Key Stage 2 School Visits

Key Stage 2 School Visits

The Museum is an inspiring setting for learning, offering a range of fun and informative hands-on sessions and online resources. Visits are up to two hours long and include a 45-minute handling workshop and a self-guided trail in the Museum. Sessions involve groupwork, discussion and problem-solving activities based on handling Museum specimens, and are linked to the national curriculum. Please book to arrange your visit.

Evolve, Adapt, Survive: Evolution

Through close observation and handling of specimens, children explore how animals have evolved to survive in their habitats. We look at the work of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace on natural selection and examine important fossil evidence of the history of life.

Download session outline

Rock Stars

Investigate the difference between rocks and minerals, and discover how essential they are in our everyday lives. Take a hands-on journey through the rock cycle to explore the three types of rock that make up our planet. Children become geologists, using close observation skills and new knowledge to sort and identify rocks.

Download session outline

Dinosaur Detectives

Use roleplay to understand fossilisation and discover the definition of a dinosaur. Pupils handle a wide range of fossils, from bones to footprints and even fossilised poo!

Skeletons from left to right: giraffe, Irish elk, dromedary and young Asian elephant

Download session outline

The Skeleton Crew

Investigate the different types of animal skeleton – including our own – using mime and movement. The session looks at hydrostatic, exo- and endoskeletons, and gets hands-on with specimens from jellyfish and worms to corals and elephants. Pupils look at bone growth and structure, and how to keep bones healthy. After close observation of some common British animal skeletons, pupils are challenged to identify the animals.