Dinosaurs!
Children love dinosaurs and most pre-schools, early education programs and Primary schools include units which study these amazing creatures. So if you have a budding palaeontologist or are looking for a fun way to encourage learning and engaging pupils imagination here are a number of suggestions for Dinosaur Workshops.
Sample Workshops here:Hands-on fossil lab containing thousands of specimens which pupils can examine, CSI-style. The touring Lab fossil collection includes more than 3,000 specimens including dinosaur teeth and horns, crocodile vertebrae, copal amber (with million-year-old dead mosquitos and spiders) and fossil faeces from a host of extinct reptiles and fish. PalaeoLab's aim is to encourage a new crop of superb zoological, palaeontological and evolutionary scientists with an ability to think both creatively and critically about the world around us.
Workshop 1 - Discovering Fossils: In this interactive workshop pupils get a chance to uncover the mysteries of ancient life on Earth: What were dinosaurs really like? Were they hairy? Feathered? Did they roar or did they sing? And how did they slide toward extinct? This workshop is about how what we consider to be FACTS come from real evidence in fossils, courtesy of the scientists that study them - as well as considering what fossils are and how they are formed. The sessions are a mix of fossil searches / amber examination (with microscope) and discussions about dinosaurs and what they must have been like, based on the evidence in amber and fossils that they find during the sessions. Sessions are often modified for teachers covering topics like The Stone Age, Extinction, Rocks and Solids. It's an exciting session, inviting pupils to consider how much we don't know as well as what we do! (It's the pupils' job, as future scientists, to understand dinosaur colours and noises and more about their eventual extinction, for instance!).
Workshop 2 Darwin’s Delights: For yr5/6 pupils studying Darwin / Evolution / Adaptations / Inheritance this workshop is a great opportunity for pupils to learn about evolution, what Darwin discovered, and how it has changed science forever. As well as investigating fossils and a host of articulated mammal skeletons, the session also includes a lively and fun Q&A section allowing pupils to ask questions about evolution and natural selection as well as providing teachers an opportunity to take a ‘refresher’ on Darwin, evolution and why it's all such a big deal! This workshop covers fossils investigations (what evolution really looks like); skeletal examinations (using a host of fossil mammal skeletons to communicate shared ancestry in mammals); explains Darwin's theory of natural selection (covering inheritance particularly) and.... (depending on the amount of time available) ...also considers how natural selection leads to animal adaptations, like polar bear hair and teeth, bats wings, big brains and mouse teeth or any adaptations the pupils know of or are interested in. This session works really well having a bit of time to play with (90 minutes or so per session if possible) because the discussions that come out of it are often quite mind-boggling (recent topics include the last universal common ancestor, human evolution, the future of humans, land-living fish, extinction of dinosaurs, how all humans are African (and, hence, racism is ridiculous!)... (and that's just the result of last week's pupil discussions!). Discussions are facilitated around the kinds of interests the pupils show, making it very memorable and unique for each class.
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Foundation & Key Stage 1 Dinosaurs workshop ( Can be adapted for KS2)
Background
A mixed activity workshop of between 1 and 2.5 hours which uses story, puppets, activities, games and songs based on dinosaurs to enrich children’s learning in the key areas of: personal, social & emotional development; communication, language & literacy; problem solving, reasoning and numeracy; knowledge and understanding of the world; physical & creative development.
Workshops can be tailored to emphasise aspects of particular interest to client groups.
Activity description
Each workshop will use an appropriate combination of the following:
Story and puppets
I'm a Forgetfulosuarusis about a dinosaur who can’t remember what sort of dinosaur she is! Can she find out before her guests arrive?
The dinosaur who couldn’t roar!Terry Rex has a very important message for the other dinosaurs – but he’s lost his voice! Can the children help him get it back?
Using soft and unthreatening hand puppets, the interactive approach encourages children to speak to the characters and problem solve a solution and happy ending to the story.
Activity
InEveryone’s a dinosaur!children explore how different environments influenced the development of dinosaur features and gets them to apply simple categories to themselves to find out what sort of *saurus they would be.
We’re going on a bone huntintroduces the importance of patient team work in the discovery of fossil records. Children learn how to carefully excavate using brushes and small trowels, then label and store the finds. They then go on a bone hunt, finding previously planted trays of sand with ‘fossils’ hidden in them. They are encouraged to bring their finds together to see if they can be combined. Using their
Knowledge of dinosaur features they determine the type of dinosaur. Draw it and give it a name.
Language, music and movement
One Red Raptor, chewing on a bone Working together the group creates its own counting rhyme using dinosaur names and describing words. We can extend this to creating illustrations for a wall frieze or booklet.
Dancing dinosaursuses contrasting sound and language stimuli to encourage independent movement & dance. Working individually, then in groups, we create a Stomping Dino Dance.
Making
In response to the stories and puppets, children create their own version of the main characters using a variety of scrap material sourced from Worcestershire Resource Exchange. We then retell the story in small groups.
How this meets partners’ objectives
Through varied and challenging interactive activity with an outsider, children gain valuable knowledge & reinforce previous learning; practice and extend vocabulary, interpersonal & fine motor skill; develop their problem solving and reasoning; explore creative approaches; enjoy achieving as individuals and in teams.
Clients have been kind enough to say:
"Everyone who was with you with reception class today has been singing your praises; thank you so much for holding the children so captivated for the whole day!" "We had a brilliant day. The children were captivated and engaged allday long - no mean feat with 4 / 5 yr olds. Ian's infectionus enthusiasm through songs, rhymes & drama provided exactly what was needed. The children were still singing and retelling the story as they went home. Fabulous!"
"You met our objectives by providing exactly what we need for the literacy framework: using songs, rhymes, story, drama to inspire the children in their story writing. The children have had a WONDERFUL time - your enthusiasm and humour are infectious, Ian. The children LOVED you and have produced some superstories. Thank you for making us laugh 'til we cried - a real tonic!"
"Captured the children's imaginations brilliantly. Great to see the boys so captivated"
......................................................................................................................................
Dinosaur Detectives
Can you hear the dinosaurs roar? See their footprints and smell the ferns?
We’ll begin with some warm-up movements and actions to warm our bodies and calm our minds for the activities ahead.
Next we’ll hear a short action story, a dinosaur adaptation of the Little Red Hen. Our story features a T-Rex with tiny arms, a brontosaurus with a long neck, a triceratops with spiky head and a stegosaurus with a long tail. Who will help stegosaurus to make chocolate from cocoa beans?
Then we will listen to an adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s story 'Tyrannosaurus Drip’, acted out with shadow puppets.
Next we will recreate our very own dinosaur replica fossils to scare our family with - dinosaur footprints, teeth and claws!
We will finish by listening to a Dinosaur song and stomping around the room dancing like dinosaurs. If there is time, there is also the option for the children to create an erupting volcano!
........................................................................................................................................
Creating DINOSAURS
Building extremely large dinosaurs (4m long, at least!) out of repurposed building plastics. These can be used as display pieces and can be used and filmed for yours and the school's promotional material.
Space and storage of these mighty machines will be an issue for the duration of the project but we would design them so they could be partially disassembled for storage and we could discuss the other practicalities if the concept intrigues you. I think they'd be a perfect focus for repeat workshops or, better still, an artist's residency.
Children love dinosaurs and most pre-schools, early education programs and Primary schools include units which study these amazing creatures. So if you have a budding palaeontologist or are looking for a fun way to encourage learning and engaging pupils imagination here are a number of suggestions for Dinosaur Workshops.
Sample Workshops here:Hands-on fossil lab containing thousands of specimens which pupils can examine, CSI-style. The touring Lab fossil collection includes more than 3,000 specimens including dinosaur teeth and horns, crocodile vertebrae, copal amber (with million-year-old dead mosquitos and spiders) and fossil faeces from a host of extinct reptiles and fish. PalaeoLab's aim is to encourage a new crop of superb zoological, palaeontological and evolutionary scientists with an ability to think both creatively and critically about the world around us.
Workshop 1 - Discovering Fossils: In this interactive workshop pupils get a chance to uncover the mysteries of ancient life on Earth: What were dinosaurs really like? Were they hairy? Feathered? Did they roar or did they sing? And how did they slide toward extinct? This workshop is about how what we consider to be FACTS come from real evidence in fossils, courtesy of the scientists that study them - as well as considering what fossils are and how they are formed. The sessions are a mix of fossil searches / amber examination (with microscope) and discussions about dinosaurs and what they must have been like, based on the evidence in amber and fossils that they find during the sessions. Sessions are often modified for teachers covering topics like The Stone Age, Extinction, Rocks and Solids. It's an exciting session, inviting pupils to consider how much we don't know as well as what we do! (It's the pupils' job, as future scientists, to understand dinosaur colours and noises and more about their eventual extinction, for instance!).
Workshop 2 Darwin’s Delights: For yr5/6 pupils studying Darwin / Evolution / Adaptations / Inheritance this workshop is a great opportunity for pupils to learn about evolution, what Darwin discovered, and how it has changed science forever. As well as investigating fossils and a host of articulated mammal skeletons, the session also includes a lively and fun Q&A section allowing pupils to ask questions about evolution and natural selection as well as providing teachers an opportunity to take a ‘refresher’ on Darwin, evolution and why it's all such a big deal! This workshop covers fossils investigations (what evolution really looks like); skeletal examinations (using a host of fossil mammal skeletons to communicate shared ancestry in mammals); explains Darwin's theory of natural selection (covering inheritance particularly) and.... (depending on the amount of time available) ...also considers how natural selection leads to animal adaptations, like polar bear hair and teeth, bats wings, big brains and mouse teeth or any adaptations the pupils know of or are interested in. This session works really well having a bit of time to play with (90 minutes or so per session if possible) because the discussions that come out of it are often quite mind-boggling (recent topics include the last universal common ancestor, human evolution, the future of humans, land-living fish, extinction of dinosaurs, how all humans are African (and, hence, racism is ridiculous!)... (and that's just the result of last week's pupil discussions!). Discussions are facilitated around the kinds of interests the pupils show, making it very memorable and unique for each class.
..................................................................................................................................
Foundation & Key Stage 1 Dinosaurs workshop ( Can be adapted for KS2)
Background
A mixed activity workshop of between 1 and 2.5 hours which uses story, puppets, activities, games and songs based on dinosaurs to enrich children’s learning in the key areas of: personal, social & emotional development; communication, language & literacy; problem solving, reasoning and numeracy; knowledge and understanding of the world; physical & creative development.
Workshops can be tailored to emphasise aspects of particular interest to client groups.
Activity description
Each workshop will use an appropriate combination of the following:
Story and puppets
I'm a Forgetfulosuarusis about a dinosaur who can’t remember what sort of dinosaur she is! Can she find out before her guests arrive?
The dinosaur who couldn’t roar!Terry Rex has a very important message for the other dinosaurs – but he’s lost his voice! Can the children help him get it back?
Using soft and unthreatening hand puppets, the interactive approach encourages children to speak to the characters and problem solve a solution and happy ending to the story.
Activity
InEveryone’s a dinosaur!children explore how different environments influenced the development of dinosaur features and gets them to apply simple categories to themselves to find out what sort of *saurus they would be.
We’re going on a bone huntintroduces the importance of patient team work in the discovery of fossil records. Children learn how to carefully excavate using brushes and small trowels, then label and store the finds. They then go on a bone hunt, finding previously planted trays of sand with ‘fossils’ hidden in them. They are encouraged to bring their finds together to see if they can be combined. Using their
Knowledge of dinosaur features they determine the type of dinosaur. Draw it and give it a name.
Language, music and movement
One Red Raptor, chewing on a bone Working together the group creates its own counting rhyme using dinosaur names and describing words. We can extend this to creating illustrations for a wall frieze or booklet.
Dancing dinosaursuses contrasting sound and language stimuli to encourage independent movement & dance. Working individually, then in groups, we create a Stomping Dino Dance.
Making
In response to the stories and puppets, children create their own version of the main characters using a variety of scrap material sourced from Worcestershire Resource Exchange. We then retell the story in small groups.
How this meets partners’ objectives
Through varied and challenging interactive activity with an outsider, children gain valuable knowledge & reinforce previous learning; practice and extend vocabulary, interpersonal & fine motor skill; develop their problem solving and reasoning; explore creative approaches; enjoy achieving as individuals and in teams.
Clients have been kind enough to say:
"Everyone who was with you with reception class today has been singing your praises; thank you so much for holding the children so captivated for the whole day!" "We had a brilliant day. The children were captivated and engaged allday long - no mean feat with 4 / 5 yr olds. Ian's infectionus enthusiasm through songs, rhymes & drama provided exactly what was needed. The children were still singing and retelling the story as they went home. Fabulous!"
"You met our objectives by providing exactly what we need for the literacy framework: using songs, rhymes, story, drama to inspire the children in their story writing. The children have had a WONDERFUL time - your enthusiasm and humour are infectious, Ian. The children LOVED you and have produced some superstories. Thank you for making us laugh 'til we cried - a real tonic!"
"Captured the children's imaginations brilliantly. Great to see the boys so captivated"
......................................................................................................................................
Dinosaur Detectives
Can you hear the dinosaurs roar? See their footprints and smell the ferns?
We’ll begin with some warm-up movements and actions to warm our bodies and calm our minds for the activities ahead.
Next we’ll hear a short action story, a dinosaur adaptation of the Little Red Hen. Our story features a T-Rex with tiny arms, a brontosaurus with a long neck, a triceratops with spiky head and a stegosaurus with a long tail. Who will help stegosaurus to make chocolate from cocoa beans?
Then we will listen to an adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s story 'Tyrannosaurus Drip’, acted out with shadow puppets.
Next we will recreate our very own dinosaur replica fossils to scare our family with - dinosaur footprints, teeth and claws!
We will finish by listening to a Dinosaur song and stomping around the room dancing like dinosaurs. If there is time, there is also the option for the children to create an erupting volcano!
........................................................................................................................................
Creating DINOSAURS
Building extremely large dinosaurs (4m long, at least!) out of repurposed building plastics. These can be used as display pieces and can be used and filmed for yours and the school's promotional material.
Space and storage of these mighty machines will be an issue for the duration of the project but we would design them so they could be partially disassembled for storage and we could discuss the other practicalities if the concept intrigues you. I think they'd be a perfect focus for repeat workshops or, better still, an artist's residency.