Introduction
Science can seem like a
daunting prospect to some children. The idea of someone being able to launch a
probe that can shoot past Pluto, taking photos as it goes, seems worlds apart
(pun intended) from their own.
But science, at its
simplest level, is simply about gaining knowledge through investigation, which
children do all the time! We’ve all poked an eyeball (hopefully only our own…) or
a worm to see what it feels like, just like we’ve all learned what happens if
we go round a corner too fast on our bike!
Simply put, the effects
of, and opportunities to explore, science are all around us and they’re
something that we can all interact with.
Aims
Children’s University
and Butlin’s are on a mission to inspire the next generation of scientists. We want to help children who want to learn and
experience more to understand that science is part of everyday life, not
something that’s just reserved for boffins in lab coats and goggles!
As such, the Butlin’s
Minehead resort, in Somerset, is staging a phenomenal event, aimed at young
people aged 6-13 years, called The Astonishing Family Science Weekend on the 18th-21st
of September 2015. Here at Children’s University, we’re making the weekend available
as an epic Learning Activity to those of our Passport-holders lucky enough to
be attending!
If you haven’t yet booked to attend The Astonishing Family
Science Weekend, click here to find out more.
Hypothesis
Children who attend The
Astonishing Family Science Weekend will undoubtedly be amazed and enthralled by
what they see and learn at the 30+ activities. They’ll get hands (and feet) on,
building rockets, causing explosions and walking on custard! The teams from
Brainiac, Aardman Animations and the National Space Centre will entertain and
educate with their shows and workshops. The children will even get to see a
hovercraft made out of a chair, some wood and a leaf blower!
Children registered with
Children’s University will be able to download the CU time sheet available here before they go to Butlin’s. By going to
enough shows, workshops and drop-in sessions on the Saturday and Sunday, CU learners
will be able to gain up to 10 hours (5 hours maximum per day) of validated
learning when they attend and fill in their sheet.
Results
Children will learn
about all manner of scientific wonders, discovering the fun side of science.
They’ll come back from the weekend enthused about science and eager to learn
more about the world in which they live. They will also have learned that
science has an effect on everything all around them – literally, everywhere
they look – from the New Horizons probe journeying through the stars to the
blades of grass on which they lie to gaze up at those distant lights at night.
Children’s University
members can fill their time sheet with everything that they’ve done and take it
to a member of the Butlin’s team who will sign their Passport To Learning for
the number of hours achieved. This will potentially move these children much
closer to the next award level in their Children’s University career!
Conclusions
This is the first time
we’ve run a project like this with Butlin’s and we are beyond excited! With
similar events running throughout 2016, one at each of the Butlin’s sites, we
hope to see this relationship develop further over time. We’re absolutely
convinced that children will be blown away by what they can see and do at The
Astonishing Family Science Weekend and hope that our Passport holders will
enjoy learning about science with us.
Further Reading
Please visit the
Butlin’s Children’s University page for more information and to download the CU
time sheet before your visit.
Alternatively, please
visit www.childrensuniversity.co.uk/learning-destinations or our Facebook and Twitter pages.
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