Free resources and activity boxes from the SS Great Britain
A much-loved feature of Bristol docks, the SS Great Britain is a great place to take children to learn about the city’s local maritime and engineering history. But Brunel’s proud ship doesn’t just offer teachers a great location for a school trip, the education team have curated great free online resources and STEM club activity boxes, so you can dive into the history and science behind the iron steamer, all from the comfort of your classroom.
There are loads of ways you can bring Brunel’s history alive on the SS Great Britain’s Learning webpages. We’ve summarized the top three things on offer below:
Activity Loan Boxes
Brunel’s loan boxes are free to borrow for a three week period and they contain everything required for the activity, whether that’s:
- building a globe to discover countries visited – the Round the World Box
- inventing rockets – the Blast-Off Box
- designing, building and testing propellers – the Boat Afloat Box
- discovering the stars – the Night Sky and Navigation Box
Particularly great for 6 – 14 year olds afterschool-clubs, find out more here.
There are great literacy links here, sitting alongside a wealth of hands-on activities, such as designing rat traps. Of particular note is the Full Steam Ahead game, which encourages children to think like Brunel and become engineers as they design ships take on a range of challenges. The interactive game is designed to support National Curriculum History, Science and Design Technology.
School Visits – workshops and Tours
There’s the Ship itself, Dockyard Museum and Dry Dock areas to explore, but the education team also offer a range of interactive workshops, guided tours and self guided learning resources that can be booked or downloaded.
Take a look at the KS1 and KS2 workshop options, and book up quickly as there is very limited availability January – April, but still plenty of spaces May – July.
