Helo! Fy yw'r Athro'r Ardd a hoffwn groesawu'r chwe mil a hanner o wyddonwyr ifanc ar draws y DU sy'n cymryd rhan yn y Bylbiau'r Gwanwyn i Ymchwiliad Ysgolion eleni!

Bydd deuddeg mil o fylbiau yn cael eu plannu a'u monitro fel rhan o'r ymchwiliad hinsawdd hwn sydd yn cael ei gyd-drefnu gan yr Amgueddfa Cymru. Os oedd record byd am nifer o bobl yn plannu bylbiau ar yr un pryd, (mewn sawl lleoliad) gallem ei hyrddio!

Mae pob un o'r bylbiau wedi cael eu cyfrif ac yn gyson yn cael eu dosbarthu i'r 150 o ysgolion ar draws y wlad. Hoffwn groesawu pob disgybl ac athro fydd yn gweithio ar y prosiect hwn!

• Cymerwch olwg ar y map i weld ble mae'r bylbiau yn cael eu hanfon ar draws y DU
• Os nad ydych wedi derbyn fy llythyr eto - dilynwch y ddolen hon.
• Cyn i bob bwlb cael ei phlannu, rhaid i bob disgybl mabwysiadu eu bylbiau ac addewid i ofalu amdano. Os ydych chi eisiau gwybod mwy - dilynwch y ddolen hon.

Cyn i chi fabwysiadu eich bwlb efallai y byddwch hefyd yn dymuno gwybod mwy o ble mae'n dod. Mae fy ffrind Bwlb bychan yn mynd i esbonio:

“Fi a fy holl ffrindiau bwlb dod o blanhigfa feithrin ym Maenorbŷr, ger Dinbych y Pysgod yng Nghymru, fe'i gelwir ' Springfields '. Roeddem wedi cael eu dewis ac yn llwytho ar fan yn barod i fynd i'n cartrefi newydd. Ar y dechrau roeddwn ychydig yn ofnus, ond pan wnes i gyfarfod Athro'r Ardd yn yr Amgueddfa roeddwn yn deall fy mod i yn ddiogel a bod gennyf waith pwysig i'w wneud. Rydym i gyd wedi cael eu dewis i helpu i ddeall sut gall y tywydd effeithio ar bryd fydd fi a fy ffrindiau yn gwneud blodau. Mae fy rhieni cyn i mi dyfodd yma hefyd, Springfields wedi bod yn tyfu'n ni 'Daffodils Tenby' am tua 25 mlynedd, rydym yn un o'r ddwy genhinen Pedr sydd yn frodorol i Ynysoedd Prydain.”

Dim ond ychydig o wythnosau tan blannu! Ni allaf aros!

Athro'r Ardd

Yr wythnos diwethaf, teithiodd staff Amgueddfa Cymru a myfyrwyr lleol i Gwm Nedd  i astudio bywyd Alfred Russel Wallace, ac i ganfod ysbrydoliaeth o’i anturio yn ne Cymru.

Dyma ni’n treulio diwrnod yn dilyn yn ôl ei draed o Bontneddfechan i raeadr Sgwd Gwladys, yn astudio daeareg a bioleg y daith, gyda chymorth arbenigwyr Amgueddfa Cymru.

Adeg ei farwolaeth ganrif yn ôl, cai Alfred Russel Wallace ei gyfri’n un o fawrion olaf Oes Fictoria. Mae Wallace yn fwyaf enwog am ddarganfod proses esblygiad drwy ddethol naturiol, ar y cyd â Charles Darwin, ond prin yw’r bobol heddiw sy’n cofio am Wallace.

Cafod Wallace ei ysbrydoli gan dirlun de Cymru, a treuliodd flynyddoedd lawer yn crwydro’r cymoedd yn mapio hanes natur. Bydd ffotograffau, fideos, brasluniau a chyfweliadau’r myfyrwyr yn dod yn rhan o arddangosfa yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd yn Ionawr 2014. Bwriad yr arddangosfa hon fydd adrodd hanes Wallace yng Nghymru, a gobeithio bydd yn sbardun i rywun arall fynd ati i anturio.

Cynhaliwyd y project hwn diolch i gefnogaeth hael un o Noddwyr Oes Amgueddfa Cymru

Bydd arddangosfa ar fywyd Wallace yn agor yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd ar 19 Hydref.

A lovely pressed fern found between the pages of The Fern Paradise [1876] by Francis George Heath. I'm always a little disappointed that we don't find more pressed flowers in our old botany books so this really made my day.

How long has it been lying quietly cocooned between these dry secure pages? Who picked a live and vibrant frond one summers day and slipped it away never thinking it would stay hidden for decades? Did the sun shine that afternooon? What news was ringing around the world? So many questions...

All photographs in this post taken by the author

On Saturday 21st September Amgueddfa Cymru ran their annual Beachwatch event. This involved fantastic family science activities in the morning attended by 41 members of the public and seven members of staff. Participants looked at strandline and rockpool animals and seaweeds as well as fossilised corals and snails. Inspired by the fossils and shells that they had seen, the children went on to create wonderful pieces of artwork using Plaster of Paris on the wet sand of the beach.

After lunch, the volunteers gathered to clean the beach and do a litter survey recording all the items they found. The beach clean was attended by 59 volunteers including many of the families from the morning activities.

The results will be sent to the Marine Conservation Society who will collect the data from this beach and hundreds of other UK beaches that were cleaned this weekend. As well as making the beach safer for people and marine life, the Marine Conservation Society also use the data to find out where beach litter comes from and contribute to marine conservation.

As you can see from the photo we found a lot of rubbish including 9 tyres, half a canoe and a traffic cone! A huge thank you to our wonderful volunteers, Ogmore Beach now looks even more beautiful!

Museums are brilliant and inspiring places, there can be no doubt about it. People visit museums for many, many reasons. Museums make you smarter, inspire, are a focus for the community and a great place to spend time with your friends and family. But what effect does a museum visit have on you? The entertainment factor of a museum makes you feel enjoyment. Understanding how things work raises your self-esteem. Appreciating the aesthetics of a great object stretches your imagination and is uplifting. And you get all of this in a calm and safe place. People definitely visit museums to feel good and if you need a bit of a lift I would wholeheartedly recommend you visit your local museum.

There is plenty of research to back all of this up. Museums make us happy – museum visits contribute more to wellbeing than arts and sports. Museums, especially if working in partnership with other organisations, can make a huge contribution to mental health (Museum Development North West Who Cares report). The economic benefits of museums are estimated to be in the order of £1.5 billion per year. And while many museums have reduced their own carbon footprints, the role the cultural sector play in driving wider societal change is also growing.

Museums have an enormous potential to change and develop communities. One of the best places to visit in any town and city for access to current research and new ideas is the museum. Museums are therefore best placed for being hot spots of community engagement. In this context, the Museums Association, through their new flagship campaign Museums Change Lives), encourages museums to be more proactive in making an impact on society and people’s wellbeing.

It is hard in the current financial climate especially for small museums with staff shortages, leaking roofs and paint peeling off the walls to continue this work. Fortunately, museums attract some of the most enthusiastic and resourceful staff and volunteers, who, despite these pressures, will do anything they can to ensure that museums continue to be good for you.

The Welsh Museums Federation’s ‘Linking Natural Science Collections in Wales’ project is supporting curators in 20 local museums around Wales. By providing training and information about natural science collections we are going to ensure the continued use of these collections for inspiration, learning and community focus. We are enabling curators to care for and use their natural science collections. This will help to ensure that museums in Wales can look into the future and still make us happy for many more years to come.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LinkingCollectionsWales