Primary from Year 2 to Year 6
When winter comes, animals start preparing to face harsher conditions. Not all animals, however, behave in the same way. Some prefer to slow down and even sleep through to the following spring, while others head to their winter home in more welcoming climes, in some cases travelling thousands of miles to get there. Yet others stay put and brave what comes to them.
Four animals from the museum collections – the stoat, the swallow, the hedgehog and the bee – will take children on a journey to show them the choices they make as winter approaches.
The children will first work in small groups to describe the typical weather of each season. After a moment of reflection, they will make suggestions using a pack of cards. These suggestions will then be discussed and confirmed.
The children will then be asked to think about how animals prepare to survive the winter months. Each group will be asked to reproduce the life cycle of an animal. The children will see that the strategies vary between species. Playing with the season board game, the children will try to piece together the seasonal behaviour of the animal assigned to their study group. Maps provide information on their habitats, food hoards, reproduction and observations on their behaviours.
Workshop aims:
- Discuss the variability of the weather from one season to another in temperate regions
- Understand how animals react differently to these variations
- Identify the four major types of behaviour including hibernation and migration
- Formulate and discuss theories and take part in a discussion
- Work in a group and cooperate
During the workshop, the facilitator will present a slideshow and a selection from the Museum of Bordeaux collections. Participants will also be introduced to learning resources specially devised for the workshop.
To book a workshop of The Museum comes to you and on all administrative matters, the secretariat is listening to you.
By phone: 05 24 57 65 30
By e-mail: museum@mairie-bordeaux.fr
