Coultershaw Heritage Site offers sessions to schools

The hands-on, fun and engaging school sessions aim to introduce pupils to all the interesting areas that Coultershaw has to offer.

Hilary Cunningham, community engagement worker, said: "We really feel that once our local schools realise the learning potential of our site, that we could become a really popular destination for school visits. We naturally lend ourselves to engaging children with science, engineering and STEM based activities and nature all whilst set in a stunning riverside location with a dedicated indoor learning space."

As part of the workshops, schools will be able to watch the historic waterwheel drive the Beam Pump to produce an amazing fountain, they can learn how the Archimedes screw turbine generates green electricity using water power and have a go at pumping water themselves using our vintage hand pumps, before being challenged to design a boat that floats and send it racing down a watershute. Those staying for a full-day session will also be given the opportunity to complete our new Wind in the Willows Trail.

In addition to the on-site schools offer, it is also simultaneously launching Explorer Boxes which schools can borrow.

Hilary explains that through these they hope to engage with local schools off-site too. There are four boxes to choose from, each one contains a variety of interesting objects and a teacher's handbook to help explain the various activities contained within.

School can borrow an Explorer Box on the following subjects....

Nature and Habitat (designed for Early Years & Key Stage 1) Pupils can learn about birds through a variety of interactive challenges, become leaf identification experts, create some leaf bashing bunting and try their hands at becoming a Junior Entomologist.

The River Rother (designed for Key Stage 1 & 2) Pupils can learn about some of the key features of rivers and canals, build their own canal, and learn how to make paper boats.

Records of the Past (designed for Key Stage 1 & 2) Pupils will study the work of local photographer George Garland before being challenged to think like a photographer and arrange a variety of compositional shots to create their own group photograph. This box included a digital camera and tripod.

Junior Engineers (designed Key Stage 2) This STEM based activity box including solar water pump, and build your own waterwheel kits.

For more information visit https://coultershaw.co.uk/learning/ or contact [email protected]