A day out at Blackgang Chine will give your pupils a fun day out that they will not forget. Our attractions contain valuable material which will enhance the student/pupil learning experience.
Numeracy
Blackgang offers areas of numeracy in a broad range of contexts in which children can explore, enjoy, learn, practise and talk about their developing understanding. Children must be offered opportunities for these skills to be practised, in order to give them confidence and competence in their use.
The gift shop and outlets give the children the opportunity to handle money in real life situations.
A walk through the Hedged Maze - Direction / Compass Points.
Literacy
Our eccentric park supports children's learning and competence in communicating, speaking and listening, being read to and beginning to read and write. Children must be given opportunities to build their confidence through encouragement and support to use their skills in a range of situations and for a range of purposes.
Nursery Land is a must for all Reception and Year 1 children. Listen, join in and watch the nursery characters sing your favourite nursery rhymes.
Smugglers Ship - Role play & drama comes alive on our giant wooden lugger.
Sleeping Beauty's Castle - A perfect setting for storytelling. See sleeping beauty asleep in her bed, a great opportunity to develop children's story telling and writing. The setting aims to establish a creative mood, helping children generate their thoughts, create writing and reading ideas. In doing so, helping children to become creative writers.
Smugglers Cave ideal for older children - Historic story from 1836 shown in scenes depicting the story of the shipwrecked Clarendon. Historic writing linked to the local area.
Frontier Land - A real life sized cowboy town ideal for all age groups - Drama / Role play, imagine life as a cowboy riding on the pony express, working in the hotel saloon bar or panning for gold to make your fortune
Science
Let Blackgang stimulate and excite your pupils curiosity. Because Science links direct practical experiences with ideas, our rides can support learning outside the classroom.
Waterforce - an exhilarating 100 metre water ride. A fun way for children to experience and learn about gravity.
Cliffhanger - This exciting roller coaster is perched near the edge of vertical cliffs, climbs to 400' above the sea before dropping nearly 40' in twists and turns reaching speeds of up to 35mph. For older children learning about forces, gravity and magnets. Huge magnets are used as a braking system to slow and stop the ride.
Funny Mirrors - A fun attraction to introduce reflection.
Weather Wizard - The seasons come alive with our weather wizard who introduces each season. Rhyme and animation teach all about the seasons and weather a must visit for Reception and year 1.
Giant Bugs - bugs and butterflies. Take your Reception class on a bug spotting walk. Can you spot a hungry caterpillar or a bad-tempered ladybird?
History
Blackgang aims to stimulate an interest in the past. It encourages pupils curiosity and imagination. We aim to support their developing understanding of events through time.
Myths and Legends - A short 15-minute cinema screening of local myths and legends. Meet Alexander Dabell as he explains how he founded Blackgang Chine in 1843, find out how and why the pepper pot was build on St Catherines' Down and who was hiding in Chale church yard from the customs and excise men?
BBC Coast - This exhibition provides an insight into the local coastline, based on the Open University BBC2 TV series. The stories include the story of Blackgang, the Disappearing village and of course the famous 87' skeleton of the whale!
World of Timber - See, hear and smell our steam engines dating back to the 1800's, which were used for sawing wood, pumping sewage and pumping water. The replica working water wheel demonstrates how water energy was used to drive carpenters lathes and other equipment.
Dinosaur Land - Meet the life sized replicas of pre-historic creatures. A unique chance to stand next to many of your favourite dinosaurs. Each model provides information from their size, weight and what they ate.
Geography
The Southern side of the Island, due to its exposed location is particularly affected by coastal erosion. The park is an ideal location for pupils to witness first hand erosion and the impact it has on the land. The breath taking views of the coast and cliff edge provokes questions and answers about our natural world. It develops knowledge of places and a focus for understanding and resolving issues.
Be sure not to miss BBC Coast Exhibition which starts to give an insight into the dramatic erosion.
R.E
'˜Jonah tried to escape God. He tried to travel elsewhere, by ship. But there was a terrible storm. Jonah knew that God had caused the storm. So, he asked the sailors to throw him into the sea. But Jonah did not drown, because God sent a whale to swallow Jonah. Then, Jonah prayed to God again. He thanked God, who had rescued him...'
Let your class act out the Old Testament story in our very own Jonah's whale.
Ideal for KS1.
Music
KS1 will love our magical, Musical Pet Shop, watch the animals come alive and sing as you press their buttons. Explore and choose your own combination of animals to perform.
