The Bulb Project Project

Don't forget to try out the

board game!

Edina Trust Bulb Project

in collaboration with National Museum Wales

Applications for the 2020-21 project are now closed, and the project will begin in October 2020.

Applications for 2021-22 will open in April 2021.

Use our contact form if you have any questions.

Download Resources

See the Results

Visit the National Museum Wales website to see results and input your data.

If you have any problems with entering your data or have lost your login details, please contact Samantha Moore at samantha.moore@edinatrust.org.uk, or tel: 01993 220090

What is the Bulb Project?

The 'Spring Bulbs for Schools' project gives pupils the opportunity to be part of a real science investigation where they will contribute to the final result. This is a live experiment where there are no known outcomes and no "right" answers.

Schools are provided with daffodil and crocus bulbs to plant in a pot (one per pupil) as well as an additional 20 daffodil bulbs to plant directly in the ground (or in a large planter/raised bed) at the school. Schools will also be given a rain gauge and thermometer.

We ask the young scientists at every school to record the rainfall and temperature each school day from planting day (late October) until the end of the project (end of March). The weather results need to be inputted online on the National Museum Wales website. Pupils will watch their daffodils and crocuses grow and record when they flower, and the height of the plants when the flowers open. We are investigating the effect of the climate on the growth of the spring bulbs.

In May every school is provided with the results of the project, comparing the flowering dates and heights along with the weather recordings from across the UK. You will be able to look at the differences between each country and discuss why daffodils might have flowered sooner in some areas than others, why daffodils might have grown taller at some schools, and more, as well as comparisons to previous years of the project. Comparisons are also made between the daffodils grown in pots and those planted in the ground.

This project is a long running climate change investigation, involving around 75 primary schools across Wales each year (the National Museum Wales Spring Bulbs for Schools). In the collaboration with the Edina Trust, this project has been extended to 100 Edina schools in England and Scotland, and from 2017 schools in Northern Ireland as well.

The National Museum of Wales 'Spring Bulbs for Schools' Core Project

The National Museum Wales Spring Bulbs for Schools project has been running for over ten years. The core project involves Daffodil and Crocus bulbs being planted in pots. Each child will take responsibility for their own pot.
Schools will upload their weekly bulb measurements and weather recordings to the National Museum of Wales website.

All schools will receive the following items:

One Daffodil bulb per pupil
One Crocus bulb per pupil
One Pot per pupil*
Five mystery bulbs and one pot per school
Four spare bulbs and pots per school
Thermometer*
Rain gauge*
Various paper resources (PDF copies of these can be downloaded from the National Museum Wales website)

The Edina Trust Extension Bulb Project

Edina Trust schools taking part in the extension 'Bulb Project' will also submit records to the Trust for the extension activities which includes the planting of bulbs in a plot in the ground to compare with those planted in pots for the core project.

For the extension activities each school will receive:

Twenty Daffodil bulbs to plant in the ground
20 x Plant labels
Potting trowel*
Edina sign-post (to insert in your plot)*
Waterproof Marker Pen
Various paper resources (PDF copies of these can be
downloaded from the Resources page of Edina Trust website

*These items will be provided to new schools. If returning schools would like a request new items, e.g. to replace old or broken equipment, please respond to the survey that will be circulated before 30th June (after you are accepted to the project).

How the Bulb Project relates to the Science Curriculum

Here are a few points from the 2015 Science Curriculum from the Department of Education in England that relate to pupils throughout the school who take part in the Edina Trust Bulb Project:

Pupils should be taught to identify and describe the functions of different parts of flowering plants: roots, stem/trunk, leaves and flowers. Pupils should be taught to explore the requirements of plants for life and growth (air, light, water, nutrients from soil and room to grow) and how they vary from plant to plant.

Pupils should be taught to set up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests. Make systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment including thermometers and data loggers. Pupils should record findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts and tables.