Adaptation and evolution

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KS2: Science, STEM

Evolution and Adaptation

Dates

Permanent

Booking Information

Free*

45 minutes

Available on Mondays and Thursdays. 

This workshop can be followed up by downloading our free resources to use in the galleries if you click this link.

Ready to make a booking? Click the 'booking enquiry' link at the top of the page.

Have a question about this workshop? Email learning@greatnorthmuseum.org.uk

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Workshop Summary

In this workshop, pupils will explore evidence of evolution using the museum’s collection. 

Getting up close to taxidermy provides a great opportunity to identify and discuss adaptations. Next, we consider how these adaptations came about, looking at an example and considering the roles of inheritance, variation and competition. Finally, exploring a collection of early human species skulls, pupils build a timeline of human evolution and grasp the length of evolutionary timescales. 

 Intended learning outcomes: 

  • Describe adaptations of animals, using taxidermy. 
  • Explore examples of evolution by natural selection, using the terms inheritance, variation and competition. 
  • Compare skulls of early human species and Homo sapiens, using this to predict and arrange a timeline of human evolution. 

Please note: Handling collection taxidermy is safe to touch, but please check if anyone in your group has allergies to animal fur. All human skull specimens used in this workshop are models – no real human remains are used. 

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