More Schools Events
Visit the schools site to see more events
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
Workshop Summary
In this workshop, pupils will explore evolution using the museum’s collection.
Getting up close to taxidermy provides a great opportunity to identify and discuss adaptations. Next, they investigate a collection of early human species skulls, noting the changes over time. Pupils then build a timeline of human evolution and use it to grasp the length of evolutionary timescales. Finally, they add human adaptations, suggesting which order different adaptations came about in and how they helped earlier human species survive.
Intended learning outcomes:
- Describe adaptations of animals, using taxidermy.
- Compare skulls of early human species and Homo sapiens, using this to predict and arrange a timeline of human evolution.
- Identify and discuss adaptations of human species, sequencing the order they came about in.
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.
This workshop doesn't focus on how evolution happens, but our 'Exploring Evolution: the natural selection game' workshop does. We would recommend exploring evolution when early in the topic, or if you prefer a more hands-on approach. 99% ape includes hands-on activities as well as more abstract discussion and is a good extension for the end of a topic or to provide extra challenge.
