Explore science and nature
The Museum has a 45 acre site including woodlands, three ponds, farm and over 30 historic buildings that are made out of a variety of materials, making it an excellent venue for a science school workshop.
Habitats and insect adaptation
At COAM we are uniquely placed to look at insect adaptation. Our site has some exceptional habitats including three ponds, a wild flower meadow and woodland. We also have some amazing creatures including bats, owls and newts that inhabit these areas. Under our supervision, children are able to explore how insects have adapted to live safely within each of these environments.
We run a series of school science workshops which reference the properties of materials. We explore suitability for purpose and how applying heat or friction can cause a temporary or permanent change. Uniquely, we offer this learning opportunity within a historical context: children learn about the permanent change of materials by creating butter from cream and this learning experience takes place inside our traditional farm buildings, where butter would historically have been made. Children learn and how ‘heat’ changes wet ingredients into an edible griddle scone whilst cooking inside our 18th century cottage.
In our lighting workshop we teach how light technology developed from the Iron Age to the Victorian era and children make comparisons between the efficiency of an oil lamp and a beeswax candle.
In our brick making workshop, children experience the malleability of brick clay whilst physically creating a brick; they learn that by heating a wet ‘green’ brick they create a new material that is waterproof and hence perfect for building purposes. We explore recycling materials within our rag rug workshop and in our shelter building workshop we teach the children how to use woodland materials to create a temporary shelter.
You can book individual workshops or a Materials Theme Day – a choice of workshops which focus upon the properties of materials and how they change as friction or heat are applied.
In the autumn we also run a Harvest Theme Day which is an exploration of the harvest process.
Science school workshops available
You can choose up to three of the following workshops to create your own theme day.
Aquatic habitats (pond dipping)– an exploration of the insect life in and around our Museum pond (Pond Dipping) (living things and their habitats) 45 mins
Woodland habitats– an exploration of the insect life found in and around our woodland (living things and their habitats) 45 mins
Grassland insects (KS2) – an exploration of insect life found in and around grassland (living things and their habitats) – this workshop cannot be run in wet weather 45 mins
Insect Adaptation Theme Day – a practical exploration process aimed at Y5/Y6 which looks closely at how insects adapt to their environment (habitats and classification) * Launching soon*
If you are a special needs school or have a number of SEND children in your class please call the Learning Team on 01494 875 542 we may be able to access funding to help with your school visit. For further information please contact the Education Team on email@example.com, complete our Education contact form or telephone 01494 875 542.