Communications and Sound – Key Stage 2

A day’s programme does not necessarily include all the listed activities and can be adapted to suit individual needs and requirements. Normally we fit in five activities during your visit.

Suggested Pre-visit activities

• Discuss what is meant by communication
• Discuss four ways in which humans communicate and four ways in which one other animal of your choice communicates. Discuss whether plants can communicate.

Activities offered at the Gardens

Topic Related Activity	Learning Objective: the children should learn...
Animal colour communication activity (camouflage, mimicry, warning signals, aposematism))	about the variety of ways in which animals communicate.
Bird song - pair matchingactivity	to identify some bird song.
Smell trail (olfactory communication)	to identify a range of scents.
Semaphore and finger spelling	to communicate using semaphore and/or finger spelling.
Designer flower art (explore how plants use colour and form to communicate with pollinators)	about the ways in which plants use colour to communicate.
Bat and Moth game (echolocation)	about how bats locate moths.
Blindfold games (communicating directions in pairs)	to follow directions without being able to see.
Experiments with sound through different mediums	how sound travels through different mediums.

Suggested Post-visit activities:

• Research Morse Code

Look in detail at the way in which one plant communicates.