Year 4 Visit the Garden Museum

Not even the rain could dampen the spirits of Year 4 when they visited the Garden Museum in Lambeth this week! Set up in an abandoned church that is the resting place of renowned gardener and botanist John Tradescant, the museum explores and celebrates British gardens. Seeds of knowledge were sown by ex-Strand parent, Samia, who asked our keen scientists to use microscopes to take a closer look at leaves. The children dug deep to make links with their prior learning of plants. Next, they donned safety goggles in order to perform a chromatography experiment, separating the different pigments in leaves, finding green chlorophyll and yellow xanthophyll. We all thought the carnivorous plants were pretty fly, especially when seeing the tentacles on sundews and trigger hairs in venus fly traps up close through the magnifying glasses. The children also enjoyed exploring the museum’s collection of gardening memorabilia, sketching garden necessities from rakes and hoes to flamingos and gnomes. Taking inspiration from the exhibition, children drew their own designs onto fabric bags. Remember to iron over designs at home to ensure they stay permanent using the paper provided. An unbe-leaf-ably good day was had by all. A huge thank you to all of the adults who braved the weather with us, and well done to Year 4 for representing Strand brilliantly. NB. Gnome puns intended in this article! (penned by Miss Crone)