Early man and the fossil hunter

Only Tuesday but already a busy week for the Friends.

Joan and Mike hosted a session on Early Man for 13 pupils from Alves Primary. They did the whole session on their own, learning about Early Man over the weekend, setting up the table for handling objects and answering the kids' questions.

On Tuesday myself, Mike and Valerie Wardlaw from the Museum staff travelled to Elgin to go to Bishopmill Primary School. I talked to 46 pupils from P6 on Hugh Falconer - The Fossil Hunter. I started off the afternoon by getting the kids to think how a 22 year old would have got to India in 1830 and how he would have gone from eating mince and tatties to exotic Indian cuisine. After discussing Falconer's life with the kids (they even got into the "punctuated equilibrium" bit) they all watched a copy of the Hugh Falconer DVD shown in the museum. Myself, Mike and Valerie then passed round fossils to the kids and there followed a loud 15 minutes when the kids "discussed" with themselves what the fossils were; a wee quiz and time go home. It was great fun and I was very impressed with the technology available in the classroom - overhead projector and a smart screen. This made showing the DVD easier.

I think after the success of the afternoon that I'll try and develop a "Hugh Falconer" loan box.
Chris