On Thursday 26th March 2015, Year 5/6 embarked on an exciting trip to London to visit the Natural History Museum.

We had to arrive at school really early so that we didn’t miss the coach- this was pretty tricky, even for the teachers!

After we had piled onto the coaches, we were able to watch a DVD.  ‘Night at the Museum’ was the chosen film and we all settled down to watch.

After a quick toilet stop, we arrived in central London, where we were lucky enough to be taken on a mini sight-seeing tour of some key attractions. These included The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Downing Street, The London Eye and Trafalgar Square. We were all very excited and were watching carefully in case we saw any famous people!

We finally arrived at the Natural History Museum and headed straight to the schools area to have our lunch. Once we had finished eating and received our booklets, we split into our three classes and headed off to explore. We had three key areas to investigate: Dinosaurs, Evolution and The Web of Life. These all linked with the Science topics we have been learning about this term.

In the Dinosaur area we learnt what it took to be mighty prehistoric predators- armour to protect itself, sharp claws to grip prey with and pointed teeth to rip apart food. We also learnt how scientists and palaeontologists use different tools when investigating fossils and remains and how they identify different dinosaurs from their bones, teeth and eggs.

In order to visit the Evolution area we had to go up the amazing escalator- it took us through all the different constellations and right up into the core of the Earth. Once we arrived in the Evolution section we revised our knowledge of the different planets and looked at how scientists believe humans and animals have evolved through time. We even found some information about the Hampshire and Dorset coastline and the kinds of rocks and fossils we might find on our beaches.

In the Web of Life section of the museum, we reminded ourselves of how important the Sun is and how it is a huge energy source for the livings things on Earth. We looked at different food chains and webs and saw the effects of greenhouse gases on the atmosphere.  

After 3 hours of exploring, taking selfies with the giant t-rex and of course visiting the shop, it was time to return to school, exhausted, but full of new information and random facts!

What a great day!