonyrefail

Forden CiW School

Plasnewydd Primary

St. Mary's Church in Wales Primary School

Mountain Lane Primary

Ysgol Pentreuchaf

Ysgol Gymraeg Morswyn

Rhayader Primary School

Lloegr / England: 

Broadgreen Primary School

The Olive School

St Anthony's RC Primary School - Blackburn

Anfield Road Primary School

Stanford in the Vale Primary School

Castle View Primary School

Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary School

St Chrysostom's C of E Primary School

Yr Alban / Scotland: 

Addiewell Primary School

Kirklandneuk Primary School

Newmains Primary School

St Peter's Primary School

Greenburn ASN School

Logan Primary School

Croftfoot Primary School

Gogledd Iwerddon / Northern Ireland: 

St Mary's Primary School - Maguiresbridge

St Francis' Primary School, Aghaderg

Ballyholland Primary School

St John's Primary School - NI

Clod Uchel / Highly Commended

Cymru / Wales: 

Ysgol Gynradd Llandegfan

Malpas Park Primary School

St Cadoc's Roman Catholic Primary School

Ysgol Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd

Ysgol Llanhari

Montgomery Church in Wales School

Cornist Park C.P

Ysgol Dyffryn Ial

Marlborough Primary School

Peterston super Ely Primary School

NPTC Newtown College

Ysgol Padarn Sant 

Llanmartin Primary School

Ysgol Pen y Fro

Ysgol Llanddulas

Lloegr / England: 

St Mary's CE Primary - Manchester

Emmaus Primary School

Sylvester Primary Academy

Wensley Fold CE Primary Academy

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery

St Anne's Stanley C of E Primary School

St Peter's CE Primary School

Trumacar Primary School

St Edward's Catholic Primary School

St Nicholas Catholic Academy

Yr Alban / Scotland: 

Doonfoot Primary School

St Conval's Primary School

Livingston Village Primary School

Mount Florida Primary School

Gavinburn Primary School

Our Lady's RC Primary School

Gogledd Iwerddon / Northern Ireland: 

St John's Eglish Primary School

Cortamlet Primary School

Gwyddonwyr Gwych / Super Scientists

Cymru / Wales: 

Ysgol Hafodwenog

St. Mary’s Overton Primary

Archbishop Rowan Williams VA CiW Primary

Sketty Primary School

Ysgol Gymraeg Casnewydd

Pontllanfraith Primary

Ysgol Penmachno

Ysgol y Berllan Deg

St Patrick's RC Primary – Newport

Lloegr / England: 

Hamstead Primary School

St Silas Primary - Blackburn

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour RC Primary School

Lunt's Heath Primary School

St Joseph's RC Primary - Darwen

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School

Hill View Primary School – Halton

Yr Alban / Scotland: 

St John Ogilvie Primary School

St Brendan's Primary School

St Mary's Primary - Glasgow

Alloway Primary School

Gogledd Iwerddon / Northern Ireland: 

St Patrick's Primary - Eskra

St Michael's Primary School, Clady

Cyfranwyr / Contributors

Cymru / Wales: 

Oystermouth Primary

St Athan Primary

Ysgol Bryn Hedydd

Ysgol Maes y Mynydd

Ysgol Mynydd Bychan

Cwmnedd Primary School

Pennar Community School

Ysgol Llanychllwydog

Mary Immaculate R.C. School

Ysgol Gymraeg Nant Gwenlli

Lloegr / England: 

St Gerard's Catholic Primary & Nursery

Monksdown Primary School

Church Cowley St James CE Primary School

Yr Alban / Scotland: 

-

Gogledd Iwerddon / Northern Ireland: 

St Mary's Primary School

St Brendan's Primary School

Well done everyone! 

Below are some lovely comments left by schools concluding this year’s Spring Bulbs Project:

Ysgol Pentreuchaf:

Diolch am gael cymeryd rhan yn y cofnodi. Edrych ymlaen at y flwyddyn nesa Diolch.

Langbank Primary School 

Our school grounds look lovely with all our spring flowers. Our learning during this project has tied in well to our science and maths lessons, especially negative numbers…Thank you so much from P7 at Langbank for letting us be part of this project again.

Leslie Primary School

Thank you for all your effort. We are looking forward to taking our plants home today.

Ysgol San Sior

Thank you for giving us our daffodils

-

I hope that people can be more considerate about nature the online lessons inspired me a lot. i am sad that there will no longer be any more online lessons but i will be more considerate about my surroundings and try to make less carbon footprints.

-

I enjoyed watching my flower grow

Pinehurst Primary School 

Our lovely daffodils opened today. They look so pretty and really brighten up our school.

Thank you, Bulb Buddies, for your incredible work this year!

-Professor Plant

Hi Bulb Buddies!

I hope you have had a lovely February and have enjoyed continuing your hard work collecting your weather data! Some schools have even begun logging their flowering data, which is great to see. 

February was quite a wet month for many areas across the UK with some areas seeing more than the full month's average rainfall within the first 14 days of the month, as reported by the Met Office. There were however regional differences, with Scotland and particularly western Scotland reporting below average rainfall. Temperatures were also variable, with it being colder at the beginning of the month and milder towards the end.

Some areas may have experienced a few days here and there of sunshine, which is reflected in some of your comments, and some images I have taken around St Fagans during the month! I wonder if we will see more sunshine now as we enter into March.

Let’s take a look at your observations for last month, as well as some of your flowering updates!

Weather Observations: 

Henllys Church in Wales School

It has been very rainy this week

Lammack Primary School 

Extremely windy and very cold

Henllys Church in Wales School 

It has not been as cold as it has been

Irvinestown Primary School 

We really loved all the sunny weather we had this week

Professor Plant:

Thank you all for continuing to add these details in your comments. We can definitely see the trend of the weather getting milder as we read through the comment timeline, which means our data matches with other weather reports! 

I agree with Irvinestown Primary School about enjoying the bits of sunshine we have still managed to have!

For all schools who were unable to take weather readings due to half term, don’t worry! – but thank you for commenting this under your ‘No Record’ uploads.

Flowering Updates:

Llanmartin Primary School

Our daffodils in pots are blooming (up against the wall) and those planted in the bed and alongside the pathway in the ground are only just beginning to bloom.

Pinehurst Primary School

Our lovely daffodils opened today. They look so pretty and really brighten up our school.

We have a lovely Crocus. We love the purple colour on it.

Lammack Primary School

One of the mystery bulbs flowered on Wednesday. It is a snowdrop.

Another mystery bulb is almost flowering. It looks to be deep purple.

Leslie Primary School 

We are so Excited. Out first Crocus has flowered

We were all so excited to see the purple.

St Chrysostom's C of E Primary School

Many plants daffodils have flowered in the pots Only two have not flowered yet. Daffodils in the ground planter box have also flowered.

Mountain Lane School

A lovely week in Buckley. It was warm and sunny. We all went to check on the flowers on Friday afternoon. None of the daffodils have flowered yet but several looked ready to pop

 St Francis' Primary - Aghaderg 

The pots in the sunnier location of the school grew taller and have opened first

St Mary's CE Primary - Manchester

One daffodil has bloomed; the rest are slowly growing still.

Professor Plant:

It is great to hear that you have started to see your Daffodils, Crocus and Mystery Bulbs bloom! It is so exciting to see your hard work pay off as you watch your plants grow from small bulbs into vibrant flowers. 

It is lovely to know that you feel that they are brightening up your school area, Pinehurst Primary School.

Keep up the amazing work watching over your flowers, Bulb Buddies.

-

This month (March) is now our last month of collecting data for this year, so make sure you are uploading everything you have collected to our website by the 27^th.  Thank you to everyone who has engaged in the project so far.

Professor Plant

Hi Bulb Buddies!

I hope you all enjoyed the first month of 2026 and have continued to collect your weather data since returning to school! Lots of exciting things took place in January, such as our ‘Name a Daffodil’ Competition, and two of our new Virtual Workshops. Thank you to all schools who took part in any of these activities, we really appreciate your support. If you are interested in catching our last two Virtual Workshops, you can still book a space here: Spring Bulbs for Schools Virtual Workshops | Museum Wales. Our ‘Name a Daffodil’ Competition is now officially closed, so keep an eye out for the name-reveal soon!

Let’s take a look at what kinds of weather January brought us:

January began as a particularly cold month with many experiencing frost, ice and snow across areas of the UK, with Scotland seeing ‘extensive’ snowfall reported by the Met Office. 

Storm Goretti then brought damaging winds particularly in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, causing the first red wind warning for 2026! It also brought snow across areas in Wales, the West Midlands and the South Pennines.

Later into the month, weather became wet and windy due to further recorded storms, Storm Ingrid and Storm Chandra, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. Some areas of Somerset and Devon have experienced flooding too. This rain made its way to Northern Ireland, where the Met Office mentioned some of the heaviest monthly rainfall totals were recorded.

Many of these temperature and weather observations were logged in your comments and data uploads, so let’s look at what you experienced!

Weather and Temperature Observations:

Ysgol Pentreychaf:

Pentreuchaf wedi cael ychydig o eira dydd Llun wythnos yma

Henllys Church in Wales School

Snow, ice wind, rain , storms and sunshine A mixture of weather this week .

Langbank Primary School

It snowed here on Thursday. Our rain gauge was frozen so we had to melt the ice to find the volume of water

St John's Primary School

We were just back to school from the Christmas break. The water in the jug was quite a lot but we think it was because the snow had melted. It was very icy and cold this week coming to school.

Henllys Church in Wales School

Less rain means more playtime

Lammack Primary School

Snow and ice on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Some of our pots were vandalised during the Christmas holidays but we have collected most of the bulbs and will replant them as soon as we can.

Greenburn ASN School

At start of week, we were on an Amber alert for severe weather so not safe for the children to go out to take measurements

Henllys Church in Wales School

it is not as cold as it has been

Pil Primary School

It was very cold this week.

St John's Primary School

There was lots of rain this week. Some schools were closed on Tuesday as there was a storm, but our school was open.

Pil Primary School

It has been very wet this week.

Professor Plant:

Thank you so much for uploading your brilliant comments and including details that can help us learn more about how different areas of the UK have been affected by weather! It looks like many of you experienced the cold and snowy weather, with Langbank Primary School having to wait for their rain gauge to unfreeze before taking a reading!

Well done Lammack Primary School for continuing to collect data even when your pots were vandalised over the holidays, we really appreciate the effort you are putting in to replant your bulbs.

The weather has been particularly damaging this month, Greenburn ASN School, so we totally agree that safety comes first! Thank you for still taking the time to add this to your comments!

Bulb Updates:

Llanmartin Primary School

Bulb growth now 8.5cm

Mountain Lane School

Lots of shoots appearing for the bulbs A miserable drizzly week.

Langbank Primary School

Most of the bulbs that we planted in the ground are coming through now

We can see shoots from most of the daffodil bulbs in our pots now. Nearly all the bulbs in the ground ar growing and are about 6cm tall. There are no signs of the mystery bulbs and the crocus bulbs yet

Ysgol Gynradd Llandegfan

Mae ein bylbiau dirgel wedi dechrau tyfu.

Professor Plant:

It is amazing to hear that more schools have began to see growth in their bulbs. Keep checking to see how they change over February, you may start to see some flower!

Information on how to identify if your plants have flowered can be found on the website here: Step 5: Keeping flower records (January - March) | Museum Wales, as it can be tricky to know when the right time is to document the official flowering date.

You may find that some of your plants aren’t ready to flower yet, so please don’t worry if you do not have data to input so far! The best thing to do is to continue monitoring your plants in the meantime to spot any changes.

School closures!

Mountain Lane School

No results from Monday due to school being closed because of the snow. Lots of snow and on Thursday evening and rain night - we thought wed be closed but it was just slushy because of the temperature

Rhayader Primary

No records on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, due to INSET and 2 days of snow, so no school.

Ysgol Gymraeg Morswyn

Ysgol ar gau oherwydd rhai staff methu cael i mewn oherwydd eira ochr arall ir ynys. Dim eira yng Nghaergybi.

Plasnewydd Primary

School was closed on Monday and Tuesday because of snow.

Ysgol Gynradd Llandegfan

Oherwydd eira nid oedd yr ysgol yn agored ar y 5ed ar 6ed. Roedd wedi toddi erbyn y 7fed.

Professor Plant:

Don’t worry if your school had closed and no data could be collected; your safety comes first! I hope you have all returned to school by now, and are settling back in.

Thank you for your hard work uploading these comments despite the weather!

Well done again Bulb Buddies for your hard work over the last few months, you should be very proud of yourselves! Keep it up, and we will see what February brings us next!

Professor Plant