Scientists use all sorts of different ways to name the new plants, animals and fossils they find.

Two parts - Scientific names usually have two parts, just as people have a first name and a family name.

Latin or Ancient Greek - Often the names use words from Latin or Ancient Greek.

About the Session 

This set of activities covers and expands on the Year 5 national curriculum unit "Earth and Space", using objects from the Whipple Museum to explore:

The solar system

Terrestrial, celestial and planetary globes

The earth's movement around the sun

Space science today 

Duration: Can be booked as: 

About the Session 

This set of activities covers aspects of the "animals, including humans" topic and can be adapted for KS1 or KS2, using objects from the Whipple Museum to explore:

How we hear

How we see

Bones in the body

The heart

The brain 

Duration: Can be booked as: 

Make your own mask with snakes instead of hair.

Based on the story and our own sculpture of Medusa, follow this simple step by step tutorial to make your own fun mask. If you need an idea for an arts and crafts afternoon, this is perfect.

Download the activity here.

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.

How does burning fossil fuels threaten Antarctic marine life?

This experiment demonstrates the link between increasing carbon dioxide levels and ocean acidification and freshening oceans. Freshwater and more acidic water in the oceans make life harder for Antarctica’s marine animals.

The experiment and video were made by Nick Barrett. Nick is a PhD student at the University of Cambridge Earth Science Department and The British Antarctic Survey investigating the resistance of Antarctic marine species to predicted freshening and lower salinity in the Southern Ocean.

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 bumble bee. You will need some card and wool. 

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.

This resource comes from our bank of Look, Think, Do resources on the Fitzwilliam Museum website.

Maybe you have heard of Emperor Hadrian - who built Hadrian's wall near the Scottish/English border. But have you heard of the man he loved, Antinous? Listen to this story about how much Hadrian cared for Antinous.

This resource comes from our bank of Look, Think, Do resources on the Fitzwilliam Museum website.

Have a look at this penny coin that was stamped by a Suffragette in the early 1900s with a very important message. And what about these signs that show what people care about now? Make your own with this guidance.

Subscribe to KS1