Thame pupils become Tomb Raiders for the day

AS part of the schools ‘Tomb Raiders’ topic, Year Four children at John Hampden School, Thame, had a very fun filled Ancient Egyptian day recently, consisting of four fabulous activities including solving riddles and cracking codes to escape.

The company Clever Cogs Learning were invited into the school to take the children on a puzzling adventure. They entered the three tombs and were asked to solve riddles and crack codes to escape. Encouraged to work well as a team, cooperating and using their listening skills, the children really pulled together to escape.

Looking for clues and avoiding traps

The second activity was with Mr Eyre who took the children on another adventure to find the resting place of Tutankhamun. This involved the children roaming the deserts of the school ground, solving clues along the way and deciphering inscriptions to unlock the tomb. They dodged many booby traps left by the crafty Egyptian engineers, who had set these to foil tomb robbers.

Next came the disgusting yet strangely enjoyable ‘dissecting poo’ activity. This gave the children a chance to gain hands on excavation experience and uncover evidence about the eating and living habits of Ancient Egyptians. Although a mucky task, the children were fascinated by what they found. After this activity they were given the opportunity to taste some Ancient Egyptian delicacies. Many of the children had also followed recipes for their homework and brought in their treats for the other children to try.

Drama and far away places!

The final activity was green screening. The children worked together in small groups to put together an informative piece of drama. They were then filmed acting this out in front of the green screen. A backdrop was later put into the video that appeared to take the children to far and away places.

To finish off their amazing day, the children got to look in Tutankhamun’s tomb (the Anderson Shelter) where they got to see the magnificent sight of Tutankhamun.

Teacher, Mel Schleising, said: “The day was truly magical and the feedback from the children was unbelievable. Thank you to everyone who made the day possible especially @CleverCogsMCR and Mr Eyre for many of the artefacts provided for the day.”