School workshops at Hardwick and Wharton Park

Autumn Term 2024

Key Stage Two (KS2)

Time Traveller Wild Adventurers

Travel into the wild for a hands on activity based adventure in a historical period of your choice. Take a step back in time to when:

1. Stone Age man roamed our region. Discover skills our ancestors had that are not so primitive. For classes just beginning the topic of the Stone Age, or for those who are in the middle of their learning and are looking at development over time to the Iron Age. Look at how their skills and lives slowly developed as they changed to the Iron Age.
2. The Romans conquered the north of England. Discover how they set up home right here at Hardwick and become archaeologists to learn more about them
3. The Vikings invaded our north eastern shores. Discover more about these great travellers, warriors and inventors.

• Location: Hardwick Park
• 1.5 hours: £115, full day: £193

Map skills and orienteering

This activity is an energetic introduction to orienteering. Pupils take part in a range of activities to build their mapping skills including directional tasks, how to read a key and undertaking a simple orienteering course to develop their map reading confidence. Orienteering activities also help build life skills such as team work, communication, sense of direction and observational skills. A full day workshop allows the pupils to begin to use these skills to develop their own maps and courses.

• Location: Wharton Park
• 1.5 hours: £115, full day: £193

Temperate forest

Did you know that not all rainforests are tropical? Learn about the temperate rainforests with their ancient trees and discover their biodiversity. Through games, challenges and exploration, children will learn more about the life of this unique biome, discover the microhabitats around them and understand out what makes them so special.

• Location: Hardwick Park
• 1.5 hours: £115

Survive and thrive!

Climate change is affecting all life in our parks and the park's creatures are responding in different ways. While some struggle to survive, others are adapting and thriving. Join us at one of our parks and learn about the adaptations and problems that our wildlife are experiencing due to climate change.

• Location: Hardwick and Wharton Park
• 1.5 hours: £115

Let nature recover

In this era of climate uncertainty, journey with us to see how every child can make a difference to protect their local environment. How can the children contribute to rewilding and help local nature recover? Discover lessons from nature itself, how to use resources sustainably and which species need our understanding and protection to allow them to do their vital role in the health of our ecosystems. Thought provoking, hands on practical tasks within our outdoor settings aimed to inspire young minds.

• Location: Hardwick and Wharton Park
• 1.5 hours: £115

Key Stage One (KS1)

All creatures great and small

During this workshop, we will explore the habitats of Hardwick Park, looking for clues and signs of animal life. The children will gain a greater understanding of how animals are linked together and the impact changes to their environment has on them.

• Location: Hardwick Park
• 1.5 hours: £115

Investigate Autumn

Pupils will explore this season of change, looking for clues throughout the parks' woodlands for the transformations taking place and the reasons behind them. Through creative activities and games, they will discover and engage with a range of natural materials including seeds, fruit and leaves from both evergreen and deciduous trees.

• Location: Hardwick and Wharton Park
• 1.5 hours: £115

Keep the world clean

Through exploration and activities learn how the natural world has its own cleaners both big and small to keep things clean and ensure nothing is wasted. Discover how the natural world has inspired us with ways we can get hands on to help 'clean up' our local spaces and investigate how doing so can promote positive changes in our environment.

• Location: Hardwick and Wharton Park
• 1.5 hours: £115

Stormy weather

The Percy the Park Keeper classic tales give children a timeless introduction to nature. Through the story, children can access and explore the impact climate change has on our environment with increasing stormy weather. Join Percy from an Autumn treasure hunt after the storm. Follow clues to discover what has happened to the park and animals, getting hands on with ways in which we can help.

• Location: Wharton Park
• 1.5 hours: £115

Once upon a fairytale

Let the children's imagination and curiosity loose in a fairy tale adventure trail around the park. Based on a series of popular traditional tales, practical activities involving exploration and creativity immerse the children in a make believe world. In a full day workshop the afternoon will focus on the magic of the written word by creating a story potion using essential ingredients. The half day workshop can also be made to be suitable for Early Years Foundation Stage.

• Location: Hardwick Park
• 1.5 hours: £115, full day: £193

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

The Gruffalo and woodland animals

Woodland play, the Gruffalo way, inspired by the popular tale by Julia Donaldson. Children will take a stroll through the woods like mouse to find the Gruffalo. Along the way they will discover woodland animals and get hands on to learn about their homes, food and what they look like. Once they meet the Gruffalo, it is time to create a crumble then his face out of clay to remember their adventure.

• Location: Hardwick Park
• 1.5 hours: £115

We're going on a leaf hunt

A great introduction to trees and seasonal change. Join us on a sensory adventure as we search for and collect different leaves and other autumnal natural treasures. Sort, match and create with the seasonal materials gathered. This session is inspired by the story 'We are going on a Leaf Hunt'.

• Location: Hardwick and Wharton Park
• 1.5 hours: £115

Me and my world

Through exploration, creative and play based activities children can explore their sense of self whilst investigating the surroundings within the park. They can experience their senses in the natural world during the Autumn season of change to help develop an understanding of the world around them. Children will have the opportunity to work together and independently through games, sounds, natural art, movement and object handling

• Location: Hardwick and Wharton Park
• 1.5 hours: £115

Room on the Broom

Inspired by the popular tale, we will start by sharing the story before the children embark on a journey around the park. They will engage with the natural world through the eyes of the story characters as they act out the story within the park setting. Hands on activities offer a sensory experience with trails, messy play and creative tasks using a range of materials before discovering a dragon hiding in the park.

• Location: Wharton Park
• 1.5 hours: £115

Christmas 2024

Available 11 November to 18 December.

Stick Man (EYFS)

During this session children will listen to the story of the "Stick Man" by Julia Donaldson in our woodland story telling area. They will make their very own stick man from natural materials then follow his route along our interactive woodland trail. Finally they will make a family tree to take back to school.

• Location: Hardwick Park
• 1.5 hours: £115

The Night Before Christmas (EYFS and KS1)

Join us as we share the magical story with the children, go on a hunt for St. Nicholas' reindeer hiding around the park and make environmentally friendly reindeer food. Children will then go on to explore traditional Christmas toys and create their own festive craft to take home.

• Location: Wharton Park
• 1.5 hours: £115

A natural Christmas (KS1 and KS2)

Explore the meaning of Christmas with a message of kindness to our planet. Discover botanical traditions of festive flora and how we can learn from our ancestors to create a more sustainable Christmas of the future. Celebrate the beauty of nature by creating eco friendly decorations and take part in the historical activity of tree dressing to help our wildlife this Christmas.

• Location: Hardwick and Wharton Park
• 1.5 hours: £115