On Wednesday 19th September Maple class went on a trip to Celtic Harmony. When we arrived, we had to wait patiently behind a big gate until the gate keeper let us in. We then travelled through the gate which transported us back to the Stone Age.
We met our guides in a round house, that they had borrowed from the Celts, and we learnt about the importance of starting a fire. Our guide, Esis, showed us two different methods for starting a fire in the Stone Age.
Our first activity, out in the woods, was to learn about the different materials that Stone Age people would have used to make weapons. Esis showed us how to use a hammer stone to break off pieces of flint that would have been used to create arrow heads and other sharp objects. Another use was to clean animal skin to wear as clothing.
Next, we had to clamber over some obstacles to get deeper into the woods where we found a woolly mammoth! We each took it in turns to throw our spears at the woolly mammoth and had to get a collective total of 130 points. Luckily, we got 140 points between us so it meant that we would have enough meat to eat over the winter!
Our next activity was den building. We worked in small groups to position our logs and twigs in the shape of a den, remembering to leave a space for a door. Then we covered our den with thinner twigs, as well as grass and hay to add warmth. Finally, we checked our den by climbing inside.
After lunch, we went back into the woods to forage and gather fruits and other foods to help balance out our Stone Age meal. We found lots of interesting things, such as nettle, rosehip, mushrooms and other small animals. Unfortunately, we found out that some of these items would have been deadly during the Stone Age. However, we used the plants that were safe to make a lovely nettle soup (yuk!) and thickened it with some murky water on the stove.
Our final activity was trading. We were each given an item of value, such as animal fur, shells, chalk or an animal horn. We were told the value of our items and given time to trade with our friends. The object of the activity was to barter for the best deal and to end up with more valuable items than we started with. Some of us did very well indeed!
Once we’d finished our activities we had a quick visit to the gift shop and the Stone Age toilets (no flushing!) and it was back on the coach and back to present day.
We had a fantastic day at Celtic Harmony and have lots of first-hand experience of the Stone Age to help us with our learning in class.