This programme is best from September - April but is available all year*.

Key Stages 2+

Study changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.

Tour our Iron Age hillfort with complete circular ditch, learn about the archaeological evidence which has been found here and collect stickers to remind you.

Thresh and winnow ears of grain, grind it in our quern stones, then cook bread over an open fire.

Learn about roundhouses and weave a mini wattle wall to take home. If time allows, use slingshots to learn about defending the Wandlebury hillfort.

We visited Wandlebury at the end of our Stone Age to Iron Age topic so the children could see the Iron Age fort and gain some experience of what life would have been like at the time when it was in use. The children had a fantastic day, gaining new experiences and developing their understanding of Iron Age life. Back at school, they were able to apply this knowledge in their writing. Their stories about travelling back in time included vocabulary they had learned on the day and a great deal of detail about life in the Iron Age. One child said, “It was the best day of my life!”

During your visit the children will be split into groups and will take part in a selection of fun, hands-on activities.

Groups will stay together and rotate around the activities throughout the day.

Activities take place in different locations around the Park, but all activities are in the vicinity of the Education Centre.

All activities are designed to complement the History National Curriculum for Key Stage 2 and include the following learning outcomes:

• Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources such as artefacts, archaeology and the written word of Romans.
• Understand connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms.
• Be able to understand and ask historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity & difference and significance.
• Gain chronological knowledge and understanding of the timeline Stone-Bronze-Iron-Roman history and about Iron Age hill forts: tribal kingdoms, farming, art and culture.
• Identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.
• Gain knowledge of the lives of significant individuals in the past, eg Boudicea.

Wandlebury’s Iron Age programme proved an insightful introduction to our topic on Prehistoric Britain. The day was full of a great selection of hands-on learning activities as well as providing the children with opportunities to discuss and reflect on Celtic life.

* Some activities may not be available in the summer. For example if it is very dry we ban all fires in the park, which would mean we couldn't offer the activity of making bread over an open fire. Our wattling activity requires the use of willow and this is only available during Sept-April. In the event that these activities are not possible we will provide replacement activities.