Lobster Songs & Sea Shells
Some of the Yr 2 lobster drawings at Reay Primary School
At Reay Primary School in Lambeth there is always a lot of science and music going on, particularly in Yr 2. So when they began to study lobsters it seemed like a good time to get involved in Electric Voice Theatre’s project, Isabella’s Footsteps celebrating marine biologist Isabella Gordon OBE (1901-1988). She had worked not far from the school at the Natural History Museum (NHM), so we all met there on July 6th for a very special lobster day.
The children were given a fabulous Isabella Gordon tour of NHM by Leonie Biggenden from Undercover Discover and were introduced to some special lobsters by Miranda Lowe CBE, who is Isabella’s successor, looking after many of the crustaceans she named.
Nephrops norvegicus by © Hans Hillewaert cc by sa 40
Homarus gammarus by H. Zell – Own work, cc by sa-30
Yr 2 split into 2 groups to learn about one of 2 different species from Miranda –
Nephrops norvegicus (Norwegian lobster – langoustine to you and me!) and
Homarus gammarus (European lobster).
To find out what they learnt you’ll have to go to their brand new REAY PRIMARY SCHOOL website page on our sister site – Minerva Scientifica where you’ll find a video of the songs they wrote that same day, all about their particular species, illustrated by their lobster drawings.
Herbie Clarke, Evelyn Leung, Frances M Lynch, Angela He and Finty Woolf (left to right), EVT’s Isabella’s Footsteps Project Team, recorded the songs at NHM and then visited the school the following week to share the work with Yr 2 in their classroom. You can see the video too and hear more about their experiences at the NHM by visiting the children’s new website page – REAY PRIMARY SCHOOL
These beautifully decorated shells, created by a very young and talented artist from Stroud Green, were used by REAY PRIMARY SCHOOL Yr 2 as part of a tree ceremony during our visit there. We first carried out these ceremonies in Keith, where Isabella Gordon grew up, as part of the Japanese Sakura Tree Project. Find out what was planned on that very special day (Isabella’s 125th birthday) on this page.
We had such a lovely morning at REAY PRIMARY SCHOOL, which began unexpectedly with Yr 2 giving a brilliant performance of the story and 5 arias from Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute for their parents.
All this before our lobster work began – singing and celebrating together.
We left behind a copy of our New Story Book for Children all about Isabella Gordon, for each child to take home and read with their family and friends.
Thanks to all the staff and volunteers and especially the Yr 2 pupils from REAY PRIMARY SCHOOL for making this last live event in our project so unforgettable.
Thanks also to Anne Roots from Oval Learning who put us together with this fantastic school.
We hope to see you all again soon!
Have a great summer holiday.
