APS News 30

4 Abingdon Prep • April 2022 YEAR 5 AT OXFORD’S MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND THE PITT RIVERS MUSEUM Our pupils in Years 3 and 4 had a fantastic visit to purpose-designed indoor village ‘Hazard Alley’ in March, where they were able to learn about everyday dangers in a safe environment. Including home safety, fire safety and road safety, the children loved exploring each realistic scenario. They also each practised making a call to the emergency services which was one of their favourite activities of the day! It was certainly a fun and very informative trip. TUDOR HISTORY COMES ALIVE FOR YEAR 4 AT UFTON COURT Year 4 started their visit to Ufton Court near Reading by examining real Tudor artefacts, including a mouth harp and an arrow head. Then they dressed up to take part in an immersive Tudor court room experience. This was a real highlight for the class, learning about Tudor punishments and how they differed to our current justice system. After lunch it was time to explore the grounds, where we discovered a secret passageway and ‘priest hole’ in the attic! Finally, we had time to try out some Tudor games which were a real hit with the children, especially skipping and ‘cub’. This was a trip to remember for 4K. TRIPS HAZARD ALLEY Year 5 spent a beautiful, sunny day in Oxford at the wonderful Natural History and Pitt Rivers museums, with workshop sessions in each. Chris from the Museum of Natural History led a fabulous ‘Evolve, Adapt, Survive’ workshop. The children were given an excellent tour through vertebrate life on Earth, focusing on evolution and natural selection. They listened with fascination to the different examples Chris explored with them and all contributed enthusiastically to the discussion on the survival of the fittest! In the Pitt Rivers Museum, their second workshop was about the Maya. Through discussion and hands-on activities, including some detective work, the children built up a picture of what life was like in Classic Maya CE 300-900, touching on clothes and appearance, calendars and gods, food and farming, leisure and weaving.