Primary from Year 2 to Year 6
Ask your pupils to call out an animal. Mammals will inevitably get a mention along with the odd pet bird or tortoise. Beetles and flies rarely get a mention. And yet three out of every four animals are insects with an estimated several million species of insects on Earth! The total number of individual insects is an immeasurable quantity that is constantly being re-evaluated, but is in the region of thousands of billions, colonising every possible ecological niche on the planet.
Like in every country in the world, insects are the most populous animals in France. There are over 35,000 species in France (compared to 135 species of mammal) and we know very few of them.
Insects can be defined by the 6-4-3-2 rule:
- 6 articulated legs
- 4 wings
- 3 body segments: head, thorax, abdomen
- 2 antennae
The 6-4-3-2 rule is accompanied by exceptional morphological variability which has given insects the power to colonise every environment and every climate and to diversify into a rich array of species.
The workshop invites participants to learn the specific characteristics of this class and explore a world teeming with creatures, a microcosm of biodiversity featuring an extraordinary wealth of forms, colours, food strategies, and habitats which plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance of nature.
Workshop aims:
- Describe and know the common characteristics of insects
- Learn how some familiar insects eat, reproduce and behave
- Discover their role in biodiversity
- Observe and learn by handling real specimens
- Extract key information from a document
During the workshop, the facilitator will present a selection from the Museum of Bordeaux collections. Participants will also be introduced to learning resources specially devised for the workshop.
To book a workshop of The Museum comes to you and on all administrative matters, the secretariat is listening to you.
By phone: 05 24 57 65 30
By e-mail: museum@mairie-bordeaux.fr
