Self Guided Resources at
Manchester Museum
Living Worlds Gallery – KS3
(Booking Essential)
This resource allows your students to create their own unique tour of our atmospheric
Living Worlds gallery. It enables them to focus on the themes addressed in the gallery
and make their own connections and opinions based on the display. They will present
them to the rest of the class to share their experiences in the gallery.
The atmospheric Living Worlds gallery showcases our stunning collection in original cases
which are organised into themes. The beautiful displays will inspire your students to
examine their place in the natural world.
There are a number of prompt cards included in this resource pack. You will need to
print them, cut them out and give them to the students on the gallery.
Below is a guide for how this resource should be used in a 30 minute activity.
1. Before you enter the gallery, split your group of students into groups of 3.
2. When you first enter the gallery, hand out the prompt cards (one to each group)
and instruct your students that they will have approximately 7 minutes to create a
brief presentation based around the questions they have been given. Encourage
them to use the objects on display to link to other ideas they may have on the
themes and try to include the displays to animate their presentation.
3. The students then gather at the entrance to the gallery and one by one the
students feedback their presentations on the display cases they have used creating
a set of unique tour that the group follows round the gallery.
4. Once the tour finishes, if there is time, allow the students to explore the gallery
independently. Encourage them to think about some of the themes that we
covered in the tour whilst exploring the space.
Materials required for activity (not provided):
 Question cards (attached to be printed off)
 Pencil/pen
 Clipboards
Have you remembered to book your Self Programmed activities with our Bookings Officer on 0161 275 2630? You can
also request to use our lunch room for your group. Risk Assessments are available on the website. Also, please check
for any suggested materials that you may need to bring with you on the day.
Living Worlds Tour Prompt
Cards
Group 1:
Explore how different creatures are suited to different habitats.
In your presentation:
 Give three examples of animals or birds that you can see that are well adapted to only ONE
habitat.
 Describe the characteristics of these animals and how they enable it to survive.
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Group 2:
In your presentation:
 Explain what this display tells you about people’s attitude to wild animals.
 Can you think of any specific examples of particular attitudes?
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Group 3:
In your presentation:
 State why you believe these objects have these been chosen to symbolise certain things.
 Create a short story about one of the objects on display to explain why it may be used as a
symbol?
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Group 4:
Discuss the effect of man-made and natural disasters.
In your presentation:
 Explain which you think are more shocking: man-made or natural disasters?
 Provide other examples of man-made and natural disasters. Which are more devastating?
Group 5:
In your presentation:
 What do these displays tell you about how humans view nature?
 What makes things in nature scary? Provide other examples.
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Group 6:
In your presentation:
 Tell us what surprises you about British Wildlife.
 Describe what threatens nature.
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Group 7:
You have just arrived on Earth for the first time from another planet.
This gallery is the only information you have about life on Earth.
In your presentation:
 Explain what this might tell you about life on Earth?
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Group 8:
Explore what effect time has on the natural world.
In your presentation:
 Discuss what these cases tell you about how life has changed over time.
 Describe what you think life will look like in 20,000 years.
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Group 9:
In your presentation, using the gallery:
 Discuss how changes in climate affects the natural world
 Explain what effect this may have on how we use nature as a resource
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Group 10:
Explore the way humans use the variety of life on earth
In your presentation:
 Explain what these cases tell you about the various ways humans use the natural world.
 How might humans change variety of life?