This week, Year 2 visited Tynemouth Aquarium. During their visit, they saw lots of different sea creatures and learned how to protect them. The children also visited the beach where they found out what their new English text is going to be for this half term.
To begin, the children were given the opportunity to explore the aquarium and its many exhibits. The boys and girls saw a huge variety of sea creatures including turtles, starfish and sharks. In one of the exhibits, the children were able to look into a rock pool and touch the creatures inside. Tynemouth Aquarium is also home to a number of seals. The children thoroughly enjoyed watching the seals swimming in the water and during the seal show.
During their visit, the children took part in an eco workshop. They learned all about the challenges facing ocean life today, including litter (predominantly plastic) and climate change. Did you know scientists believe that there is not a fish in the ocean that does not have a piece of microplastic (a very small piece of plastic) inside its body? The children were set the challenge of catching prey without also picking up too much microplastic. Although they were using a range of tools, the children soon realised this was almost an impossible task. This demonstrated that many of the ocean’s predators are not only catching their prey but a large amount of microplastic with it.
The boys and girls were keen to find out how they could help protect our oceans. They learned about the three R’s – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Using bags for life, putting rubbish in the correct bin and reusing water bottles are all examples of how we can do something small to make a big difference. During the workshop, the children also learned that not all plastic can be recycled. There are certain symbols we have to look for to make sure we dispose of plastic correctly. From this, the boys and girls sorted plastic packaging into those which could be recycled and those which couldn’t.
Later in the day, the children walked down to the beach. Here, they found out that their new English text for this half term is The Snail and the Whale, written by Julia Donaldson. The children sat on the beach and listened to the beginning of their new story. Then, the boys and girls spent the rest of their day playing in the sand. They thoroughly enjoyed building sandcastles, digging holes and even creating ice-cream parlours.
