Home Educator Visit Day: Living Things and their habitats

Living Things and their habitats

Home Educator Visit Day to the Science Oxford Centre: engaging and educational opportunities for home educators. Our events, activities and hands-on experiments aim to ignite curiosity and engage critical thinking and scientific exploration.

Suitable for families with children aged 7-11 years within Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Each child must be supervised by an accompanying adult at all times. (Minimum 1 adult per 4 children.)

10am - 2pm

Price (inc. fees and VAT) £20 per child (includes one accompanying adult)

£5 additional adults (select ticket/s via 'add on')

What is included:

• Access to the Exploration Zone and woodland areas between 10am and 2pm.
• Woodland Walk
• Pond Dipping Workshop
• Access to The Hub lunch area

What is not included:

• Public parking is not available at the Science Oxford Centre on weekdays – we recommend using the Park and Ride, public transport, or cycling (please let us know if you have any accessibility requirements).
• The Science Oxford Centre café 'Emira’s Kitchen' is not available – please bring your own packed lunch and we will provide a self-service station for hot and cold drinks.

Event information

Our Home Educator events are tailored for children aged between 7-11 years old, and unfortunately, they are not suitable for children under 5 years old so we cannot accommodate additional younger siblings during your visit.

Activity sessions are booked in advance - please reserve your preferred timeslot for each of the two activities when booking your ticket in Eventbrite. Activities will all be tailored suitably for children aged 7-11.

Entry to the building will not be permitted before 09:45 and visitors must depart from the site by 14:15.

Activities

Woodland Walk

Our Woodland Walks are designed to engage children of all ages with the woodland, meadows and grassland around the Science Oxford Centre. One of our experienced staff will encourage children to use all of their senses to explore this inspirational and varied setting. No two visits are ever the same! There are opportunities to investigate the diverse habitats or the changing seasons and children will be encouraged to use their observations and discoveries to ask questions, share their thoughts and develop their ideas. They can search for evidence of what lives amongst the trees and plants, and if they are lucky, they may even glimpse some of the animal life.

Pond Dipping Workshop

Our pond dipping sessions are designed to ensure that all groups experience exciting hands-on science while working scientifically and developing important observational skills. Ecological Explorers will examine the pond habitat, collect samples and identify what we’ve found using our scientific keys and equipment. We can work to classify our ecological finds, pick out predators, prey and producers and even explore food chains. Our observations can be used to consider life cycles of the different organisms and look at how different species are adapted to where they live. We encourage you to photograph the things we find so that you can use them when we have returned the plants and animals safely to the pond.

Example Timetable

09:45-10:10 Arrive at the Centre, check in and register for your activity sessions

10:10-11:00 Activity Session 1 (choice of the Woodland Walk or Pond Dipping Workshop - or self-guided access to the Exploration Zone, Woodland or Water Lab)

11:00-11:20 Break time

11:20-12:10 Activity Session 2 (as above)

12:10-12:50 Lunch and free time (Water Lab closed between ~12:00-12:30)

12:50-13:40 Activity Session 3 (self-guided access to the Exploration Zone, Woodland or Water Lab only)

13:40-14:15 Free time and time to go!

Visiting the Science Oxford Centre

Here are links to our accessible resources to help prepare for your visit, including our virtual tour and centre floorplan map.

Science Oxford Centre visiting information and FAQs please visit here.

For information on our refund policy and event terms and conditions visit here.

Contact

Contact [email protected] or call 01865 810000

Important notice: Centre works Due to the ongoing site improvement works, you may notice some changes to the area immediately outside the centre. There may be temporary diversions in place directing access to the woodland and trails. If you have any queries, please contact us via [email protected] or 01865 810000. Thank you for your patience and understanding while we complete these necessary improvements.

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