On Monday year 7 visited the Birmingham Botanical Gardens to take part in two of the teaching sessions and also explore the grounds. Students got to do the Japanese challenge where they explored the Japanese garden and visited the National Bonsai collection searching the garden for clues to quiz questions sing comprehension and detective skills to compete for points awarded for each question.
They also completed the Rainforest challenge where students had the opportunity to learn more about two of the layers of the rainforest (the forest floor and under canopy) and what plants grow there. In groups of 5 or 6 they had a rucksack full of cryptic clues that took them around the tropic and sub-tropic greenhouses to learn the names of specific plants and how some can be used for medicine, flood and clothing as well as how they have evolved and adapted to the environment they live in.
In their free time students were able to explore the grounds, chatting to the very vocal birds and learn more about the botanical gardens as a whole completing a booklet of maths challenges. As well as some time to go on the timber play equipment.
It was a fantastic day out that incorporated a bit of maths and problem solving in real life as well as lots of links to other subjects like biology and geography.
