Environmental Sustainability

Museum visits with an environmental focus

Many of our workshops for schools either have an environmental focus or can include discussion of issues relevant to the curriculum topic and the climate crisis.

– consider the impact of climate change in workshops on Flooding or Rockpools at Land of Iron or Polar Worlds at the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum

– look at biodiversity in workshops on evolution, habitats or mini beasts at Kirkleatham Museum, the Dorman, Preston Park Museum and Grounds or Land of Iron

Talk to us when you book sessions as we can highlight waste reduction, recycling and reusing in most of our workshops.

Protecting our local wildlife is a FREE online resource for primary teachers. Developed with and for local KS 1 and 2 teachers, it’s a one-stop-shop for teaching Living Things and Their Habitats. Full of curriculum knowledge, local information and practical ideas for positive action. Special thanks go to teachers at Oakdene and Newport Primary schools for their invaluable advice and support in creating this resource.

“I think it really hits the nail on the head!” Teacher

“A valuable resource for discussion and teaching about wildlife and habitats in the local area”. Teacher

Take a look at this FREE resource for ways to thread thinking about a sustainable world naturally into science teaching. Each object has useful facts and info, plus local insight and links to help you make the topic locally relevant. There are activity ideas for positive things students can do and lots of useful links to other high quality teaching resources.

Want to help Key Stage 1 students to think about environmental sustainability in a positive way? Why not use a toys loans box or toys you have in school? Our FREE resource for Key Stage 1 teachers offers five cunning ideas for curriculum-based classroom activities.

“I love this! what a brilliant way to link sustainability and history”. – Teacher

Increasingly young children are aware of both the climate crisis and the ecological crisis that we are facing. We can’t pretend these aren’t happening, so how can we introduce ideas around more sustainable approaches to living in a positive way for Key Stage 1 children?

This resource provides activity ideas to playfully prompt discussions about these serious issues, developing key historical concepts at the same time. Each activity is easy to resource. Knowledge and progression and core vocabulary is also highlighted.

Some History topics easily lend themselves to group or class discussions of environmental impacts. We’ve developed a set of materials to help prompt classroom discussions including some useful relevant background information to extend pupils’ thinking. These guides are designed to work with relevant loans boxes, so that the objects you borrow can help spark ideas.

Each guide also comes with a set of Did you know and Top Tips cards that you can add to an object display.

So far we have created guides for our Seaside, Prehistory and Railways loans boxes, but check back as we hope to add more over the next few terms. The guides are inside the loans boxes but you can also down load a copy here:

How can we be kind to the planet when we go to the seaside?

How climate friendly are railways?

Although not specifically about the climate crisis, lots of our resources can be used to introduce ideas around sustainability.

1. Why not do a Literacy Loan and borrow an object that could open up discussions?

You could borrow a sperm whale’s tooth and think about ocean warming, sea ice melting or the way that a reduction in whaling has helped some whale numbers recover, like the humpback.
You could borrow a railway hand lamp and think about how much cleaner battery, electric and even wind up lamps are, opening up discussions about renewable energy sources.

2. Caring about the environment begins with noticing it. Why not ask pupils to make doodle diaries – small books made from A4 sheets on which they can record the things they notice on a walk.

You could direct their doodles to living thing or smells and sounds or suggest they make the diaries to encourage other people to walk more.

3. You can find out all about the local shoreline as an important habitat using resources from Land of Iron, like this Skinningrove Seafront trail – a great way to think about coastal erosion and how important it is to keep our beaches and oceans clean.

4. This video with wonderful local author Lisette Auton shows younger children how to make a ‘Sounds of the sea’ game.

There’s also a handy pdf version here.
The sounds of the seaside could prompt talk about the ocean as a habitat.

From time to time we’ve worked with schools on eco projects. When these produce resources that could be useful for other schools we will add them here. Take a look at the ‘top tips for saving the planet’ devised by Year 4s at Green Lane Primary.

If you’d like to prompt your class to think about ways they might do their bit to help tackle the climate crisis, you could use this ppt created by us, based on Green Lane’s ideas.

If you’d like to take part in an eco project with us, or have an idea for one, please contact one of our Learning Officers:

Kirkleatham Museum: https://redcarcleveland.co.uk/enjoy/learning-kirkleatham-museum/

Middlesbrough Museums: Chloe_Leeson@middlesbrough.gov.uk

Land of Iron: https://landofiron.org.uk/learn

Preston Park Hall and Grounds: https://prestonparkmuseum.co.uk/learn/

Head of Steam: https://www.head-of-steam.co.uk/workshops-throughout-2023/

Hartlepool Museum and Art Gallery: https://www.culturehartlepool.com/museum-of-hartlepool/learning/

Preston Park Museum have put together a range of resources and activities inspired by the outdoor education sessions we normally do with schools and families at the museum. Discover more about the Museum’s park and gardens, find out about urban welly walks and how to hunt minibeasts. With lots of things to make and do, get inspired to find out more about the natural world around us.

https://www.prestonparkmuseum.co.uk/museum-at-home/nature/