Level 1 (Primary 2 - 4)
The topics listed below contain worksheets and pre and post visit packs for Level 1 (Primary 2 - 4). We will be continually updating this list with more curriculum-based topics.
Curriculum for Excellence
A visit to Amazonia compliments experiences and outcomes in the first level of the curriculum for excellence including the outcomes:
SCN 0-01a I can distinguish between living and non living things. I can sort living things into groups and explain my decisions
SCN 1-02a I can explore examples of food chains and show and appreciation of how animals and plants depend on each other for food
SOC 0-08a I explore and appreciate the wonder of nature within different environments and have played a part in caring for the environment
SOC 1-13b By exploring a natural environment different from my own, I can discover how the physical features influence the variety of living things
SCN 1-12b I have explored my senses and can discuss their reliability in responding to the environment
Minibeasts
Before Your Visit.
Take the opportunity available to teachers to visit us free of charge before your booked group visit. This will allow you to ask the staff at Amazonia any questions you may have about your visit. You will also be able to familiarise yourself with the layout and animals of Amazonia.
You may wish to split the class into groups and get each group to investigate one of the suggested animal species below before their visit. Each of these animals can be seen during their visit to Amazonia. Here are some links to these animals to get them started.
Click here to download the Minibeast investigation worksheet (PDF)
During your visit.
Your structured visit to Amazonia will last for 2 hours and be organised into 4 sections which are described below. Please note that if your group is late one or all of these may have to be cut short to accommodate other groups. It is your responsibility to be on time. These sections may not occur in this order. We recommend that you allow extra time for lunch and visiting the gift shop and you are welcome to revisit the rainforest area following your allotted time if you wish.
1. Your Guided Tour (approx 45 minutes)
This should last for around 45 minutes, during this time the children will be guided around most of the animal enclosures in Amazonia by one of our experienced education team. For the minibeasts tour your guide will concentrate on the many invertebrate species we have in Amazonia such as stick insects, giant land snails and tarantulas. They will also stop at some of the many other animal enclosures where they may cover topics such as insects as a food source or even as predators.
2. Your Handling Session (approx 30 minutes)
The children (and teachers!) will get the chance to touch and hold 2-3 different animal species. We have several invertebrate species available for handling such as giant millipedes, land snails and tarantulas. Which species are used in any session cannot be guaranteed but for minibeast groups at least 1 invertebrate species will be included.
3. Your Own Free Time (approx 15 minutes)
You are free to look around yourselves. Your ranger guide will be on hand to provide further information and answer any questions. This time may be used to complete any worksheets the class may be working on or simply for the children to have another look at their favourite animal.
4. Amazonia interactive (approx 30 minutes)
The children are split into groups to enter our brand new interactive exhibit where they are ‘transported’ into a rainforest scene to find out more about the animals that live there. Amazonia interactive can accommodate up to 12 children at any time and each group will spend 10 minutes in the room. Activity tables are set up outside for children not in the interactive room
After your visit.
Have the children, in their groups, stand up and tell the class one thing each that they learned about the animal they investigated before their visit. Ask each group if they know what special job their animal does in its home.
Get the children thinking about how many amazing minibeasts we can see right here in Britain. Place half a melon with the insides scooped out upside down in damp shaded area outside the class room. Each morning they can look and see how many different minibeasts have moved into the new home you’ve made for them. In what ways are these minibeasts different to the ones they saw in Amazonia?
Try this worksheet;
Before Your Visit.
Take the opportunity available to teachers to visit us free of charge before your booked group visit. This will allow you to ask the staff at Amazonia any questions you may have about your visit. You will also be able to familiarise yourself with the layout and animals of Amazonia.
Split the class into groups and get them to investigate one of these animals. Think about the senses they use to find their food, the senses they use to keep them safe from predators, and the senses they use to communicate with each other. How are their senses different to ours? Discuss what you think with the other groups.
Click Here to download the Senses Investigation Worksheet
During your visit.
Your structured visit to Amazonia will last for 2 hours and be organised into 4 sections which are described below. Please note that if your group is late one or all of these may have to be cut short to accommodate other groups. It is your responsibility to be on time. These sections may not occur in this order. We recommend that you allow extra time for lunch and visiting the gift shop and you are welcome to revisit the rainforest area following your allotted time if you wish.
1. Your Guided Tour (approx 45 minutes)
The group is guided around animal enclosures in Amazonia by one of our experienced education team. For the senses tour your guide will concentrate on how the animals perceive the world around them and also what senses we are using to detect the animals. There will be particular discussion on how animals in the nocturnal area find their way around in the dark.
2. Your Handling Session (approx 30 minutes)
The children (and teachers!) will get the chance to touch and hold 2-3 different animal species. In here we get a close up view of the animals and can see how they use their senses. Which species are used in any session cannot be guaranteed but appropriate animals will be used that demonstrate the use of senses in the animal kingdom.
3. Your Own Free Time (approx 15 minutes)
You are free to look around yourselves. Your ranger guide will be on hand to provide further information and answer any questions. This time may be used to complete any worksheets the class may be working on or simply for the children to have another look at their favourite animal.
4. Amazonia interactive (approx 30 minutes)
The children are split into groups to enter our brand new interactive exhibit where they are ‘transported’ into a rainforest scene to find out more about the animals that live there. Amazonia interactive can accommodate up to 12 children at any time and each group will spend 10 minutes in the room. Activity tables are set up outside for children not in the interactive room
After your visit.
Have the children, in their groups produce a poster on the animal they investigated before their visit demonstrating the senses that animal uses, where they are detected, and why they are important
Find some items an animal might come across in the rainforest including rainforest materials, for example bark, leaves (fresh and dried), twigs, fruit, fake fur, rubber, feathers, mud, water. Ask them to imagine they were a nocturnal animal and it was a really dark night where they couldn’t see anything. How would they know if a predator were coming towards them (e.g. snapping twigs, breaking fruit to make a more intense smell, the smell of the animal, squelching mud, the wind produced by moving leaves
Have the children think about what senses they used during their visit and think of an example of each of the five senses they used such as I heard the parrots, I touched a snake, I saw the brightly coloured fish, I smelt the monkeys, and I tasted my lunch
Try this worksheet
Download Senses Worksheet (PDF)