Primary Education: Early Years

A visit to Harehope quarry can help to promote the 6 areas of learning and the central theme of any visit will relate to the curriculum area the 'Knowledge and understanding of the world'.

Visits by early years' groups will focus on an outdoor activity as a stimulus. This may be looking at mini-beasts in the pond or woodland, discovering rocks and fossils or activities around food and growing in our allotment.

Visits by early years' groups are based around a 2 – 3 hour visit. The type of activities undertaken on a visit may be:

• Mini-beasts: This session involves a sensory walk, either a mini-beast hunt in the woods or pond dipping, a snack, themed play and a themed story sack. There is also the option of staying at the quarry for lunch.
• Rocks and fossils: This session involves a sensory walk, rock and fossil hunt, a snack, themed play and a themed story sack. There is also the option of staying at the quarry for lunch.
• Food and growing: This session involves finding out where our food comes from and what it needs to grow, gardening tasks, making a snack from the allotments, themed play and a themed story sack. There is also the option of staying at the quarry for lunch.

Primary Education: Key Stages 1 and 2

A number of educational days have been developed mainly aimed at Key Stage 2, but some can be suitably adapted for Key Stage 1. Days can be varied to fit the curriculum needs of individual schools.

Many of the activities can be shortened to half-day events so activities like a sensory walk, orienteering or learning about the sustainable development of the quarry could be included.

In addition we also have a story walk that encourages creative writing and poetry. This walk can be led by Harehope Quarry staff or can be self-led. A CD of resources for the walk if available on request. A story that forms the basis of a walk called the ‘Salmon’ Return’ is also available for schools to use.

The following days are available within our 4 themes:

Living things and biodiversity

• Pond and river dipping: This day introduces habitats and adaptations, compares the mini-beasts found in still and running water and the adaptations they have, provides games and activities on food chains and webs and encourages close observation of mini-beasts through a craft activity.
• Woodland mini-beasts: This day encourages the use of the senses by undertaking a sensory walk, looks at the mini-beasts in the different layers of a woodland (including the soil), further develops the fieldwork results and concludes with a craft activity. During certain times of the year tree planting or tree seed collection could be included in the day.
• Food and growing: Use the smallholding at Harehope Quarry to learn the basic principals behind food growing, help look after our animals, create your own snacks from food from the allotment and then choose from a range of activities that can be taken back to school to start growing there!

Rocks, fossils and landscapes
Two of the following days are based around our purpose-built georium. The georium re-creates 8 fossil environments, which children can discover on a fossil dig. The georium was funded by the North Pennines AONB Partnership and European Geopark.

• Be a palaeontologist for a day and hunt for fossils!: This day uses the quarry’s geology garden to learn about geological time, encourages scientific enquiry digging for fossils in the georium and takes children on a real fossil hunt to discover what Harehope Quarry was like during the Carboniferous period.
• Be a palaeontologist for day and discover Carboniferous times!: This day uses the quarry’s geology garden to learn about geological time, encourages scientific enquiry digging for fossils in the georium, uses activities to look at how fossils are formed and re-creates a Carboniferous environment.
• Rock and fossil fun: This day uses the quarry’s geology garden to learn about geological time, takes children on a fossil hunt to discover what Harehope Quarry was like during carboniferous times and uses a range of crafts to re-create Carboniferous animals, including making plaster of Paris fossils.
• Limestone and quarrying: This day discovers the rocks found in Harehope Quarry, including Frosterley Marble, looks at the impact of quarrying on the environment and considers quarry reclamation using Harehope Quarry as an example.
• Rivers: This day involves getting wet! River measurements are taken to look at how a river changes from source to mouth. The day’s results are discussed and the concepts of erosion, transportation and deposition are explored further through hands-on activities.

Further days are in development including looking at Frosterley as a contrasting locality and using Harehope Quarry as a base from which to carry out a local farm study.

History and heritage

• Making a living: This day involves 4 map trails with clues to find that will help the children to learn about the geology of the area and find out how people made a living from the land.

Sustainable lifestyles

• The solar challenge: This activity involves a half day session in school followed by a full day visit to Harehope Quarry. The half day in school introduces climate change and the 'greenhouse effect' and looks specifically at sources of alternative energy. The school is left with equipment to undertake weather measurements and to relate these to the availability of wind and solar energy. The visit to Harehope Quarry sets up a wind and solar test and involves the children in a solar challenge to make the best boat driven by solar power. The second half of the day can involve testing different wind turbines and making kites or could involve a tour of the quarry. The tour would look at how we are trying to make the Harehope Quarry Project more sustainable and involve the children in making decisions about how they can make their school more sustainable.
• Sustainable lifestyles: This day would include a tour of the quarry look at how we are trying to make the Harehope Quarry Project more sustainable and would involve the children in making decisions about how they can make their school more sustainable. The second half of the day will be centred on a practical conservation activity. The exact activity will depend on the time of year and the interests of the school.

Images

<< First | < Prev | 1 to 3 of 3 on page 1 of 1 | Next > | Last >>

<< First | < Prev | 1 to 3 of 3 on page 1 of 1 | Next > | Last >>