Cardiff Museum

On a gloomy rainy Tuesday just passed there was only a limited amount of things that we could do off my bucket list. So I and my friend Josie thought lets head off to the museum. As we arrived the hustle bustle of people made it clear that we were not the only ones with the idea to visit. When we first entered the beautiful building we had decide where to start. To the left of us was the discovery room which when entering later realised was meant for children.

We explored the discovery center like we were kids ourselves, with there being lots to take in. There was huge bookcase plastered with books and was the the first thing I loved . There was everything from dinosaurs, to plants to animals and all science like things you could believe. Next to these books was then a skeleton of a dodo bird, a great thing to see as they are extinct. Along side were skulls of several animals and a chance for you to guess what animal they once belonged to. Another gem was two microscopes where you could use many of the items supplied to get a closer look. I and Josie chose to get a spider that had been preserved in a glass chamber. we then had a detailed look through the microscope.

Once we had discovered all that we could it was time to move onto the natural history section of the museum. Here are animals from past to present some real displays some fake. Starting with getting an activity book we had to spot each of the animals in the first seaside display. Backing on to this was a forest and forest animals. Scattered around were tones of preserved animals, from butterflies to sea creatures. In one of the activity books I had to draw my version of some leaves.Unfortunately my drawing skills were not great.

We eventually went upstairs where on display there was a huge skeleton of a hump back whale. The proportions were ginormous and I certainly would not want to meet that in the sea. In the same area was a module of a sea turtle with some bones on show as well. There was also information about smaller sea creatures including modules or actual preserved creatures. It was very educational, learning such facts that there are 7 breeds of sea turtles. At the end of this section there was a learning section with lab coats, jungle hats and science goggles. Such awesome fun could be had. Including a screen which made you visible from a spider’s perspective.

Finally it was time to go back downstairs to the evolution history of wales. It started with the idea of explaining how the plates move. Explaining about the earths crust moving countries further apart. As you went along it then showed more about volcanoes before it went into the life of the dinosaurs. They also had modules made, with bones constructed of the outline of the certain breeds of dinosaurs. Then it was time to move onto a childhood favourite, the mammoths! They still existed after all this time but now I don’t jump when the mother mammoth moves. Further along you come across Bertie the bison another old favourite in the museum.

Eventually we got to the end of the evolution of wales and outside was this beautiful slide show. Images projected on to stone, such beautiful things as a flower opening and a jellyfish floating. It was truly mesmerising to watch and we did several times. Although we only explored the bottom half of the museum I enjoyed it loads. I will be sure to return in the near future to learn more and see further exhibitions.

#museum #cardiff #education #bertiebison