Last week was Design and Technology Week, so, in partnership with STEM London East, Key Stage 3 pupils from schools across London East visited the Horniman to take part in an Olympics-inspired activity.

We asked the pupils to design their own Olympics logo, mascot and products using our Natural History collection and Aquarium as inspiration.

Our Natural History keeper Paolo and Aquarium keepers Jamie and James entertained and amazed students with stories of extraordinary athletes in the natural world. Did you know that a cheetah is as fast as a car on the motorway? If a flea were the size of a human, it could jump straight from the Museum to Forest Hill station?

All the students did a fantastic job, showing a real eye for design and drawing. With the help of a few staff members as judges, the students' work was presented on a mood board, with the following winners selected from each school:

Monday, 25 June - Haberdashers’ Askes’ Hatcham College

First place: Proud

Second place: Team Roo

Monday, 25 June - Little Ilford School, Ilford

First place: Sabrina Rocks

Second place: The Incredibles

Tuesday, 26 June - Our Lady’s Convent High School, Hackney

First place (tied): Courage the Fox

First place (tied): Synchro

Tuesday, 26 June - St. Paul’s Way Trust, Mile End

First place: Gorilla and Frog

Second place: Diverse

Friday, 29 June - Eltham Foundation School

First Place: Going 4 Gold

Second Place: Dizzy Doughnuts (Big Cats)

Friday, 29 June - The Chafford School, Rainham, Essex

First Place: Peregrine Falcon

Second Place: Ostrich

Around 30,000 school pupils visit our museum every year - and we often get letters from pupils after they visit the Museum.

This one we recently received has got to be a highlight - click on the image below to enlarge and read. Thanks Gabe!

As part of our STEM London East activity, we celebrated Science Week here with secondary schools across London East. Key Stage 3 pupils went behind the scenes of the Natural History Gallery and the Aquarium to see science in action.

Our keepers, Paolo, James and Jamie, entertained and amazed students with stories of their travels in exotic places, and fascinating insights into their research. 

During the visit to the Aquarium with James, students were in awe of the aquarium creatures, especially the mysterious poisonous cuddle fish that lurks behind the tanks.

The highlight for many was meeting a real-life palaeontologist and handling some of our impressive fossil collection.

Students also participated in a practical activity - dissecting owl puke! Every day, Barn Owls produce pellets filled with fur and bone - leftovers from last night’s dinner. After much poking and prodding, skulls and skeletons of rodents and shrews were found. One student discovered over 70 bones!

Students and teachers alike had a fantastic time and the week was a great success! A big thank you to Paolo, James, Jamie and Emily for volunteering their time to help create such an exciting week!

Our STEM Ambassador networking event at Eastlea Community School was a great success with nine teachers from five different schools in attendance. Teachers had a chance to meet seven ambassadors with backgrounds ranging from the film industry to civil engineering, share ideas, and work together to design activities. One teacher mentioned: “It was such a great evening, really informative! It was great being able to meeting ambassadors from such a variety of backgrounds and understand the range of expertise STEM ambassadors have to offer. I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.”

Some the great activity ideas that came out of the evening include:

• Inviting students on trips to the ambassador’s workplace
• Facilitating STEM insets for students
• Assisting classroom investigations, and providing work-based examples of how the activity is used in the workforce
• Bringing maths to life with games and puzzles

If you weren't able to make it, we will be hosting another networking evening on 27 March at Loxford School of Science and Technology in Redbridge. Hope to see you there!

Our Learning and Exhibitions departments have helping year 11 (age 15/16) Art & Design, Digital Publishing, Music and Media students from Abbey Manor College (Lewisham's secondary pupil referral unit)  to create a lively exhibition in response to our collections.