Blog: Learning

If you are anything like me, you will have been glued to the BBC’s fantastic Springwatch programmes over the last few days. Spring is a brilliant time of year with so much going on all around us, and St Fagans Museum is a fantastic place to get up close and personal with a wide range of wildlife! 

This half term, why not come and visit us and pick up one of our family nature trails, which you can find at the main reception and in Oriel 1. The trail will take you to the best places in the museum to spot our fantastic wildlife. You can watch birds feeding from the comfort of our bird hide, visit the Tannery where you can watch our roost of Lesser Horseshoe bats on our live infra-red camera and even peer into the water pits to see newts and other creatures that have made it their home. 

Throughout the museum there are birds nesting, whether in some of the old buildings, in trees or in some of the nest boxes that we have put up. Look at the Greater Spotted woodpecker (pictured) nesting in a tree. You can even watch a family of blue tits nesting in one of our nest boxes live on our website.

Watch our family of Blue Tits on our live webcam

Hopefully the beautiful weather we’ve had recently will return as I will be spending time next week showing off some of our wildlife highlights. From Wednesday to Friday next week (June 6-8) I will in the bird hide from 11-1 with binoculars and I.D sheets and then at the Tannery from 2-4 showing off our colony of bats with the bat cam. If you get the chance, pick up a trail and come and say hi!

Video Clip, taken 30/05/2012

Pupils from Roath Park Primary and Pontyclun Primary had great fun exploring plants and plant science at the National Museum Cardiff to celebrate The Fascination of Plants day. 

They had a go at dissecting a plant, explored plants under the microscope, and found out about the work of plant scientists at the National Museum Cardiff and Cardiff University. They also learned how to survey for plants in the local park.

Plus, Flathom Island education team joined us with some real live slow worms, and the Marine Conservation Society helped pupils explore issues affecting local wildlife.

This event for schools was run by education staff and plant scientists from Cardiff University, the National Museum Wales and Eco-explore, and was part of an international celebration of plants around the world. We hope to run a similar event next year, where more schools will be able to participate. 

Thanks to all involved!

The ‘Spring Bulbs for Schools’ project allows 1000s of schools scientists to work with Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales to investigate and understand climate change.

Since October 2005, school scientists have been keeping weather records and noting when their flowers open, as part of a long-term study looking at the effects of temperature on spring bulbs.

Certificates have now been sent out to all the 2,933 pupils that completed the project this year.

See Professor Plant's reports or download the spreadsheet to study the trends for yourself!

• Make graphs & frequency charts or calculate the mean.

• See if the flowers opened late in schools that recorded cold weather.
• See how temperature, sunshine and rainfall affect the average flowering dates.
• Look for trends between different locations.
   

1st: Sana Patel - Fulwood & Cadley Primary

2nd: Markus - Stanford Primary - Age 9

3rd: Emilia Porter - Fulwood & Cadley Primary

Runner's up:

• Marielle Matter - Westwood Primary - Age 9
• Emlyn Piette - Westwood Primary - Age 10
• Aleena Raza - Fulwood & Cadley Primary
• Lucy Turner - Fulwood & Cadley Primary
• Davina Vadhere - Fulwood & Cadley Primary
• Bradley Cox - Stanford in the Vale Primary - Age 9
• Abigail Boswell - Fulwood & Cadley Primary
• Hasan Patel - Fulwood & Cadley Primary
• Tom Betheridge - Fulwood & Cadley Primary
• Mairelle Mattar - Westwood Primary - Age 9
• Hasan Ali - Sherwood Primary
• Charlie Smith - Ysgol Nant Y coed - Oed 9

Many Thanks

Professor Plant

www.museumwales.ac.uk/scan/bulbs

Twitter http://twitter.com/Professor_Plant

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Objects are evidence of somewhere, something, or somebody and as such all have stories to tell.

Recently a class of adults studying creative writing at Carduff University attended a workshop here with me in the Clore Discovery Centre. They took on the role of a curator and wrote their own creative labels for some of their favourite objects in the gallery. Here are a few examples:

Iron-Nickel Meteorite (Approximately 4.5 billion years old)

 I wandered lonely, in a cloud of fragments, beyond the Martian orbit, since the beginnings of the Solar System some four-and-a-half billions of years ago. A passing satellite, en-route from Earth to who knows where, disturbed my orbit, and I fell towards the distant sun. Later, I felt the pull of Earth, and spiralled down into its gravity well – faster and faster until in fiery glory I blazed across the sky, a meteorite. Though reduced in size, I fell to earth. A fragment of the ancient history of the Solar System – a messenger from outer space – here I lie in The National Museum Collection.

David Edwards

What is it? Popular wrong answers include a drinking vessel or a paperweight!!

 It is an axe head. Bronze Age man hafted it to a wooden handle and used the D shaped loop on the side for strapping.  Butchering, wood-cutting and self-defence are among possible uses for this versatile tool.

 Mike Dolan

A snakestone fossil

thought to be magic,

I was a cephalopod

with head and foot fused.

In life I relied

on plain hydraulics

a siphuncle curled

like a twirling straw

adjusted the pressure

in my chambered coils,

let me rise and fall

as I dodged ichthyosaurs.

Thirty eight schools across the UK are to be awarded Super Scientist Certificates on behalf of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales in recognition for their contribution to the Spring Bulbs - Climate Change Investigation.

Congratulations to all 1,625 pupils who have keep records and made observations to study climate change - each will receive a certificate and other prizes to celebrate their outstanding efforts. Certificates and prizes will be sent to schools by the 14th of May 2012. Many thanks to the Edina Trust for funding this project.

Winners 2012: Each will receive a class trip of fun-packed nature activities!

• Westwood CP School in Wales
• Earlston Primary School in Scotland
• Fulwood and Cadley School in England

Runner's up: Each to receive vouchers to purchase gardening equipment, certificates & seedlings.

• Christchurch CP School
• Saint Roberts Roman Catholic Primary School
• Sherwood Primary School
• St. Joseph's R C Primary (Penarth)
• Stanford in the Vale CE Primary School
• Woodplumpton St Annes C of E Primary
• Ysgol Nant Y Coed

Highly commended schools: Each to receive certificates, sunflower seeds, salad seeds & flowers to attract butterflies.

• Channelkirk Primary
• Coleg Powys
• Ysgol Y Ffridd
• Ysgol Capelulo
• Lakeside Primary
• Maesglas Primary School
• Ysgol Clocaenog
• Ysgol Bro Ciwmeirch
• Ysgol Porth Y Felin
• Glyncollen Primary School
• Ysgol Pant Y Rhedyn
• Howell's School Llandaff
• Williamstown Primary school
• Ysgol Tal Y Bont
• Morfa Rhianedd
• Ysgol Deganwy

Schools with special recognition: Each to receive, certificates, flowers to attract butterflies and salad seeds.

• Gordon Primary School
• Laugharne VCP School
• Milford Haven Junior school
• Ysgol Iau Hen Golwyn
• Oakfield Primary school
• Windsor Clive Primary

Schools to be awarded certificates: Each to receive Super Scientist Certificates.

• Radnor Primary
• Brynhyfryd Junior School
• Bishop Childs CIW Primary School
• Eyton Church in Wales Primary School
• Ysgol Cynfran
• Ysgol Bodfari

Many thanks

Professor Plant

www.museumwales.ac.uk/scan/bulbs

Twitter http://twitter.com/Professor_Plant

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