Mysterious Minibeasts

Investigating the Mysterious Worlds of Minibeasts

Discover what lives in the miniature worlds of habitats as we take a closer look at the weird and wonderful minibeasts that live in the world around us. Living things play important roles within the natural world, from breaking down waste, making nutrients available for the tallest trees to grow, aerating our soils, and as key parts of wider food chains which support natural systems.

Learn about the adaptations of organisms developed over time, as prey meets predator in a battle for survival in worlds often missed by the human eye. Children have a natural curiosity to explore and understand the living world, it’s species, and how nature is connected. This session includes a number of guided activities to help them discover the creepy crawlies which occupy our forest floors, grasslands, tree canopies and more!

Programme Title: Mysterious Minibeasts

• Level: KS2 & ROI equivalent
• Connected themes: The world around us, insects, minibeasts/invertebrates, life-cycles, food chains, predators & prey and conservation
• Core themes/Subjects Covered: Biology, Geography, Science (Questioning, observation and classification)

Learning outcomes;

1. Learn about the different types of invertebrates we find in NI/ROI
2. Investigation of the general insect body parts (head, thorax, abdomen, legs, and wings) and why these are useful features as small creatures.
3. Develop a greater understanding of food chains and the relationships between animals and their habitats/environments (ecosystems).
4. Build upon what students already know about local animal life; their lifecycles and behaviours, and making comparisons minibeasts with those found in other parts of the world.

More Information

Marble Arch Caves can travel to schools/education groups within a 1hour driving distance from the Marble Arch Caves Visitor Centre (or 50-mile radius). If your venue is beyond this radius please contact us. Sessions can be delivered in a range of indoor settings including classrooms, halls, conference rooms etc. as long as they have access to a SMARTboard or projector. Elements of our outreach sessions are delivered using PowerPoint presentations as teaching aids. therefore staff will have laptops which we will connect via HDMI cables. We kindly ask that venues have suitable space for our team to move around and interact with students.

We aim to make our outreach sessions as accessible as possible for all students. If you have questions about what our outreach sessions entail, and whether they are suited to your group, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and our staff will be happy to chat through the course programme in more detail. Where possible, we will adapt/tailor sessions to meet your requirements.