Did you know the first bees would have been flying around in the Cretaceous just as ‘Iggy’, our Iguanodon, was snacking on leaves from tall trees? At the Sedgwick Museum, we have two 20million year old honey bees trapped in amber. Found on Yarmouth beach in 1891.
Amy Smith studies bees Plant Sciences in Cambridge. In this activity, Amy shows us how to make a bee-autiful fluffy bumblebee. You will need some card and wool.
To make your fluffy bumblebee, you will need:
Volcanoes form when hot molten rock (magma) under the ground erupts at the surface, but what causes the molten rock to erupt? Eruptions are often driven by gases escaping…
In this experiment you can start a chemical reaction that creates a gas, and see how the gas escaping drives an eruption.
This experiment and video was devised by the Volcano Seismology group in the Earth Science Department, University of Cambridge.
There are many different types of volcanoes. Shield volcanoes have a broad rounded shape and gentle splattery eruptions often described as fire fountains. Strato volcanoes are sharp and steep sided and have violent explosive eruptions. But what makes these two types of volcano look and erupt so differently? It is mainly controlled by how think (viscous) or runny the magma in the volcano is...
In this experiment you can use 3 different thickness (viscosity) liquids to see what differences runny or thick magma can cause in volcanoes.
It is really unusual for a palaeontologist (scientist who study fossils) to find a complete skeleton with all the bones in the right place. We are more likely to find only a few bones or a jumbled up skeleton.
Putting a skeleton back to together when you know what the animal looks like can be a challenge, but imagine how hard that becomes when there are no more of those creatures alive for you look at. It is a bit like trying to put a jigsaw puzzle together when you don’t have the photo on the box as a guide.
Join artist Kaitlin Ferguson as she looks at a Bronze age beaker from the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Learn how to use model magic and foam shapes to create your own designs.
Find out more about how Bronze Age items were made in this short film
Join artist Kaitlin Ferguson as she looks at a globe with animals on it, from the Whipple Museum. Learn how to make your own globe at home and imagine what animal you would be.
This video will show you how to make a beautiful star decoration using just corrugated card, pins and wool
Make your own colourful rainbow spinner and learn about the science behind seeing colour.
To make your rainbow spinner you will need:
- A spinner template
- Thin card
- Glue
- Coloured pencils or pens
- A small wooden dowel
- Plasticine
This activity is inspired by Twilight at the Museums
Have you ever looked up at the sky on a clear night and noticed shapes or groups of stars that appear to form a pattern? These are known as constellations. This activity shows you how to make your own viewer to help identify the constellations.
To make your own viewer you will need:
Bring the stars to your home.
Reuse and recycle old wrapping paper or magazines to make this decorative Twilight star.
To make your own Twilight star, you will need:
- 6 squares of coloured paper (you can use wrapping paper or old magazines)
- Scissors
- Stapler, glue or tape
- A pen or pencil
- Thread to hang
