1066 (and all that)

There is a great history site, called Hands on History, on the BBC covering Norman times. There’s a clickable map that shows up lists of interesting activities across Britain relating to Normans. But of particular interest is the downloads page, which has a host of pdf with things to do with children, including building a Motte and Bailey castle, information sheets with what to look for in Norman churches and castles, and a 1066 Battle of Hastings game for 7-11 year olds to play.

There’s also a free Normans pull-out timeline to send off for.

Perhaps for the older children there is an online strategy battle game of 1066 from Channel 4.

Exploratorium: the museum of science, art and human perception

Based in San Francisco, the Exploratorium was founded by the famous physicist and educator Dr Frank Oppenheiner, who remained the director until his death in 1985.

I’ll be visiting the site again, and again and probably again; it’s got to great stuff on there.

However, today I’m interested in the After School section, which “brings hands on activities and digital library resources into afterschool play”.

There are well presented instructional videos telling you how to create the activity, how to engage children in the activity, and how to vary things and investigate the results.