This week we had a fantastic start to our new Science topic – Living things and their habitats. Safari Stu brought in a wide range of both vertebrates and invertebrates. We had the opportunity to see and hold lots of animals which belong in different groups based on specific features. We discussed how all animals can be grouped into either vertebrates or invertebrates depending on whether they have a backbone and were even shown and held a hissing cockroach which has an exoskeleton.

In addition, Stu told us how the different creatures have adapted to live in their habitat. For example, the chuckwalla has a sand-coloured tail but a darker body. It hides under the sand but keeps its tail on top of the surface. This means that if an eagle tries to capture it, it can use the strong muscles in its tail to swipe at the eagle and hopefully escape the predator. 

We were very impressed with how brave Year 4 were. Both the children (and adults!) held a wide variety of creatures including snakes, a chameleon, a tarantula, a lesser tenrec, and common tenrec. The session was very informative and has given  us a great start to our unit which we are looking forward to delving into.