Foundation Activities

Foundation Stage Activities at Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre

The activities range from between two and four hours including lunch. See individual activities for details.

Unless indicated otherwise in the individual activity details, the maximum size of group we accept for a led activity is 35. Please note that this includes accompanying adults too, so for instance you could bring 25 children and up to ten adults.

We can tailor activities to your requirements, including the delivery of longer sessions. Please note that if you require a leader for more than two and a half hours an additional charge will be made.

Make Wild Music!

Create a sound CD and an orchestral score inspired by sounds heard around our meadows. Experiment with percussion instruments and then make your own from natural materials to take home with you. In addition to this, run through a giant dragonfly and play an enormous xylophone

Approximate duration: 4 hrs including a lunch break of 30-45 minutes
Cost: £138 + VAT
Available: all year

Three Little Pigs

Enjoy this traditional tale told from a new point of view, then test your construction skills making a house out of sticks for a little pig. Will the wolf be able to blow it down? Enjoy a picnic lunch and cook your own marshmallow pudding on a campfire – delicious!

Maximum group size*: 18 children with ratio of 1 adult to 3 children essential.
Approximate duration: 2½ hrs including a lunch break of 30-45 minutes
Cost: £105 + VAT
Available April—October

*It is possible to bring more than 18 children but we do not permit fire lighting for health and safety reasons so your children will do other activities relating to the story.

Going on a Bear Hunt

We’re going to catch a big one!  A wonderful session for young explorers and their teddy bears. Based around this well loved story, we go in search of bears hidden around our meadows.  Have fun along the way exploring sounds, blowing bubbles and making mud pies. Finish the session by gathering round the campfire to sample some food from the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Approximate duration: 2 ½ hrs including a lunch break of 30-45 minutes
Cost: £105+ VAT
Available April—October

Cave Baby

Go with cave baby on an adventure that ends with some art to take home. Based around the well loved Julia Donaldson’s book  of a bored but creative baby and his magic  ride through a moonlit landscape on a hairy mammoth. We will  examine and do comparison measurements for some of the characters, use your imagination with our story sticks and then experiment with how cave baby and his parents would have painted.

Approximate duration: 2 ½ hrs including a lunch break of 30-45 minutes
Cost: £105+ VAT
Available All year

Meadow Minibeasts Rhyme and Story Time

Have fun taking part in some creepy-crawly capers. Who can find the hairiest spider? Piece together a giant beetle and take part in a six-legged caterpillar race. Make spiral snail shells from natural materials and see if you can be the early bird that catches the worm. Activities based on new and familiar songs and stories that are a fantastic way of introducing children to a whole new miniature world of friends.

Maximum group size: 35 (to include the accompanying adults)
Approximate duration: 3 1/2 hours including a lunch break of 30-45 minutes
Cost: £138 + VAT
Availability: April to October.

Bug Bonanza

Where do minibeasts like to live? Hunt high and low, including the hidden depths of our pond, to find wonderful creatures of different shapes, sizes and colours. Pond dipping is led by our staff while party leaders supervise hunting in the meadow.

Maximum group size*: 22 children with ratio of one adult to two children for pond dipping essential.
Approximate duration: 3 1/3 hours including a lunch break of 30-45 minutes
Cost: £138 + VAT
Availability: April to October

*It is possible to bring more than 22 children and choose from a selection of self-led activities. In this case, the following amendments would apply

Approximate duration: 4 hours
Price: £186 + VAT