Ideas and Evidence in Science: The Kirkdale Cave

Curriculum Links:

KS3 & KS4 Science

A study of the Kirkdale Cave and its contents can support studies of the National Curriculum for Science which states that, as part of scientific enquiry, pupils in both Key Stages 3 and 4 should be taught about ideas and evidence in science.

In particular it can be used to support the following National Curriculum objective:

'Pupils should be taught about the ways in which scientists work today and how they worked in the past, including the roles of experimentation, evidence and creative thought in the development of scientific ideas'.

This Learning Journey encourages pupils to consider an historical scientific event - the discovery of animal bones in the Kirkdale Cave in Yorkshire in 1821.  Pupils will be given a theory to explain how the bones got into the cave, and then work with pieces of evidence which may support or conflict with their theory.