This week, Year 4 got the chance to visit the incredible Natural History Museum to help us understand our current geography topic of Extreme Earth.
We travelled by bus to the Natural History Museum and once we got there, we took part in the very interesting Emergency Earthquake and Volcanoes Workshop!
We were first introduced to Anthony (who believe it or not was a past pupil at our school) and he went through some of the ground rules about being in the interactive studio for the workshop.
We were introduced to Volcano Town which was debating if an earthquake or a volcanic eruption would happen after there had been reports of unusual activity by the Earth. Weirdly, the team of scientists that were already in Volcano Town had gone missing, meaning that we had to step in for the day. We were introduced to special equipment that measures the movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates to predict if an earthquake or volcanic eruption will happen.
We saw a mock eruption, which used melted wax, to demonstrate what magma looks like as it erupts and becomes lava. It was very interesting how quickly it changed state from a liquid to a solid! Lastly, we had to monitor the volcano after the seismometer detached some unusual activity, and we had to evacuate the townspeople. We managed to do it just in time as the volcano erupted shortly after, creating a very loud bang!
After lunch, we explored the Volcanoes and Earthquakes Gallery as we read lots of information about how earthquakes and volcanic eruptions have impacted our Earth over time. We saw all the different types of rocks that are created from a volcanic eruption and the impact on people’s lives who live in communities near volcanoes.
We then got to go on the amazing earthquake simulator which demonstrates how a building would move around during an earthquake. We even practised our drop, cover and hold drill that we had read about in past lessons as a way of protecting ourselves during the earthquake. One of the highlights was discovering the Garnet rock which interestingly has the same name as our teacher!
It was then time to head back to school and reflect on all the interesting things we had seen and experienced during our day at the Natural History Museum!
Thank you to the parent volunteers who supported us on our trip!
Year 4, what was your favourite part of the trip?
THIS TRIP WAS SO FUN!!! 🤩
My favourite bit was going to go on the Earthquake simulator of the Kobe earthquake. It felt so realistic!! The lights were turning off, the ground was shaking, there was ripped posters and some stuff fell on the floor.
This was such an amazing trip! My favourite part was the workshop in the David Attenborough studio. I also, found the interactive games like testing the earthquake proof models and designing our own volcanoes very fun.
The earthquake experience room was so fun with all my friends. We practiced an earthquake drill of drop, cover and hold on.
Thank you Mr. Garnet and my teachers for organising this fun trip.
I loved the story telling. And loved seeing how our children enjoyed the trip. Well done. Keep posting!