Workshops complement the curriculum for excellence and aim to promote successful learning through experience. The length can vary between 50 minutes to 1 and ½ hours depending on your requirements.
The highly interactive and multi-sensory workshops include a range of handling specimens from gannets and puffins to mammoth bones and dinosaur claws, authentic bird smells, amazing volcano and glacier demonstrations (designed to be teacher and classroom friendly!) and stunning audio-visual aids.
Our Schools Communicator will encourage children to think critically and aspire to engage their inquisitive nature, so an outreach visit also emphasizes questioning, discussion and debate during the workshops.
All workshops, detailed below, are available throughout the 2009-2010 school year – all you need to do is contact the Schools Communicator to book in advance.
Find out how Scotland’s climate has changed over thousands of years by examining mega-mammal specimens, discover how the ‘Greenhouse Effect’ works, and learn what impacts Homer Simpson has on ‘Global Warming’! Meet Tammy the Puffin and Gary the Gannet and learn how their lives may be threatened in our future, … but wait what can you do to help? (Suitable for P1 to S2).
Take a journey into Scotland’s past and explore the processes that have shaped the country we know today. Witness a volcanic eruption, make your own glacier and see how Scotland has been shaped by fire and ice. World-famous marine habitats in Scotland let us watch the landscape come alive and discover the wonderful creatures living on our doorstep. But how are we shaping our country’s future landscape? (Suitable for P4 to S2).
Life is a game of chance for the Puffins of Craigleith. Craigleith is an island in the Firth of Forth where this special sea bird lives every spring and summer. But lately the puffins there have been disappearing… Find out why in this interactive workshop. You play the puffin in a giant life sized board game which tells the story of this real life game of chance. Will you have enough for dinner? Will you your house be invaded by trees? Roll the dice answer a question and see…only the bravest puffins will survive. (Suitable for P1 to P4)
Test your knowledge game-show style in this fun filled interactive buzz-in quiz. In teams try to work out the mystery animals, buzz in when you know using our remote voting pads. Biodiversity means the variety of living things. Some of Scotland’s biodiversity has been lost, but we have a chance to conserve what we have left. This workshop will help you learn more about it, but will you be ‘bamboozled’ along the way? (Suitable for P5 to S2)
In celebration of Darwin's birthday, join Jody Dodo and Scaredy Cat on the good ship Darwin for a voyage of discovery around the world in search of endangered species. Make lots of new friends from the polar extremes to the tropical rainforest including friendly Fringe the polar bear. Find out why your new friends are endangered and as responsible citizens, what you can do to help them.
Developed with teachers from 3 local authorities, this highly interactive storytelling workshop embraces the capacities of a Curriculum for Excellence and links to the principles of ECO schools. Adaptable for stages from pre-school nursery to p2/3.
Who likes fish and chips? Creatures have enjoyed fish suppers for millions of years. Find out all about life in the seas and marine adaptions both, past and present. Jurassic take-aways and present day pirates of the seabird world. Meet Theo the ichthyosaur and explore his packed lunch - did he enjoy healthy snacks?
As responsible citizens learn how we can help today's sea creatures in their struggle against the effects of pollution, climate change and over-fishing.
Developed with teachers from 3 education authorities, this brand new topical, interactive workshop embraces the capacities of a Curriculum for Excellence and links well to Eco-School principles.