To prepare for the workshop, it would be very helpful if you could do all the following before the visit:

1. Fill in the two forms - one is to say which children will be painting which fossil, and the other is to say which children will be making which part of the skeleton(s). The tasks are listed according to difficulty level.

2. Arrange the tables around the outside of the classroom, on 3 sides, with a space for the children to sit on the carpet in the middle and a table at the front for me, under the whiteboard. There should still be enough space around the tables that the children can sit down to paint the fossils after morning break.

3. The tables should be cleared completely before I arrive, as I will need to set out the fossils for the name the fossil game, before I start the workshop. I will arrive about 9.00am to set up, so I will need the children to be on the carpet (or out of the room if there is no floor space) until about 9.30, when I should be ready to start the workshop.

4. I will need your interactive whiteboard for my photos so please have it up and running.

5. Please make sure there is space on the side of the room, for storing or displaying the fossils which the children will paint, and also for me to set out the fossils which they can buy at lunch.

6. If possible, please have an extra adult or two to help children with the fossil game, the fossil painting, and the skeleton making. The younger the children the more important this is.

7. Please provide the following items in the morning for the fossil painting:

·         1 thick paintbrush per child

·         1 paint palette per 4 children (with space for 6 colours)

·         1 pot of water per 4 children

·         1 paper towel per child

·         Covers for the tables and art overalls. I will set out the painting materials over morning break and would like 2 or 3 children (or adults) to help.

I will provide paint and thin brushes for painting the detailed parts of the fossils.

8. At the end of the day, or over lunch, I will have fossils for sale, at low prices - mostly 10, 20 or 50p, plus some higher quality fossils for £1 or £2.

9. For the T rex and skulls, I will need to draw the background shapes over lunch. I will need 8 older children to help me cut out these backgrounds. This will take about 20 minutes. Later when the children have stuck the bones on these shapes they will cut them out and piece them together.

For the smaller skeletons we will cut out the backgrounds in the afternoon, in the hall (while most of the children cut out the bones in the classroom).

9. For the skeleton making in the afternoon please provide the following materials:

·         1 black felt tip/marker per child                

·         1 pair of scissors per child                    

·         1 Pritt stick per pair of children

10. In the afternoon we will need the school hall, so please make sure it is reserved. If the hall is unavailable we will need 2 classrooms.

11. At the end of the day I can show you how to attach the T rex skeleton to the wall of the school hall (or some other space, but please note the T rex is 12m long by 4m high). For this you will need stepladders, and at least 2 adults. Please be aware that 4m is quite high, and anyone climbing up stepladders to attach the skeleton faces the risk of fall and injury.

12. You can pay me on the day with a cheque to Time Trips for £295 per day, or post it to my home address (this will be on the invoice).

I look forward to working with you and your children.

Fossil painting      Please assign children to the following groups, according to their artistic ability.

Everyone can have their own fossil, except for the Compsognathus and Archaeopteryx which are larger and quite complicated. You can see pictures of all these fossils at www.timetrips.co.uk.

*for a large class assign up to 3 children to these fossils

 T Rex Activity, by difficulty level

 13 body parts, 2 or 3 children making each part

Three Smaller Skeletons Activity         In order of difficulty