School Workshop: Green Machines

Take an exciting journey through the world of plants, unlocking the secrets of what makes our green friends thrive and survive.

Book a school trip

Workshop overview

What happens in the workshop

This science focussed workshop takes children on a sensory journey to find out how clever plants are. Children are introduced to parts of plants and their uses, using props, movement and pictures.

They then gather plant facts and examples around Eden during a hands-on discovery walk. Back in the education centre, they review their new found knowledge and generate new questions for further research.

Visiting teacher

“ One of the most educationally rich venues to have taken groups to visit. I would hope all pupils at our school could visit on a rite of passage. ”

Practical information

This workshop enables children to:

identify key parts of plants - roots, stems, leaves and flowers
show their understanding that these plant parts are all important and do different ‘jobs’ for the plant
observe plants closely, describing similarities and differences
ask questions prompted by their observations

We've designed the workshop to help teachers cover the following subject areas:

In Science, pupils should be taught to identify and describe the basic structure of a variety of common flowering plants. They work scientifically by: observing closely, and comparing and contrasting familiar plants; drawing diagrams showing the parts of different plants.

This workshop is accredited under the British Science Association’s CREST Awards scheme. Completion of the workshop contributes two activities towards a Star Award.

The workshop costs £8.25 per pupil with a minimum charge of £165 per group (includes VAT). Maximum group size is 35. The cost includes:

a facilitated workshop with our Education Team
free access to the Eden site for the day
all equipment needed for the workshop
free teaching resources enabling your class to prepare for the workshop and to follow up on the activity
a personal welcome from the Education Team at the entrance
a base for your bags in our purpose-built education centre, The Core
a space to eat your own lunch

The price includes free entry for accompanying adult helpers, whose participation is essential to the success of the day (please note our suggested adult/pupil ratios are as follows: Early Years Foundation Stage, 1:3; Key Stage 1, 1:6; Key Stage 2 and 3, 1:10; Key Stage 4, 1:15; Key Stage 5, 1:20). You’re welcome to bring more helpers if you’d like. Additional helpers are charged at our group booking rate.

We also offer a free preparatory visit to Eden for teachers wanting to plan their school trip, which should be booked in advance.