Seeds of life!
Key Stage 1; year 2
With 180 acres and over 42,000 plants there is something to see all year 'round. Journey around the Gardens and learn about what our amazing plants need to grow and reproduce.
- Learning Outcomes
-
Pupils will be able to:
- Observe and describe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants
- Find out and describe how plants need water, light and a sustainable temperature to grow and stay healthy
- Find out what plants need for germination, growth and survival
- Learn about the processes of reproduction and growth in plants.
- Activities
-
A day’s programme does not necessarily include all the listed activities and can be adapted to suit individual needs and requirements. Normally we fit in four to five activities during your visit.
Activities Description and learning objectives Bee game Learn about the life cycle of a plant and the different plant structures (from roots to petals to seeds again) Bud hunt (Jan-March) Make careful observations about the changes occurring to plants in the Spring. Can you spot the buds, leaves and flowers? Colour sticky strips Create a sticky strip with different coloured petals and leaves found in the gardens. An art activity to take away. Curtain’s up Collect some leaf litter from the ground and make a unique piece of hanging art work for all to admire. Leaf match (Spring 2 term onwards) Carefully observe the similarities and differences between the leaves from our common trees. Can you work out which are from evergreen and deciduous trees? What are the clues? Leaf slides Let’s take a closer look at different leaves and compare their similarities and differences. What do the veins do and why do they look different according to different leave shapes? Seed Survival Play our interactive game to find out how many of your seeds will survive to maturity. There are all sorts of problems along the way. What could you do to help more plants survive? Tree dynamics Ever wondered how a tree is made? Through drama, we ‘build a tree’ with all its component parts and explain how vital they are to the health of that living plant. You’ve been framed Let’s go on a treasure hunt and see what leaf litter we can find. Use what you’ve found to make a Hillier’s inspired framed picture on the ground. Prefer a day with some cross-curricular activities? Take a look at our other Year 2 programmes and we’ll plan the day accordingly.
- Suggested pre-visit activities
-
- Be familiar with the names of the different parts of a plant
- Does size matter? Plant different sized seeds and see how quickly and how tall they grow.
- Suggested post-visit activities
-
- Investigate what plants need in order to grow. How about changing some variables: light, liquid, soil etc.
- Make a booking