In recent years there has been a cultural shift in our society that has reduced the access and use of outdoors for many young children.
A number of factors are blamed, including increased fear amongst adults in relation to children’s safety, anxieties about the threat of abduction, and technological advances leading to an overwhelming prominence of more sedentary indoor activities, such as television and computer games. However, the developmental needs of young children have remained constant and the outdoor environment continues to be essential to their health, development and well-being. Therefore, regular opportunities for sustained periods of play in a rich and stimulating outdoor environment offer a wide range of benefits to babies, toddlers and young children.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum, which covers children aged birth to the end of the Reception year, became statutory in September 2008 and places strong emphasis on the importance and value of daily outdoor experiences for children’s learning and development.
Learning outside the classroom supports the development of healthy and active lifestyles by offering children opportunities for physical activity, freedom and movement, and promoting a sense of well-being. It gives them contact with the natural world and offers them experiences that are unique to outdoors, such as direct contact with the weather and the seasons. Outdoor play also supports children’s problem-solving skills and nurtures their creativity, as well as providing rich opportunities for their developing imagination, inventiveness and resourcefulness.
And, of course, the outdoor environment offers more space than indoors and therefore is particularly important to those children who learn best through active movement. For many children, playing outdoors at their early years setting may be the only opportunity they have to play safely and freely while they learn to assess risk and develop the skills to manage new situations.
While many of these experiences will take place on-site, outdoor learning may also take place within the local community, for example a walk to the bakery, or past the building site on the way to the park. These off-site ‘expeditions’ offer both children and adults a catalyst for play and conversations. Ultimately, play and learning that flow seamlessly between indoors and outdoors make the most efficient use of resources and build on interests and enthusiasms. Forest Schools are growing in popularity across the UK and are increasingly offered as part of the early years curriculum in schools and settings.
Finally, parental involvement in children’s learning is particularly important in the early years as parents and carers are the child’s first educators. Early years settings, including children’s centres, are increasingly involving parents in developing and using their outdoor areas and in supporting other outdoor learning opportunities.
The American Visionary Arts Museum celebrates artwork created by self-taught individuals in its spacious gallery with over 4,000 pieces in the permanent collection. The adjacent Jim Rouse Visionary Center houses the museum’s oversized sculptures, art cars and screen paintings, a Baltimore specialty.
AVAM's Seven Education Goals
The museum reconstructs the conditions in educational establishments that taught impoverished children in 1800s Britain. On display, there are numerous unique items, such as desks, ink bottles, and slate boards, as well as objects relating to contemporary leisure and work life. The museum’s crowning glory is its Victorian classroom!
The Magic Circle headquarters hosts a remarkable museum and library dedicated to preserving the craft of magic.
The Fan Museum holds a world-renowned collection of fans and fan leaves which include the splendid Hélène Alexander Collection and further acquisitions, gifts and bequests which have been received since the museum opened to the public over twenty years ago.
Join us once a month to enjoy a carefully selected film followed by a film themed arts activity. Get busy in our new arts room with model-making, giant drawings, Lego, animation creations and much more.
Curzon Kids Club is special because it is unique to North Somerset, affordable and fun!
We have over 6,700 teapots on display in our exhibition that is open to the public for a small charge and you can purchase a memento from our shop to take home with you to remind you of your day with us.
Visit Dunnottar Castle for an unforgettable experience. A dramatic and evocative ruined cliff top fortress in a truly stunning setting.
Eureka! is a unique place for families and groups to visit, where children aged 0 to 11 are inspired to learn all about themselves and the world around them by playing, imagining, experimenting and – above all – having fun, with the caring grown-ups in their lives.
The park occupies the site of an old manor house that fell into terminal decline after the war and was demolished in 1959. Fortunately, the park has continued in use and has become one of the best parks within the region. The park occupies around eight hectares with a large number of facilities on site.
Nairn Museum offers visitors and locals alike a fascinating insight into the life and times of the town and surrounding area over the centuries. The wide range of permanent displays featuring various aspects of Nairn's history are well laid out and informative and, in addition a huge collection of archive material is available for study.
Learn about Scottish history and discover how the Highlands are linked with the rest of the world.
Experience Highland contemporary art and crafts and unlock a medieval chest.
Hugh Miller's Birthplace Cottage & Museum in Cromarty celebrates prominent 19th-century Highland polymath, Hugh Miller - an eminent geologist, writer and social commentator.
Our lovely museum is an outstanding centre for Pictish and Celtic Art in Ross-shire. The unique display is focused on 15 carved Pictish stones which all originated in the village, an important centre of early Christianity.
Glenfinnan Station Museum is a restored West Highland Line railway station on the ‘Iron Road’ to the Isles from Fort William to Mallaig.
The galleries integrate Shetland’s museum and archives collections for the first time to tell Shetland’s story in the most complete and accessible way.
We have a wide range of tours, talks, films, workshops, trails and resources that will help you discover more about Shetland’s Past.
Whilst we offer fun kids trails and activity sessions throughout Summer- a range of specially tailored school visit are available year round.
Corrigall Farm Museum is a traditional ‘but and ben’ house. It portrays a typical Orkney farmhouse and steading in Victorian times - late 19th Century. The working barn and grain kiln, horse-drawn machinery and livestock make for an interesting visit for children and adults.
Described as 'the noisiest museum in the world', the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh is a favourite with adults and children alike. It is a treasure house, crammed full of objects telling of childhood, past and present.
Young people can learn about the children of the past and see a fantastic range of toys and games, while adults enjoy a trip down memory lane.
Visit Hopetoun and discover a place of beauty, tranquility and architectural magnificence dating from the 17th century. It has been home to the Hope Family since the late 1600s and the present Lord Hopetoun and his family still live in Hopetoun House.
Come rain or shine, there's something for everyone at Almond Valley. We're open throughout the year and with many attractions under cover, there's plenty to see and do whatever the weather
There's so much for students to enjoy, and our play areas hold special appeal to those under ten years old. We'd recommend that you allow at least four hours for your visit.
This 18th-century Georgian house is the former home of Scottish painter E A Hornel, one of the Glasgow Boys.
Broughton House & Garden prefers to tour groups around the property and garden out of hours - for example before midday. Topics include 'An Edwardian home', 'Art styles at Broughton' and 'Local literature'.
Robert Burns Birthplace Museum offers a truly unique encounter with Scotland's favourite poet.
All that remains of a mediaeval hospital and alms house, the Maison Dieu Chapel lies on Maisondieu Lane in central Brechin.
Situated 8 miles from Arbroath and 7 miles from Forfar on the A932, the House of Pitmuies is a category A-listed classically-styled mansion house that dates back to the late 1500s, though the grander west-facing front is believed to date from the 1680's and was "modernised" to the 18th century standard some two hundred years later.
A four mile section of the Kinnaber to Brechin line, between Brechin and the Bridge of Dun forms the basis of this important fragment of Scotland's historic railways.
The Bushcraft Company offer residential school trips with a difference, taking students into the wild and giving them real back-to-nature experiences they will never forget.
A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.