Top School Trips -Issue 7

54 | www.teachwire.net maths; excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena is needed in science, and inspiring pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past is an objective in history. In both geography and foreign languages, emphasis is put on fostering curiosity about the world and its people. It’s also on the spelling word list for Years 5 and 6. So, given its wide-ranging relevance, how do we best create situations where curiosity can flourish? Interaction and imagination At We The Curious, we have two floors of hands-on exhibits. One floor is the more traditional tried-and-tested kind involving buttons, levers, lights, sounds, cause and effect, challenge and opportunity. Pupils have a go at something that then demonstrates, explains, or allows them to experience T he Oxford English Dictionary defines curiosity as “a strong desire to know or learn about something, especially what is new or strange”. Everyone possesses it, that tingle that inspires us to ask what if? , but it’s often more visible and active in children. Of course, people don’t grow out of being curious, but as we age, the nature of our curiosity changes, homing in on areas of passion and interest. Or perhaps there are simply fewer opportunities, without additional focus or effort, to be curious as adults. At We The Curious, we’re interested in how we can reignite curiosity in people of all ages. In the Education team, our focus is on using curiosity to inspire interest and build confidence in STEM, from early years right through to post-16. Curiosity and the curriculum We’re fortunate as educators that curiosity is strongest in children. It can be a fantastic vehicle for the transfer and experiencing of new knowledge, and the younger the learner, the greater the chance that the knowledge is indeed new. The word ‘curiosity’ appears six times in the primary national curriculum. A sense of enjoyment and curiosity in the subject is required in a scientific phenomenon or principle. The other floor contains a collection of exhibits called Project What If . These are centred around questions collected from the public (10,000 to be exact), resulting in seven areas covering questions such as Why do rainbows make people happy?, Can your soul be seen by science? and How do you become invisible? Each area contains exhibits collaboratively designed with the question-askers. These exhibit clusters both investigate the answer and also delve deeper into the nature of the question itself and what it means to different people. This is one example of where curiosity FOR CURIOSITY How can educators create the conditions in which children’s innate inquisitiveness is free to flourish? Mark Pickering shares his thoughts… Finding space /school-trips