On April 26th the children of Year 6R and 6G enjoyed a trip to the Botanical Gardens in Malaga and on the following day it was the turn of years 3R, 3G and 3Y.
After a short bus journey we arrived at the gardens and were greeted by the monitors who would be supervising our visit. We were split into two groups and the first group explored the 23-hectare botanical garden dating back to 1855, with tropical & subtropical flora from 5 continents whilst the other group enjoyed a practical workshop in the grounds of the “Main house” making Neolithic weapons and tools.
The botanical gardens were beautiful, filled with a variety of trees and plants from all over the world. The children ambled slowly through the shaded alcoves and copses listening intently – stopping every now and then to focus, perhaps, on a particular species of bamboo or ficus and at the same time the children enthusiastically bombarded their guide with questions. Before we knew it we had travelled through five continents and had arrived at our next site of interest.
In a shaded area next to the “Main House” we were greeted by two new “guides”. Our group was split into two again. The first group looked at how Neolithic Man made fire by hand using a variety of wooden tools and then later went to fire arrows from a handmade bow at imaginary animals (balloons actually). The second group were enthralled by the techniques stone age man used to create tools from flint, wood and bone. The children watched in amazement as our skilled guide firstly chipped away at large pieces of flint, crafting from them smaller pieces which he then manipulated into axe-heads, arrow-heads and knives.
Sadly, all too quickly, our time at the botanical gardens was over. We thanked our guides for their help and they gifted us some of the tools the children had made themselves. We assembled by the main entrance, ate our lunch of sandwiches and fruit juice and returned to the bus. The journey home was filled with laughter and excited chatter about the day. I am sure we will return again.
