Lower KS2
Lower KS2 Education Activities
Education activities at Wildwood fall into three main categories: Workshops, Tours and ‘Animal Focus Talks’. Tours and workshops last an hour for up to 30 participants and are £45 per session, while ‘Animal Focus Talks’ are shorter, just 15 minutes for 15 participants at a total of £20.
Workshops
Structured sessions held in our designated learning spaces (which range from an indoor classroom to a woodland glade) with links to the National Curriculum. See below for more information.
Tours
Guided walks around Wildwood led by an experienced presenter. Often these are just a general look at the site, but many different topics can be highlighted such as conservation, habitats, history and ecology. See below for more information.
Animal Focus Talks
Short talks on specific animals, delivered by that animal’s enclosure. These are particularly handy for groups that don’t have much time, money or attention, or just want to explore Wildwood by themselves.
15 minute session, £20 per group, max 15 children per group.
Visit an animal of your choice (subject to births, seasonal behaviour, etc.), find out more about them and have your questions answered by a member of our education team. Typically, animal artefacts will be available for handling, such as shed fur or replica skulls.
Please note: on health and safety grounds, visitors do not touch or feed the animals.
And we’re more than happy to produce bespoke experiences at no additional charge!
For further information, just contact our Education Department on education@wildwoodtrust.org or 01227 937 451.
Lower KS2 Workshops
60 minute session, £45 per group, max 30 children per group.
‘CSI: Wildwood – Who Killed Mr Bunny?’
Our award-winning forensic science workshop! Use your investigative skills to solve a woodland murder mystery, based on real-life predator-prey relationships. Working in small teams, students will examine physical evidence, draw their own conclusions and report back on their findings until the culprit is identified!
Please note: this session takes place in woodland so be aware of uneven flooring and poor weather conditions.
Outdoors.
Food Chains
Learn the differences between producers, predators and prey through dressing up. Play games to show how all parts of a food chain depend upon each other. Get hands on with amazing carnivore, herbivore and omnivore skulls to investigate their differences and see if you can identify who is who.
Indoors.
Food, Digestion and Poo
How do our bodies turn the food we eat into useful ingredients and what happens to the waste? An adventure from our teeth, through our tummies to the end, that reveals the basic functions of the human digestive system through messy hands-on experiments. Finish off with an animal poo quiz featuring genuine animal poo!
Indoors.
Habitats
Forests, deserts, grasslands, caverns – habitats come in a bewildering variety. Discover what animals need from their habitat in order to survive. Find out through roleplay which animals live in which habitat and why they are so well suited to living there, which introduces adaptations. Then put your detective skills to the test by matching genuine animal artefacts with their true habitat.
Indoors.
Hibernation and Winter Survival
Explore what seasonal changes happen within a woodland during the winter and why this causes problems for many of its residents. Experience what hibernation is like and why it can be risky. And discover alternative ways of surviving winter used by animals that don’t hibernate.
Indoors.
Let’s Talk Wolf
Meet Wilf the wolf puppet as we reveal the surprising ways that wolves communicate with each other. Take a closer look at how posture and body language are used by both wolves and humans to show their emotions. Test your senses against those of a wolf through fun challenges and compete in a howl-off as we teach you to do it properly!
Indoors.
Nature Detectives
A zoologist is much like a detective, but instead of using clues to solve crimes, it’s a case of studying tracks and signs to learn more about wildlife. From footprints and feathers to nests and gnaw-marks, examine a selection of natural artefacts and investigate which animals made them – and for what purpose.
Indoors.
Plastics and Recycling
Learn about the different materials we use in our modern lives and how long they take to degrade. Find out why plastic is of special concern from an environmental perspective, and how plastics recycling works. Practice recycling sorting and explore what you can do to reduce waste.
Indoors.
Predators
Enter the dangerous world of predatory animals to find out if they’re really as bad as we believe. Meet some unexpected British predators and investigate the benefits and drawbacks of being a carnivore. Explore the remarkable senses used by hunting animals and discover why predators are vital to their environments.
Indoors.
Rainforests
Rainforests may seem a world away from Wildwood, but there are more similarities than you might think. Compare tropical rainforests with our local woodlands, examine which Wildwood animals have unexpected jungle cousins and discover how everyone can help to save these vibrant and diverse ecosystems.
Indoors.
Skeletons
Real learning with real bones! From skulls to scapulas, our collection of genuine animal bones demonstrates how to recognise different types of bone, such as ribs, vertebrae and limb bones. Compare them with our replica human skeleton, discover what purpose your skeleton actually serves and investigate which animals don’t have any bones at all.
Indoors.
Teeth
To misquote – more than meets the eye-teeth! Discover the difference between a canine and a carnassial with lots of real animal teeth and genuine skulls. Marvel at the strange ways that ‘pearly whites’ are utilised by certain animals. Get hands on with amazing carnivore, herbivore and omnivore skulls to investigate their dental differences and see if you can identify who is who.
Indoors.
Variety of Life
Millions of animals share Planet Earth with us in a dazzling variety of shapes, sizes, colours and lifestyles. Learn how scientists practise classification by sorting plastic models. Dress up to discover how to distinguish between backboned animals such as birds, mammals and reptiles – who has fur, feathers, scales or gills? Investigate similarities and differences by getting hands-on with genuine animal artefacts.
Indoors.
For further information, just contact our Education Department on education@wildwoodtrust.org or 01227 937 451.
Lower KS2 Tours
60 minute session, £45 per group, max 30 pupils per group.
General
Discover more about the animals at Wildwood with fantastic facts about their lifestyles, habitats, diet and conservation. Ideal for a fun day out or if you don’t want to focus on a single topic. Students will observe at least four of our animals and have their questions answered by a member of our education team.
Outdoors.
Adaptations
Visit a variety of our animals to take a closer look at predator and prey species, as well as climbers, swimmers and burrowers. Find out more about their individual physical and behavioural adaptations. Students will observe at least four of our animals and have their questions answered by a member of our education team.
Outdoors.
Conservation
Visit a variety of our animals to learn how changes in their wild environment have impacted their species and what can be done to help them. Students will observe at least four of our animals and have their questions answered by a member of our education team.
Outdoors.
Habitats
Learn about animal homes naturally occurring in our ancient woodland setting and within our enclosures, including badger setts, otter holts, wolf dens and ant nests. Discover how each animal is suited to life in their particular habitat. Students will observe at least four of our animals and have their questions answered by a member of our education team.
Outdoors.
Hungry Mouths
Discover what our animals eat both in captivity and in the wild. Compare a carnivore, a herbivore and an omnivore and learn how to recognise prey animals from predators. Students will observe at least four of our animals and have their questions answered by a member of our education team.
Outdoors.
For further information, just contact our Education Department on education@wildwoodtrust.org or 01227 937 451.