The Big Jurassic Classroom project launched in July 2011 offering free teacher training to all schools in Dorset and East Devon on how the 7 Olympic and Paralympic values link with the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
We’ve had a massive response and been to over 60 schools, training 90 schools and over 800 teachers! Here’s just a couple of the ways schools are getting involved:
- Registered Big Jurassic Classroom schools across Dorset and East Devon did their ‘Jurassic Jog’ for Sport Relief on Friday 23rd March raising lots of money. Bere Regis First school made masks in the morning and ran around their playing field 15 times dressed as dinosaurs, it was exhausting just watching them!
- Wool CE VA First School put on a whole school production before the Easter holidays entitled ‘Dinomotion’ with the children going back through time to the Jurassic time period! Singing, dancing and acting like dinosaurs, it was fantastic! They are also doing a beach clean at Lulworth as part of the Litter Free Coast & Sea project
- St Andrews in Yetminster have created their own ‘Big Jurassic Classroom’ display in their school hall and are visiting the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre for a guided fossil hunting walk
- St Andrews Primary in Weymouth have visited the Jurassic Coast at Bowleaze Cove to look at beach and marine litter, coastal erosion, and the geology – and visited the Dorset County Museum to meet the mighty Weymouth Bay Pliosaur!
- Prince of Wales first school have looked at World Heritage Sites around the world when their linked school from Aldershot visited recently. The display was created by children from Reception – Year 4 researching using the internet and it looks great!
- Withycombe Raleigh school in East Devon hired the Jurassic Coastin’ Van to their school to work with their Year 1s making ammonite hand prints, their own replica fossils and drawing their favourite ones. It was a brilliant day!
We will be visiting 15 more schools with the Jurassic Coastin’ Van up until the end of July and I’m sure we’ll have lots more stories to tell for the next J Post – watch out for it!
Read the latest school report
Alex Potter & Katie Burden
