I am a history MA student, and since April 2024 I have been a volunteer for the museums second-hand book sale. 

A typical session volunteering includes categorising and pricing donated books stored in the volunteer hub. Once we have chosen which books to keep (which is most of them) we place and organise them at the front of the museum. You can choose how long you want to volunteer for and if you want to be alone or work with someone else. Sometimes there are a lot of books to sort and sometimes all you need to do is put out more on the shelves to sell.

I started volunteering because I took a year off university in between my undergrad and postgrad, and I wanted to do something that would give me an insight into how the heritage sector worked. I find organising and arranging the books calming and the staff and volunteers are always really friendly! 

Maia – Book Sale Volunteer

Hi Bulb Buddies,

We have just two weeks of weather records ahead of us, this school year is flying buy! I'd like to thank all schools who have already submitted their data and who have shared photos and videos of the project. 

Keep Logging Your Data

Spring is in the air, and that means we’re nearing the end of data collection for this year’s Spring Bulbs for Schools Investigation. Please remember to upload your temperature and rainfall records so far. Every entry helps us to build a bigger picture of how weather affects flowering times, so don’t miss out on adding your data. 

Share Your Flower Records

As your bulbs begin to bloom, remember to log each flower separately. Every child can enter their own flower data, helping them build important digital skills while contributing to real scientific research. Remember to upload the height of your plant in millimetres (mm). If your plant has grown but hasn't flowered you could enter it's height but 00-00-00 as the date. You can also do this if your plant didn't grow. You can add comments about your plants when uploading your data too. 

Super Scientist Prizes

Prizes will be allocated to schools based on the amount of weather and flower data shared. So be sure to upload all of your data and showcase the great work you've been doing recording throughout the school year. 

Bulbcast Competition

A quick reminder that there’s still time to submit your Bulbcast video entries. You can submit these over Twitter or via email. We can’t wait to see how your young scientists have been documenting their investigations. Need inspiration? Check out last year’s fantastic entries below:

Don’t forget, you have until 28 March to send in your Bulbcast videos. We’d love to celebrate your students’ creativity, storytelling, and scientific discoveries!

Spring is Here

As the season shifts, encourage your students to look for signs of spring beyond their bulbs, emerging leaves, buzzing insects, and lengthening daylight are all clues that nature is waking up.

Let’s make the final weeks of our investigation count! If you have any questions or need support, we’re here to help. 

Happy recording, and happy spring Bulb Buddies!

Professor Plant

Ar ôl dwy flynedd o lonyddwch a thawelwch, mae'r Sied Wehyddu yn Amgueddfa Wlân Cymru yn deffro o’i thrwmgwsg, ac mae sŵn peiriannau ar waith unwaith eto yn llenwi'r aer.

Nawr bod y gwaith o lanhau, atgyweirio a gwarchod yr adeilad ac ail-gyflunio'r gofod gwaith y tu mewn wedi’i gwblhau, mae'r gwaith cyffrous o ddysgu sut i weithredu'r peiriannau wedi dechrau.

Cyn i Melin Teifi gau ddwy flynedd yn ôl, Raymond Jones oedd y gwneuthurwr gwlanen Cymreig olaf yng Nghymru; gwlanen sy'n ddiwylliannol bwysig gan ei fod wedi cael ei ddefnyddio'n helaeth i wneud gwisgoedd cenedlaethol a dillad gwaith. Eleni mae Raymond wedi bod yn ein helpu i adfer a thiwnio'r gwŷdd gwlan, gan ei fod wedi bod mewn storfa ac yn segur ers dwy flynedd.

Rydym wedi cynhyrchu ystenaid gwlanaidd sy'n unigryw i Amgueddfa Cymru ac wedi ei glymu ymlaen i'r gwŷdd. Rydym wedi dysgu defnyddio ystof sy'n atal y gwŷdd sy’n lleihau y difrod i’r brethyn os bydd unrhyw un o'r 1,500 o edafedd yn torri ac yn lleihau'n sylweddol yr amser sydd ei angen i drwsio'r brethyn.

Hefyd, gan fod yr edafedd yn edafedd sengl mae'n gofyn am lefel uwch o sgil ac ymwybyddiaeth wrth wehyddu ag ef. Mae gweithio gydag edafedd sengl wedi profi i fod yn eithaf heriol ac mae wedi cyflwyno materion a phroblemau gwahanol i ni sydd wedi herio ein dealltwriaeth o sut mae'r gwŷdd yn gweithio. Mae wedi bod yn brofiad diddorol a gwobrwyol.

Trwy wella ein gwybodaeth a'n dealltwriaeth o sut mae'r gwŷdd yn gweithio, gallwn wneud gwell brethyn. Ein bwriad yw gallu gwneud amrywiaeth o frethyn gwahanol fel gwlanen, brethyn dwbl, a blancedi twil. Bydd hyn yn ein helpu i gynhyrchu incwm i'r amgueddfa a darparu profiad mwy boddhaus i ymwelwyr.

Dros y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, rydym ni fel crefftwyr yn yr amgueddfa wedi dysgu llawer iawn, wedi dod ar draws llawer o rwystrau a heriau yn ogystal â rhai rhwystredigaethau. Y wers orau a ddysgon ni fel tîm oedd ... amynedd!

Eleni, bydd y Sied Wehyddu yn dod yn fyw eto wrth i ni barhau â'r traddodiad o greu gwlanen yma yn Nyffryn Teifi ac edrychwn ymlaen at rannu'r profiad a'r hanes yma gyda chi, ein hymwelwyr!
 

Who are you? How and why did you join Demystifying Acquisitions? 

My name is Abraham Makanjuola, I am originally from London and I work as a Health Economist for Bangor University. During my masters, I was working with the Sub-Sahara Advisory Panel (SSAP) on a documentary about narratives about the African Continent from the perspective of people from the diaspora linked with the UK. Following the release of this, I was approached about being involved with filming behind the scenes content for Demystifying Acquisitions. I was initially not sure, because I didn’t know what I had of value to offer the project, but I was met with encouragement and that helped me make my decision. I think that was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life to date. 

How did you find the overall experience of working for Demystifying Acquisitions? 

It was sensational, I would do it all over again exactly as it has played out. I genuinely have nothing negative to say and there aren’t any glaring issues that require addressing from my perspective. I think that is a testament to the people I was blessed enough to work with. I have enjoyed myself and learned so much over the past couple of years and I am grateful to all involved. 

What set of skills did you gain while working on the project? 

Specific to new museum knowledge, I learned about the conservation of artwork, how the bid and grant writing process works, and how to write labels for artworks in galleries. Wider softer skills I was able to develop were teamwork and collaboration, and project management. 

What was your favourite part of working on the project? 

My favourite part was being a part of the install day of the redisplay, I even got to put up one of the works which was cool. Prior to this day though, my favourite part was learning about label writing. Did you feel listened to? Were you able to influence or change things? What instance? Throughout the process we were given complete autonomy and were encouraged and supported with our group decisions. With this support we were able to respect museum practices but also shake things up and challenge how things have previously been done. We did have push back for certain decisions we made but there was always mutual understanding and respect.


 

In March 2024, I became part of a team of volunteers at National Museum Cardiff, our objective to setup and maintain a second-hand bookstall in the main hall of the museum.  

I have a background in education, community arts, and creative writing. When the opportunity to volunteer as bookseller with National Museum Cardiff came about, I eagerly applied and was over the moon to have been invited to join. Being involved in the running of the second-hand bookstall resonates with my, and the museum’s, commitment to making education accessible. At the stall, we always have a host of history, science, and arts books available for children and adults. The bookstall also promotes an ease of access to a wide variety of fiction books, which thrills the creative writer in me. 

Whenever I go into the museum, I am warmed by how interested everyone is in the bookstall. I often chat with visitors about their unique finds, or how excited they are to get stuck into a new book, as well as talking about the museum and its exhibits. Members of staff at the museum are always taking an interest too, and I’ve gotten to know some members of the front of house team well. It is always nice hearing about their book finds, or updates about the money the stall has raised, or to catch up and chat about how our weeks have been going.  

We stock the bookstall with second-hand books donated to us by members of museum staff, and members of the public via donations to St Fagans National Museum of History, at which they have their own successful second-hand bookstall. I go into the museum once a week to sort through these donated books, in addition to tidying up and restocking the bookstall. Sorting books sees me sort books by genre, and alphabetise the fiction, as well as to make sure that books are marked with a suggested donation. Green =50p, Blue =£1, Yellow =£2, and our red stickers mark custom prices, usually to highlight rare editions, or bundles.

Sorting through the books is a great joy, we never know what is going to come in, and there are always fascinating gems to be found. I’ll set myself up in the volunteer hub, usually with an audiobook or some music and make my way through the book piles. Some of my favourite donations have been the unique specialist books donated by museum staff, books that you simply wouldn’t find in your average bookshop. But the fact is, I never know what is going to turn up. Several finds which have stood out to me, and highlight the diversity of books that come in, include: the score to Westside Story, a guide to scuba diving, a book of Mastermind questions, and an omnibus of Alien vs Predator novels! Just goes to show that it’s always worth popping in to see what’s there.  

Being a part of the bookstall has been greatly rewarding, I’ve gotten to know lots of museum volunteers and staff alike, and my relationship with the museum has provided me with opportunities to attend unique talks and events for volunteers, such as our tour of National Roman Legion Museum, back in November ‘24. Notably, I am proud of the money that the bookstall has raised for the museum, £4300.88 at the most recent count up by staff!

The second-hand bookstall is made up of four bookcases which can be found in the main hall of National Museum Cardiff. Books can be purchased by making a donation at the card reader, or by dropping some cash into the collection box beside the shelves.   

Daniel Skentelbery – Book Sale Volunteer