From: Stephen Wilson [mailto:education@benjaminfranklinhouse.

org] Sent: 23 February 2012 12:36 pm To: 'Stephen Wilson' Subject:

Free school visits to Benjamin Franklin House

Dear Sir/Madam, I would like to take this opportunity to invite your Key Stage 2 classes to visit Benjamin Franklin House this upcoming Summer term, completely free of charge. As such, I would be grateful if you could pass this email on to your School Trips coordinator, or alternatively you Science or History coordinator. Based on the London work and life of one of the main figures of the Enlightenment - Benjamin Franklin - our unique educational centre offerings include a tailored Historical Experience and a Student Science Centre with hands-on activities that are simple, structured and stimulating to capture childrens imagination, enabling them to be involved in the process of investigation. In the Student Science Centre, pupils take part in a science workshop of your choosing from the following options: y 'Discover the true nature of lightning' - Pupils experience an indoor 'lightning storm' which demonstrates Franklin's infamous kite experiment which proved that lightning is simply the effect of electricity passing through air. This workshop allows pupils to explore the concept of electrical conductors and insulators as they learn all about Franklin's invention the lightning rod. 'Inventing the Armonica' - Pupils explore the physics of sound creation and become inventors for the day as they follow in Franklin's footsteps. Franklin invented a musical instrument, the Glass Armonica, a replica of which pupils can play in the House. 'Investigation Canals' - Pupils test Franklin's observation that boats seem to travel faster down broader, deeper canals than narrower, shallower ones. In teams, pupils race boats down our makeshift canals, varying the canal depth and recording their results on a graph. By the end of the workshop, the pupils should see from their results that Franklin was right!

Benjamin Franklin House educational activities are linked to the UK national curriculum including History, Science, English, Design & Technology, citizenship and personal, social and health education (PSHE). Our main purpose is to encourage pupils to observe, think, and draw their own conclusions, simultaneously offering new perspectives on daily life in 18th century London. Our special Education day is Tuesday, and we can offer two choices of session times: 1030am to 12noon or 1pm to 230pm. We can accommodate a maximum of 30 children i.e. 1 class per session. A basic overview of our education programme can be found in the attached flyer. If you would be interested in organising a visit, please do contact me and we can discuss your options. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards,

Stephen Wilson
Education Manager Benjamin Franklin House, 36 Craven Street, London, WC2N 5NF Telephone +44(0)20 7839 2013 www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org