A museum in your classroom

A Manchester Museum Science teaching resource for Key Stage 2 pupils - Life processes and living things. From the dark corridors and dusty cabinets in the far recesses of the museum that the public rarely see, secrets are revealed in creative, mathematical and scientific presentations. A unique and free resource for teachers who have a love of heritage, science and the extraordinary. A decision by the Department of Entomology at
Manchester Museum to give old and archived material a new lease of life in service to the local community, has led to the production of this unusual resource.

Pupils can use this resource to make careful observations of animals, for example, of the differences between male and female insects and when determining the sizes (wingspans) of moths and butterflies. There are opportunities for young people to estimate the number of objects in a group. This resource also covers adaptation, ecology and behaviour of insects.

Finally there are insights for pupils into how scientists in museums maintain and preserve their collections of animals, especially those the public do not normally see. There are illustrations of how entomological research is undertaken, as well as, a chance for pupils to consider some of the ethical issues that are associated with the establishment of museum collections of animals and the implications for insect conservation.