Learn about the amazing discoveries made by globe-trotting plant scientists – and why we continue to collect plants from the wild today. Hear from a modern-day plant hunter before being sent on your very own mission in the Botanic Garden – can your pupils successfully find the species and discover the reasons we are conserving them? You will also learn about herbarium sheets – an important record of plant hunters’ scientific discoveries. Find out about Charles Darwin’s specimens from his Beagle voyage, and have a go at making your own herbarium sheet.
Availability
This workshop is available all year.
Children will
- Learn about how plants have been collected from the wild
- Understand why this practice takes place today
- Take part in problem solving activities and games
- Navigate using a map
- Discover the conservation stories of some of the plants in the Botanic Garden
- Understand a way of recording plants scientifically
- Recap their knowledge on the parts of a plant
Curriculum links
This workshop supports the following sections of the curriculum:
Science
- Sc3/2.1a identify and describe the functions of different parts of flowering plants: roots, stem/trunk, leaves and flowers
- Sc4/2.1a recognise that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways
- Sc4/1.5 recording findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables
- Sc4/2.1c recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.
Geography
- Ge1/1.1 locational knowledge
- Ge2/1.4 geographical skills and fieldwork
Complimentary self-led activities
If you are looking for ideas of activities to self-lead in the Garden after your workshop ends, we recommend:
