: Ysgolion

Hi Bulb Buddies,

I would like to say a huge thank you to all the schools who have uploaded their weather data to the website. For anyone new to the Blog, we have 175 schools across the country taking weather readings for every day they are in school from November to March! Our Super Scientists are exploring the effects of weather on the flowering dates of spring bulbs! 

The MET Office has described November 2024 as a month of two halves, because the weather for the first two weeks was mild and relatively warm but the following two weeks were wet, windy and even snowy! This is reflected in your comments; at the beginning of the month many of you commented on not having much rain. In the second half there were reports of lots of rain and some snow! This was the snowiest November since 2010!

Only one school has mentioned Storm Bert, but this was the cause of lots of the rainfall that you reported. You may have seen lots of discussions around flooding and weather warnings in the news. You can learn more about weather warnings here: Weather Warnings And more about named storms here: Weathering the Storm

Storm season runs from September to August, which aligns nicely with our investigation. Storm Bert was the second named storm this storm season. We've also had storm Ashley and storm Conall. You can see the names for this seasons storms in the image on the right. Last storm season was the stormiest since naming UK storms began in 2015. Last year we had 12 named storms and by this time last year there had already been four named storms and the fifth was on it's way! 

Lets take a look at your comments to see how the project is going in schools across the UK. I'm excited to report that many schools have noticed some green shoots in their pots!

Messages to Professor Plant

Eveswell Primary
Comment:
Hello professor, sorry that we could not send u this data until now. I am in year six now so I'm going to move on to high school so I probably won't see you ever again so bye for now. I hope you see this message if not that is okay. Please can you reply to me so I know that our data has helped you.

Professor Plant's Response:
Thank you, Josh! Your data has been extremely helpful, and I want to say a big thank you for all of the work you have done on this project. Please thank everyone at your school that has worked on this as well. I’m sure you will have a fantastic time at your next school!

Ysgol Pennant
Comment:
Ar y dydd Mawrth aeth yr ysgol i wylio sioe yn theatr Hafren felly doedden methu gofnodi.

Professor Plant's Response:
Diolch yn fawr Ysgol Pennant. It’s okay to miss a day—your effort in recording other days is very much appreciated. Thank you for letting me know. 

Weather Observations

Stanford in the Vale Primary School
Comment:
Sorry for the confusion on the 18-22 of November; this is the actual date for last week's temperature.

Professor Plant's Response:
Thank you for clarifying, Stanford Bulb Scientists. Accurate records are important, and your efforts help us greatly. Keep up the great work!

St Joseph's Cathedral Primary (Swansea)
Comment:
On the 28th, the temperature was not read correctly, so the real temperature was 4 to 8 degrees Celsius. The chart would not let me put two numbers, so I have to make a note. I am not sure about this, but on the 26th, a Tuesday, the rainfall was 49 mm, which I am not sure is correct. Sorry if this reading is wrong.

Professor Plant's Response:
Thank you for adding these detailed notes with your readings Mammals! It’s okay if readings are sometimes uncertain—it’s all part of learning science. You’ve shown good scientific skills by questioning your readings and noting your thoughts on these. 

Henllys Church in Wales School
Comment:
All good big change in rainfall.

Professor Plant's Response:
Great observation! Sudden changes in rainfall can tell us a lot about the weather patterns. Keep an eye on those gauges!

Ysgol Llanddulas
Comment:
We saw more rain this week.

Professor Plant's Response:
Thank you, Roaring Reptiles! It sounds like you’ve had some wet weather—perfect for bulbs to grow!

Bryn Deri Primary
Comment:
There has been a lot more rain recently, especially on the weekend of the 23rd and 24th of November—which is not shown on our data (the weekend). We have also had some frosty mornings. Our bulbs have begun to shoot. 

Professor Plant's Response:
Wonderful observations, Bryn Deri! Rain and frost make for an interesting combination. Keep watching those bulbs—they’re on their way!

Cornist Park C.P
Comment:
Monday: It is cloudy today. 
Tuesday: The weather is damp and cloudy.
Wednesday: There is lots of frost today.
Thursday: It is very cold and lots of white frost.
Friday: It is cold and sunny.

Professor Plant's Response:
Thank you, Cornist Park team, for such detailed daily updates! It’s great to see how all of you are working together to capture the weather conditions.

Bwlchgwyn Primary School
Comment:
This week we were off school for 3.5 days because of heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures. Even today, we cannot accurately look at the rain gauge because it is just so full of snow. We have managed to record the temperatures, but our gauge for the 4 days was just overflowing with snow.

Professor Plant's Response:
Thank you, Fish Group! Snowfall can make data collection tricky, but you’ve done a brilliant job despite the challenges. If this happens again you could bring the rain gauge into the classroom and wait for the ice or snow to melt before taking your rain readings. You could compare the reading before and after it melts too! 

Langbank Primary School
Comment:
Snowed on Friday.

Professor Plant's Response:
How exciting! Snow makes everything look magical—thank you for sharing this detail.

Doonfoot Primary School
Comment:
VERY WET on Monday; okay weather for the rest of the week.

Professor Plant's Response:
It sounds like Monday was a challenging start to the week, but you’ve captured the variation in weather in your comments. Thank you!

Plant Growth Observations

Alloway Primary School
Comment:
Some bulbs have started to grow.

Professor Plant's Response:
That’s fantastic news! Well done, Alloway Primary. Keep monitoring their progress as they continue to grow.

St Mary’s Primary School - Newry
Comment:
There was lots of rainfall over the weekend. Extreme frost and fog and a bit of snow.

Professor Plant's Response:
It sounds like you’ve had some wintry weather! Great job keeping track. Frost and snow can be challenging for bulbs, but they’re tough little plants.

Ysgol Tycroes
Comment:
We had snow this week, but not enough to stick. Our mystery plants have started to grow; we can see stalks with small spikey leaves on them both.

Professor Plant's Response:
How exciting that you’ve seen some snow and that your plants have started to grow! Keep watch over your plants to see what happens next. 

St Michael’s RC Primary
Comment:
We are enjoying taking care of the plants. We haven’t had much rain.

Professor Plant's Response:
Fantastic work, St Michael’s. I’m glad to hear that you are enjoying the project and that your plants are in good hands!

Mae'r flwyddyn academaidd newydd wedi dechrau'n dda. Mae'r Athro'r Ardd a'i gynorthwywyr hapus wedi pacio a dosbarthu 175 o becynnau adnoddau i ysgolion ledled y DU.

Mae'r pecynnau hyn yn cynnwys popeth sydd ei angen ar ysgolion i gymryd rhan yn yr ymchwiliad eleni:

- Pot a bylbiau ar gyfer pob plentyn sy'n cymryd rhan

- Mesur glaw a thermomedr i gofnodi data tywydd

- Calendr i gadw cofnodion tywydd a blodau

- Talebau i brynu compost heb-fawn

- Cynllun Tymor hefo dyddiadau allweddol ar gyfer y project

- Pot gwahanol i gymharu defnydd

- Bylbiau dirgel i ddysgu am wahanol blanhigion 

Ar 21 Hydref (neu'r dyddiad agosaf posib) mae ysgolion yn cael y dasg o blannu eu cennin Pedr  a bylbiau crocws. Dyma'r cam cyntaf y bydd ysgolion yn ei gymryd ar gyfer natur fel rhan o'r project.  Dilynwch y blog hwn a'@Professor_Plant ar X/Twitter i weld y lluniau sy'n cael eu rhannu wrth i ni ddathlu'r plannu torfol hwn.  Bydd @Professor_Plant hefyd yn rhannu diweddariadau rheolaidd gan ysgolion, a gallwn ddathlu gyda nhw pan fydd eu planhigion yn dechrau blodeuo!

Yr adnoddau cyntaf sydd eu hangen ar ysgolion sy'n cymryd rhan yw:

- Bylbiau'r Gwanwyn i Ysgolion: Canllaw i athrawon

- Cam 1: Paratoi i plannu (dechrau mis Hydref)

- Cam 2: Diwrnod plannu

Gall pob ysgol ddilyn y prosiect a gallant ddefnyddio'r taflenni gwaith ar y wefan.

Rwy'n edrych ymlaen at rannu'r gwaith y mae ein Gwyddonwyr Gwych yn ei wneud gyda chi.

Athro'r Ardd

The Spring Bulbs for Schools Investigation has died down until September, when we will be welcoming our new schools and introducing them to the project.

But there’s lots of fun that can be had over the summer! Explore our website to find activity sheets and games that you can play at home. The origami booklet and Kahoot quizzes are my favourites!

There’s more to explore on the Amgueddfa Cymru Learn pages and the Edina Trust website. 

Why not have a go at some of our Kahoot quizzes now? Just click the links below to explore!

Quiz 1: When will our daffodils flower 2024? 

Compare weather data for 2023-24 from across the UK and against previous years to predict when daffodils will flower. What do plants need to grow? Which country was the warmest / coldest? Which country had the least rain? 

Quiz 2: Bulb Project Quiz 2023-24 Level 1 

Study bar graphs to deduce which were the wettest and warmest countries. Answer questions about plants. Discover which countries had the most and least rainfall. Discover which countries had the highest and lowest temperatures. 

Quiz 3: Bulb Project Quiz 2023-24 Level 2 

Study bar graphs to deduce national trends in temperature and rainfall. Study units carefully to calculate average monthly rainfall records for Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Work out the monthly temperatures for Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Answer general knowledge questions. 

Quiz 4: Compare weather records from different years 

Study line and bar chats to look for trends in the weather data. Order countries from warmest to coolest. See which years had the most and least rainfall. Deduce which years had the most hours of sunshine. 

Quiz 5: UK Flower Data 2024 

Study line and bar charts to look for trends in the flower data. Answer questions about average weather readings. Sort years from earliest to latest flowering dates. Study bar charts to see whether plants flowered earlier or later than expected. 

Quiz 6: Wales Weather Data 

Study line and bar charts to look for trends in the weather data. Study line graphs to pick out high and low monthly average temperatures. Study line graphs to answer true or false questions about monthly rainfall. Study Bar charts to order years from warmest to coolest.

Quiz 7: Wales Flower Data 

Study bar and line graphs to determine whether our data shows patterns for the flowering dates of spring bulbs. Use tables to deduce which years saw plants flower earliest. Study combination charts to deduce trends in the data. Compare findings from different charts to see if there are patterns that explain anomalies in the data. 

Have fun Bulb Buddies,

Professor Plant

Super Scientists: A Fantastic Visit from St Mary's Church in Wales Primary!

On 2 July, the National Museum Cardiff had the pleasure of hosting the amazing students from St Mary's Church in Wales Primary School in Brynmawr. Their visit was a well-deserved prize for their exceptional contribution to the Spring Bulbs for Schools Investigation 2023-2024.

Spring Bulbs for Schools Investigation

As part of this exciting project, the diligent students recorded daily weather data from 1 November to 31 March and consistently uploaded this information to our museum website. They also planted and nurtured bulbs, meticulously recording the heights and flowering dates of their plants. This valuable data is a crucial part of our long-term study into how climate change affects the flowering dates of spring bulbs.

Celebrating Super Scientists

The Learning team at National Museum Cardiff was thrilled to celebrate the hard work of these Super Scientists. To show our appreciation, we organized a series of engaging activities that we knew they would love. This included piloting our new Endangered Species workshop and exploring the diverse wildlife in our Urban Meadow.

Endangered Species Workshop

We were excited to introduce our new Endangered Species workshop, where we delved into the fascinating world of extinct animals, like the dodo, and the important lessons their stories teach us. We also explored the galleries in search of other species currently facing extinction, and discussed the various threats they encounter. Through mind mapping, we identified issues and brainstormed solutions, empowering the students with knowledge about individual actions they can take to help. One key takeaway? Sharing what they've learned with others!

Urban Meadow Workshop

Armed with sketchbooks and pencils, the students ventured outside to the Museum's Urban Meadow. They were delighted to observe a variety of fascinating creatures, including green woodpeckers, stripy bumblebees, hoverflies, bright red ladybirds, busy black ants, and fluorescent soldier bugs. The meadow was alive with daisies, clover, poppies, tall grasses, and a stunning array of colourful wildflowers. Back in the Clore Discovery Centre, the students enhanced their scientific sketches and botanical illustrations, taking a closer look at the collections and adding intricate details to their artwork.

A Day to Remember

What a lovely and productive day it was! We extend our heartfelt thanks to St Mary's Church in Wales Primary for their dedication and enthusiasm.

Keep exploring and discovering, Super Scientists!

Professor Plant