A young girl leaning down to touch the leaves

School Workshop: A Pocketful of Eden (EYFS and year 1)

This fun and engaging school workshop is an ideal learning experience for Early Years children visiting the Eden Project.

Inspired by a story, read by an Eden Education Officer, they will journey deep into the Rainforest Biome and use their senses to discover the plants behind the story.

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Workshop overview

This workshop is designed to introduce young children to the wonders of the Tropical Rainforest. The session begins with a half an hour input from an Eden Education Officer. Through the use of stories and props, your pupils will solve riddles to identify some of the rainforest plants that we use in everyday life. The second part of this session will be self-guided. Children are challenged to explore the Rainforest Biome, looking out for particular stopping points along the way. Using the resource booklets provided by the Eden Education Officer, they will be asked to use their senses to explore their surroundings. They will find the plants from the story and explore the sights, sounds and smells of the Rainforest Biome.

Visiting teacher

“ The workshops are well run and the Eden experience can't be found anywhere else. ”

Practical information

This workshop enables pupils to:

sustain attentive listening, responding to what they have heard with relevant comments, questions or actions
investigate objects and materials by using all of their senses as appropriate
respond in a variety of ways to what they see, hear, smell, touch and feel

We've designed the workshop to help teachers cover the following subject areas:

This workshop covers early learning goals in Communication, Language and Literacy, Knowledge and Understanding of the World and Creative Development.

At Key Stage 1 Science, pupils should be taught to observe closely, identifying, naming and classifying what they see as well as describing the basic structure of plants. They should also observe how plants are suited to their habitats and may consider what they need to grow.

In English, pupils should develop pleasure and motivation to read through listening to a story, responding to what they have heard and joining in with predictable phrases. They should listen to rhymes and simple riddles and predict what might happen next in the story.

In Geography, they should identify the location of a hot area of the world and consider how it differs in terms of climate and vegetation to the UK.

The workshop costs £8.50 per pupil, with a minimum charge of £170 per group (includes VAT). Maximum group size is 35. The cost includes:

a facilitated workshop with our Education Team
free access to the Eden site for the day
all equipment needed for the workshop
free teaching resources enabling your class to prepare for the workshop and to follow up on the activity (download a sample copy)
a personal welcome from the Education Team at the entrance
a base for your bags in our purpose-built education centre, The Core
a space to eat your own lunch

The price includes free entry for accompanying adult helpers, whose participation is essential to the success of the day (please note our suggested adult/pupil ratios are as follows: Early Years Foundation Stage, 1:3; Key Stage 1, 1:6; Key Stage 2 and 3, 1:10; Key Stage 4, 1:15; Key Stage 5, 1:20). You’re welcome to bring more helpers if you’d like. Additional helpers are charged at our group booking rate.

We also offer a free preparatory visit to Eden for teachers wanting to plan their school trip, which should be booked in advance.