Healthy Body Bits

I believe an effective and fun way for children to learn and expand theirstuffy-4 knowledge on their human body topic is to take a class trip to the Dundee Science Centre. Here the children can take part in a 45 minute session called ‘Healthy Body Bits.’ The session is recommended for first level learners where they will explore what’s inside the human body through the use of Stuffee, the centre’s giant rag doll. The children are able to operate on Stuffee and search for his organs. Whether the trip is at the beginning of the class project or nearer the end, it will be a great way for the children to learn or revise the organ names and what each of their purposes are within the human body.

The session has a maximum capacity of 33 children and lasts around 45 minutes. This would be an ideal trip for individual classes between primary 3 and 5. This is due to how ages younger than p3 may struggle to sit for the long length of time that the work shop lasts as their concentration span is shorter than the older children. Also, children older than primary 5, may find the session boring as it’s based for younger children.

For this trip, as a teacher, I would first have to contact the centre with specific information which includes:

  • The name and level of the session I wish to book i.e. ‘Healthy Body Bits’, first level.
  • A selection of dates I’d be happy to book if available.
  • An idea of the time we’d arrive and departure noting the centre is open between 10am and 5pm.
  • The number of children and an estimate number of adults that will be present.
  • If I will require a time for the children to be able to have their lunch.
  • Whether I would like to be invoiced or pay on the day of the trip.

Once the trip is booked, I will then book a coach in order to transport the class and myself to the science centre. After everything is booked, I will work out the cost overall and how much the children will have to pay each depending on the school funds. Then I will create permissions slips stating the purpose of the trip, where and when the trip will take place, the price and the fact the children would need a packed lunch on the date stated. I will also include the chance for the parents or guardians of the children to state whether they would like to come along and help. Along with having parents or guardians to assist with the trip, I will seek the help of support staff, teacher’s assistants or management who are free on the day.

On the day before the trip, based on me having the knowledge of the number of adults going to be present, I will split the children into smaller groups assigned to one or more adult. This adult will be responsible for the children while they explore the centre before or after attending the workshop. The centre offers a great opportunity for the children to learn about a wide range of science along with the human body. The class can spend a maximum of three hours within the centre exploring the different areas of science along with taking part in the booked workshop.

The day after the trip, I will then plan a lesson to find out what the children learned while in the science centre. This may include getting them to draw a picture of one important new thing they learned or even write a small story about their day.

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