School visits

The North Pennines National Landscape and Geopark team offer a range of educational workshops around Bowlees Visitor Centre. This varied area of woodland, meadows, rivers and rocks is ideal for exploring science and geography topics while building on practical skills outside the classroom. The details below are written for Key Stage 2 but can be easily adapted for different age groups and Key Stages. Some sessions are possible at other locations in the North Pennines such as Harehope Quarry and Blanchland if available. We are currently working on developing the offer so more themes will be added over time. Please get in touch to discuss booking one of the sessions below for your class, or a bespoke session adapted to your needs. Email naomi@northpennines.org.uk

Currently these sessions are free with limited availability. You will need to provide your own transport.

All sessions at Bowlees are run outdoors including lunch breaks, with some shelter available in wet weather. The site and the two toilets will also be open to the public. Please note that some areas and activities are not wheelchair accessible.

Teacher-led groups are also welcome at Bowlees but please let us know as we can only accommodate one class at a time and cannot provide indoor spaces. Bowlees car park is not suitable for coaches so buses need to drop off on the roadside.

Visiting your school

We are able to deliver workshops in school on themes linked to the North Pennines if travel distances allow. These include hands-on activities and can be adapted for different age groups and Key Stages. Please contact us for more details.

Rocks and fossils

Curriculum areas: KS2 Science – rocks and soils, evolution

Learning objectives	Proposed activities
Experience the landscape and working in a remote outdoor setting Identify and compare different kinds of rocks Describe how fossils are formed Investigate the composition of soils Recognise that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide information about living things that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago	Geological timeline – age of the Earth, evolution of life Walk to Low Force and Scoberry Bridge or Summerhill Force including identifying different types of rocks Soils investigation to measure composition of grain sizes Discuss how fossils form and make a clay fossil Activities can be swapped or adjusted to meet your requirements

Rivers

Curriculum areas: KS2 Geography – rivers, water cycle, fieldwork skills

Learning objectives	Proposed activities
Experience the landscape and working in a remote outdoor setting Use vocabulary associated with rivers in context Either: 1. Use basic measuring equipment to collect data while working in small teams 2. Identify and classify river invertebrates	Walk to the River Tees including rivers vocabulary and local landscape One of the following: Flow rate investigation measuring the depth and speed of a stream River dipping to identify what lives in the stream Activities can be swapped or adjusted to meet your requirements

Learning objectives

Proposed activities

Experience the landscape and working in a remote outdoor setting
Use vocabulary associated with rivers in context
Either:
1. Use basic measuring equipment to collect data while working in small teams
2. Identify and classify river invertebrates

Walk to the River Tees including rivers vocabulary and local landscape

One of the following:

Flow rate investigation measuring the depth and speed of a stream
River dipping to identify what lives in the stream

Activities can be swapped or adjusted to meet your requirements

Animals and habitats

Curriculum areas: KS2 Science – living things and their habitats, plants, animals including humans

Learning objectives	Proposed activities
Experience plants and animals in a natural setting and working in a remote outdoor setting Identify the basic needs of living things including plants and animals Classify living things based on their characteristics Consider different habitats and how animals are adapted to them Discuss basic food chains	Discuss the needs of living things and the types of animal in the area. Find and identify invertebrates through a bug hunt or river dipping Play a game to explore food chains Walk to Low Force or Summerhill Force, identifying different habitats along the way Design a creature for a habitat using clay and natural materials Activities can be swapped or adjusted to meet your requirements