Key Stage 2 School Visits

Through handling real museum specimens children explore the evolution of terrestrial vertebrates from the first amphibians to today’s huge variety of life on land. We investigate how Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace unpicked how natural selection drives evolution. In small groups children delve deeper by helping TV presenter Steve Backshall find evidence for evolution with our iPad trail.

This session provides the opportunity for children to learn about the arthropods, Earth's largest group of living things. We will explore how different the arthropods are, as well as what ties them all together. In addition, we'll learn about various topics relating to insects (the largest group of arthropods), including insect anatomy, what makes an insect an insect, and how they keep our world alive. You'll also have the opportunity to look at a few of our 5 million specimens, and even handle some of our live insects!

Children learn how all types of animal skeleton share the same functions; support, protection, and movement as they investigate each one in this hands-on session rich with real museum specimens. This session looks at hydrostatic skeletons, the shared skeletons of corals, as well as exo- and endoskeletons (including our own). Pupils will also learn about bone growth, structure, and health. 

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.