Ightham Mote summer activitypack

Ightham Mote

Mote Road

Ivy Hatch

Sevenoaks

Kent TN15 0NT

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ightham-mote

This pack has some ideas of things to do outside. Some of them are taken from our ‘50 things to do before you are 11 3/4’ book.

Note to grown ups: Children matter to the National Trust, so we recommend that all these activities are supervised by an adult. We trust that you will make your own judgement about what is safe and suitable for the ability of your child. Just remember to have fun!

What you might need:

• Pencil

• Binoculars

• Bug Pot

• Magnifying Glass

• Camera

• 50 things book

• Glue

Some of these items are

available in our gift shop.

Where to begin

Collect a free scrapbook from Visitor Reception, or visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/50-things-to-do and download the app.

Follow our magical map and discover Ightham Mote’s more special spots. Use your imagination and create your own Ightham Mote adventure.

King of the Castle Hedge

Dove’s Digs

Colossal Canine Kennel

Stairway to Heaven

Walled-up Windows

Eye Spy with my little eye… five tricky teasers that might pass you by!

Garden Adventures

Natural Play Area - a great place for adventure and to let your imagination run wild.

We recommend you wear some wellies as it can get quite muddy - although this makes it perfect for No. 13 make a mud pie.

Which walk you choose is up to you,and by using your imagination, you’ll find loads to do.

Red Walk (approx. 1.5 miles)With hedgerows and long grass, this is a great route for ticking off No. 5 Make a grass trumpet.

Black Walk (approx. 1.5 miles)Walking through the woods, it’s a great route for ticking off No. 31 Hunt for bugs.

Green Walk (approx. 2.5 miles)

With very steep sections, this is

a great route for ticking off

No. 28 Climb a huge hill.

Estate Walk

Watch out for these if you want to

tick off No. 6 Run around in the rain

• Cirrostratus

• Altostratus

• Nimbostratus

• Stratus

• Stratocululus

• Cumulonimbus

What can clouds tell us?Lo

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650

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Cumulonimbus Cumulus Stratocumulus

Stratus

Med

ium

clo

uds

(6

500

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igh

clou

ds

(abo

ve 2

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Cirrus

Nimbostratus

Altostratus Altocumulus

Cirrostratus Cirrocumulus

Did you know?

The study of clouds

is called Nephology.

Pictures in the sky

Can you see any clouds?Are the clouds moving quickly or slowly today?Are they the same or are they different shapes?Do they look like anything?

Not sure what we mean? • Can you see the crocodile

emerging out of the clouds?• What about the face below?

ThunderstormsTo tell how far away a thunderstorm is, count the number of seconds after the lightening until you hear the thunder. (Use a stop watch or count “One-Mississippi, Two-Mississippi, Three-Mississippi,” etc.) For every 5 seconds the storm is one mile away.

Folk lore Was it right? Y or N

Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight. Red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning.

If there’s a halo round the sun or moon, then we can expect rain quite soon.

If a fly lands on your nose, swat it till it goes. If the fly lands again, it’ll bring back heavy rain.

Rain before seven, fine before eleven.

When bees crowd out of their hive, the weather will be good. When bees crowd in their hive, it’s a sign of thunder and rain.

Become a weather forecasterFor thousands of years we have been trying to predict the weather. But how did they do this without technology?

By looking all around themand making observations, these are just some of the sayings they came up with.

Test these sayings more than once to see how accurate they are.

Shadow playA shadow is made when an object blocks light. The shadow appears on the side of the object furthest from the light source.Shadows change throughout the day. Can you find some interesting shadows? Tree shadows are tricky... can you spot which part of the tree matches its shadow?Try putting your hand up near the branch to test your ideas.

Where will the sun have been for Toby’s shadow to appear?

Do you notice a difference in shadows at different times of the day?When is the shadow shorter? When is the shadow longer?

Shadowgraphy (or Ombromanie) is the art of using hands

to form figures. It was popular in the 18th century, but is

probably much older. What shapes can you make?

Is someone else able to guess what it is?

Telling the time with shadows

5

10

7

4

3

2112

6

11

6

8

9

Cut out the sundial base.Lay the paper on the ground with the number 12 pointing north. (Use a compass for this - many smart phones have a compass.)Carefully poke a straight stick or a pencil through the red dot at the bottom.

When the sun is shining, look for where the shadow is - this is the solar time. Remember that at the moment, we are in British Summer Time, which means the solar time is going to be an hour behind.

No. 45 Find your way with a map and compass

What you need:

• Sewing needle• Plastic bottle top• Bar magnet• Blu tack• Shallow dish of water

Instructions:

1. Magnetise the needle by stroking it with the bar magnet from the eye to the point. (Do this 50 times making sure you take the magnet away after each stroke so you don’t de-magnetise the needle again).

2. Stick the needle to the upturned bottle top with blu tack.

3. Float the bottle top in a dish of water. (The needle will rotate to point towards magnetic north).

4. Check the result is correct with a compass or a smart phone compass tool. (Keep the dish away from computers, TVs etc. as they can disrupt the field lines). Please note: the needle will lose its magnetic charge over time.

Homemade compass

Challenge: create a trail with compass directions for your family and friends to follow.

Wall Brown

Painted Lady

Comma

Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary

No. 31 Hunt for bugsAs you go for a walk, you’ll see butterflies and

moths fluttering around. They’re attracted to

flowers with a strong scent and bright colours.

Did you know?Butterflies use a long thin tube like a drinking straw to suck nectar

from flowers. This tube is called a

proboscis.

Images © www.northeastwildlife.co.uk

Peacock Red Admiral

Small Tortoiseshell Orange Tip

Dingy Skipper Grayling

WhiteRingletImages © www.northeastwildlife.co.uk

Look high, and look low. How many of these things can you see?

• 5 different insects• A spider’s web• 5 different leaves• 5 different wildflowers• A feather• A seed• 5 different birds• Rainbow• Squirrel

Play scavenger hunt tagHave someone choose an object for you to find

eg. pine-cone, acorn, feather, leaf.

The winner is the first one to find the object and

bring it back.

Summer sights scavenging

Summer soundsListen carefully and see if you can hear: • 5 different bird songs• The wind through the trees• An animal scurrying about• A grasshopper

How to play:• Collect about 20 small items. • Place them all together on a clear surface (you could use a bag

or coat).• Everyone must look at them for a minute, and try to memorise

what they see.• After the minute is up, cover the items so they cannot be seen.• Get each player to say an item that they remember in turn

(or each person could write down everything they remember) - the winner is the person who can remember the most.

Alternative ideas:• Remove an item and see who can remember what has been

taken away.• Rather than just saying what they remember, ask players to

describe each item in detail.

Kim’s gameWhen you’re out and about, you need to observe your surroundings carefully. Kim’s game is a perfect way to train you to observe.

In Kim, a book by Rudyard Kipling (author of the Jungle Book), the game is

called both the Play of the Jewels and the Jewel Game.

Kim is a teenager being trained in secret as a spy. He spends a month in Simla,

British India at the home of Mr Lurgan, who appears to run a jewel shop, but in

truth is a spy. Mr Lurgan brings out a copper tray and tosses a handful of jewels

onto it; his boy servant explains to Kim: “Look on them as long as thou wilt,

stranger. Count and, if need be, handle. One look is enough for me. When thou hast

counted and handled and art sure that thou canst remember them all, I cover them

with this paper, and thou must tell over the tally to Lurgan Sahib. I will write mine.”

They play the game many times, sometimes with jewels, sometimes with odd

objects, and sometimes with photographs of people. It’s a vital part of training

in observation; Mr Lurgan says: “[Do] it many times over till it is done perfectly - for

it is worth doing.”

Nature’s GamesNot tired out yet? Why not hold your own athletics event? Have a look around and find some safe places to hold games and races.

Slalom - place objects along a line for competitors to weave around.

Crawl net - lay a picnic rug on the ground and crawl under it (this is a popular part of any obstacle course, but you can get very mucky).

Hurdles - balance a thin stick across two logs to create a hurdle to jump over. If you can’t find two logs, but you have two spare people, why not get them to hold the stick?

Limbo - Instead of hurdles, hold the stick up high and see old it a bit higher, and see how well they limbo underneath.

Don’t forget the sports day favourites of running races, wheelbarrow races, three-legged races and the parent’s race!

Minibeasts on the moveWhen you see a bee visiting a flower, wait and then follow where it goes.

If you find a trail of ants, have a look at where they’ve come from and

where they’re going. Are they carrying anything? What do you think they’ll

do with it?

Minibeast racesRace as an insect like a beetle running on 6 legs (3 legged arm and leg

race), or as an 8-legged spider.

Paws to reflect...When you get home, pause to think about what you have seen, heard, smelt and touched, as well as what 50 things you have ticked off. Write them on the paw below.

Seen

Heard

SmeltTouched

Which 50 things

have you ticked off?

Look out for our Autumn activity pack available from September.