Hire a Canadian Canoe or a Kayak and discover the tranquil beauty and natural wildlife of the River Wye. Contact in advance if booking with children.
Science
Science
The teaching and learning of science can take many forms due to the large number of branches of the discipline, but all of them involve a large element of doing things, of experimenting, of making and breaking, of trying out new ideas, whether at primary or secondary level. This has been appreciated by museums and visitors centres, so that we now have a plethora of possibilities.
The Association for Science Education is the lead body helping schools to develop their teaching and learning. It offers support for primary and secondary science subject leaders, teachers and schools, and keeps schools abreast of curriculum and assessment changes and reforms. The Association aims to enrich science teaching and learning with free resources, which can be found at: www.schoolscience.co.uk
Some venues are obviously specifically suitable for science groups, but others, which are more cross-curricular, are less obvious. Below we give staff a pointer to these as well as making it easy to access the websites of the well known attractions.
CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, has long been popular with British school groups. It is celebrating 60 years this year and is encouraging teachers to look at its Cern Education website.
CAT, the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, is also celebrating a major birthday this year – its 40th. It is a very different experience from CERN, but fascinating nonetheless.
The announcement in April 2015 that the new SKA radiotelescope is to be built in the UK will also be a huge boost for scientists looking for projects to follow and then visit as the telescope is built in readiness for full operational capability in 2025.
We should draw your attention to the fact that farm visits are popular with primary schools and there is a growing number of farms offering excellent opportunities – from feeding animals to driving tanks. But there are some stringent health and safety rules to be observed. For advice and guidance please contact Handsam by calling 03332 070737 or emailing trips@handsam.co.uk.
Main organisations:
Association for Science Education
Membership through Handsam
Radiation Protection Officer services through Handsam
Inclusion: NASEN
Thought of visiting?
Centre for Alternative Technology
Michael Faraday Museum, London
National Conservation Centre, Liverpool
Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester
Techniquest (various locations in Wales including Cardiff, Wrexham and Pembrokeshire)
Venues for this Curriculum
Housed in the Old Custom House in the dock area, one of the oldest buildings in the town. The museum illustrates the history of the major industries which the town has been home to - whaling, fishing and petroleum.
The Museum collection reflects all of these aspects of the town's history, but focuses particularly on the maritime history.
Groups and schools welcome.
Discover the history of lead mining in the Peak District and how it has shaped the landscape since Roman times. Interactive exhibits and climbing tunnels for the kids. Lots of relics to see, plus hundreds of rock and mineral specimens.
Visit the award-winning IWM North to discover powerful stories that reveal how war shapes lives, from a soldier’s last letter home to the twisted steel of New York City's World Trade Center. Housed in Daniel Libeskind’s iconic building representing a globe torn apart by conflict, IWM North offers a free day out like no other.
BHS approved Burley Lodge Equestrian Centre offer a variety of well mannered mounts for lessons, which are available from 4 years upwards.
Scenic hacks of varying lengths, flat work, jumping and cross country riding also available.
See the steam trains from the golden age of the Great Western Railway in the original engine shed, with a recreation of Brunel's broad gauge railway and a typical country branch line.
Tittesworth Water is situated near to Leek, on the edge of the spectacular Peak District National Park. Open all year round, we offer a broad range of activities for those who enjoy the outdoors.
Climb aboard at the Streetlife Museum of Transport and enjoy all the sights, sounds and smells of the past. Admission to the Streetlife Museum is free.
Experience 200 years of transport history as you walk down a 1940’s high street, board a tram or enjoy the pleasures of our carriage ride.
Carlton Marshes is an internationally important broadland nature reserve in the Waveney valley. The dykes and pools are teeming with wildlife and there are reed beds, flower rich meadows, marsh and woodland to explore. The education centre boasts panoramic views over the marshes, two teaching rooms, toilets and a picnic area.
Explore the crawl through mock up tunnels in the Peak District Lead Mining Museum then head over the road and under the ground for a guided tour of the real thing! Fun, educational and immersive this pair of matched attractions will fill your day nicely and stick in the mind.
Discover how the town of Belper was turned into the world’s first factory community in this great mill and museum that is free to visit for under 16s. Family friendly hands on activities and exhibits.
It is recognised as one of the most important buildings from the Industrial Revolution in the whole world!
Canal cruises offer an opportunity to do just that. Choose between the slow meandering of the motor barge and the sedate drifting of the horse drawn barge. Whichever takes your fancy, we can offer you a great day out.
Schools Visits
An incredible underground journey by boat!
Enter the inner world of the underground cave system in the heart of the Peak District National Park and absorb the atmosphere as a watery silence echoes all around you.
Set at the foot of the spectacular Winnat's Pass, high above the village of Castleton, Speedwell Cavern takes you on an incredible underground boat journey.
BHS approved facility offering lessons from around 3, an equine swimming pool, scenic hacks, cross country riding and Pony Club. Toddlers can start with led woodland pony rides.
Scenic hacks of varying lengths and cross country rides available, plus dedicated Pony Club. Absolute beginners usually start with a Walk In The Woods, a led pony or horse ride through gentle terrain.
Most of the Society’s archive is housed, by kind permission of the family of the Boer War hero, General Sir Redvers Buller, at their home, the historic Downes, on the edge of the town. Access to this is by appointment only and material is usually brought to the museum in High Street for examination.
The most famous lighthouse in the British Isles is probably the Eddystone, built on a small and very dangerous reef 13 miles south south west of Plymouth.
Four famous lighthouses have been built to mark the dangerous Eddystone Reef. The original tower, completed in 1698, was the first lighthouse to be built on a small rock in the open sea.
Built in the 1720s, Derwentcote is the earliest and most complete steel-making furnace in Britain.
It produced high-grade steel for springs and cutting tools.
It is one of the few complete examples of the cementation type of furnace, and is the last surviving piece of evidence of cementation steelmaking in the north-east.
Diggerland has many educational benefits. Students are taught to use everyday construction machinery including real diggers and dumpers!
This woodland is bursting with wildflowers, and in spring offer visitors the chance to see a velvet carpet of bluebells which covers the woodland floor.
Once there follow one of the circular walks to explore the wood, or visit the viewpoint for views to North West Alcester
Discover 300 years of history and over 1 million objects that changed the world in the UK's largest railway museum.
Includes a huge array of locomotives, including the Mallard, a replica of Stephenson's Rocket, Hogwart's Express, the Queen's coach, the Duchess of Hamilton and Japan's high speed train Shinkansen.
Home to a collection of exhibits and industrial artefacts, which include, steam and diesel locomotives, a life-size diorama of a quarry, along with many other interesting displays.
A preserved former Great Western Railway branchline that links the national railway network at Cholsey with Wallingford. Trains run on selected weekends and bank holidays, often steam hauled.
The Seagull Recycling Centre does what it says on the tin -
we recycle domestic waste, run a popular schools education programme called "The Waste Wizard" and run a "re-use" scheme where clean, safe and unused items from industry are recycled into craft products and other resources.
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