A Day in the Life of Darren Fearnley

Darren Fearnley

A few weeks ago Enabler Dan and I were fortunate to be able to go back to high school. My own high school days met with my teenage disapproval, but my mother would say to me that “High School days are the best days of your life”. At the time I took no notice of her wisdom but now, 10 years out of high school, I am beginning to look back fondly on my adolescent education, inside and out of the classroom. So I was excited that Eureka! sent me to Ravenscliffe High School as part of the Helping Hands project - not as a pupil but as a classroom assistant for the morning.

Ravenscliffe Schools is different to the school that I attended in my youth, as this is a high school for children with disabilities from the age of 11. Despite this, the school still acts as any ‘secular’ high school. As you walk in though the entrance the walls are plastered with pictures of students engaging in activities and achievements that have come to define the school and its ethos. Student artwork and photos of musicians suggested an absolute hub of creativity.

The school day started like any other - students drifted down the corridors entering their various classrooms in time for early morning registration. It was Monday; the student’s heads were in the comedown from the weekend. They were back in school and the first task the students had to kick off the week was to read the white board, which instructed them to write about what they did at the weekend. A short paragraph was written, the bell rang, and the pupils poured into the corridors, which were now built up in heavy traffic of wheelchairs and the more able-bodied students heading towards their next lesson. I faced a sea of excited questions as pupils saw my Eureka! T-shirt, some of them proudly telling me about own experiences of Eureka! But my t-shirt was nothing more than a distraction as teachers ushered the children into their next class.

The first lesson I was assisting in was in the school’s sensory room. This is a small white room which has mirrors, a ball pit and soft bedding area, with lighting and bells hanging from the ceiling. It’s a quiet and peaceful area, perfect to let imaginations go wild through exploring senses. The lesson took a while to get started as there was careful preparation needed for the students, who were more challenging than the pupils that I had come across in registration and the ones that I had spoken to in the corridors, and they needed more tending to before the lesson could begin.

And what a lesson it was! The students took an imaginary journey aboard a pirate ship setting sail to discover the wonders of the seven seas. Suddenly the white room was transformed in something from the sets of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. The students and teachers started off by singing sea shanties, banging drums, ringing bells in time as the story begin. The journey took the pupils out into the open sea (and under it too), before asking them to heave up the anchor and discover the wonders that had been pulled up with it as they clung onto their newly found treasures.

I mentioned how student artwork and photos of musicians suggested school was a hub of creativity. Well, the lessons are crafted in such a creative way to cater for students’ specific needs. No wonder the students themselves are so creative.

After the lesson, it was break time for students and teachers too. I wandered back up to the Facility Room for a cup of tea, noticing the students as they left their classroom and out into the fresh air; I caught a glimpse of a rather chaotic game of football in the 5-a-side astro turf which brought back memories of the hustle and bustle of 25-a-side football that I would play when I was at school.

After a quick cuppa and a little time to reflect on the morning’s lesson, I was bundled away into the next lesson which was Dance. I had a brief chat with the enthusiastic teacher who had warned me what to expect from some of the pupils. The students involved in this lesson were more able bodied than those in the previous lesson and were lively and full of character and really excited that somebody from Eureka! would be joining them in their lesson.

I did feel that new face in the classroom served only as a distraction to some of the pupils, so I had to join in with the dance routines despite my inability to dance thanks to my two left feet and terrible co-ordination. The room descended into a riot of bodily moves as myself and students flung arms and legs in the air and twisted and shook hips to music. There was no escaping the sight of our exaggerated dancing as there was a large mirror where all our moves and shapes were on display for the whole room to see.

Some of the boys in class didn’t seem as interested in taking part. But I remember how it felt for me as teenage boy and that the idea of freeing my body though the art of dance seemed like a silly concept. Still, other members of the class were actively engaged in creatively throwing themselves into the music and the lesson and having fun whilst doing so.

And that was my morning at Ravenscliffe high school, a place which has a great, inviting atmosphere and a pounding energy of creative and intuitive minds with students and teachers alike all working together to build a wonderful school. I hope that we continue to develop Eureka!’s relationship with the school as I feel we can each learn from one another whilst working with the aim that people with disabilities should have the same opportunity to get involved in fun playful learning experiences.

Darren Fearnley, Specialist Play Enabler

Ever needed an extra pair of hands?

Trizia Wells, Helping Hands Project Lead

Is it really only 3 months since my last blog? Helping Hands has been zooming along since then, with two more Saturday Clubs, some fantastic parent focus groups, visits to special schools, training, training and more training - and last but by no means least, the launch of Eureka!'s unique Extra Pair of Hands Service.


Extra Pair of Hands (or, as I like to call it, EPOH) is unique in the UK.  There you are, a busy parent outnumbered by your children and trying to come up with an enjoyable, playful learning activity. To make life more difficult, one little darling likes indoors stuff and another wants to let off steam outside.  Where can you go so that everyone’s happy? (including you!) That’s easy - Eureka!


But for a family with a disabled child, the next round of questions is just beginning.  Your child uses a wheelchair, and has a hearing impairment. They are highly sensitive to flashing lights – and crowds! You’re not convinced you’ll be able to get them through the door, and once you do, will they be able to play with the exhibits along with their siblings? Can they get round all the galleries? Are there changing facilities? A quiet space to go if it all gets too much? If only you could talk beforehand to someone who really knows the museum, who can answer your questions, maybe even give you a hand on the day.

Well now you can! Families book their Extra Pair of Hands visit two weeks in advance, and the EPOH Enabler (Enablers are the amazing team that work here in the museum - enabling play!) not only gets in touch to answer all those questions, but will give them a hand for two hours on the day of their visit. 


It seems such an obvious and simple idea that you might wonder what the catch is. Well, having spent March and April piloting the service with Enablers and parents, I can report that I haven’t found one yet! 


One family visited with a little boy, we’ll call him Henry, who has a severe visual impairment.  Henry has visited Eureka! a couple of times before with his sister, but they never went in together – he would only play in the outside space. He could sense a lot of activity and noise inside, but not being able to see past the highly reflective windows and doors caused him a great deal of anxiety. That meant that his sister – we’ll call her Emma - had only ever visited Eureka! with one of her parents – the other always had to stay with Henry.  Henry and Emma had never played inside Eureka! together.

Our EPOH Enabler, Becky, spoke to Henry’s mum beforehand and together they planned the visit. Becky met the family at the start of Eureka!'s yellow brick road, armed with stickers and a smile. The first 15 minutes was spent in the outside space – Becky, Henry and his sister had great fun running round the sensory garden, sniffing the herbs and following the sound of the wind chimes.  Becky built up Henry’s confidence so that he was happy then to go inside Eureka! for the first time.


Becky’s expert knowledge of the museum, our resources, the way children learn through play, and her previous conversation with Henry and Emma’s mum, meant that she could steer the family away from areas that might have caused anxiety, as well as capitalise on those the children particularly enjoyed. When she saw how much Henry liked playing in our Sound Space gallery, she brought out a set of drums for the two children to play with, which kept them thoroughly entertained for ages.


In the family’s words, they “had an absolutely brilliant time, and we’ll definitely be coming back”. Becky got a real buzz out of being able to work so closely with Henry and Emma and help the whole family enjoy their visit. In fact all the EPOH Enablers who did the pilot have requested to be first in line for families booking the service.


Other lovely things that the pilot families said:

• “Our Enabler showed us things in Eureka! we’d never seen before – we were blown away!”
• “Our EPOH gave ten times the value to a normal visit”
• “My (autistic) son can’t wait to go back again, normally he doesn’t like anywhere new”

So what was it that Becky (and Karys and Ross, our other EPOH Enablers) did to make their time at Eureka! so enjoyable? They asked questions, listened to the answers and made suggestions. Parents know their children’s needs best, but they might not know all the ways that Eureka! can offer a playful learning experience. The Enablers’ training and expertise meant they can help families plan a visit that brings the two together.


Suggestions don’t have to be costly
The Enablers offered small, practical solutions – stickers to help Henry think of Eureka! as a happy place to be; ear defenders for the autistic child who was sensitive to sound; meeting the family of a wheelchair-using child at the car to help them into the museum. Suggestions which cost nothing more than thought and time. 

Try before you buy
Families who already have an annual pass can book two EPOH visits per year, but here’s the other unique thing about the service – if you don’t have an annual pass and you’re really not sure about laying out a load of dosh to visit somewhere you’ll never go back to – you can still try out our Extra Pair of Hands service. Just ring and book your visit two weeks in advance and, on the day, your visit will be free. We are confident that you will have had such a good time that you will want to return – and then you can buy an annual pass and book your second EPOH visit! 


Word is spreading fast about Extra Pair of Hands and we’re taking bookings now. Initial feedback is very positive, and I am sure this unique service is going to be very popular with families of disabled children. I am looking forward to telling you lots of lovely EPOH stories and bringing you lots of pictures in my next blog!


Trizia Wells
Helping Hands Project Lead 


The Extra Pair of Hands Service is part of Eureka's Helping Hands Project, funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Eureka! Police Summary Report: April 2012

Updates from Eureka! Police for the month of April 2012.


Fraud at The Post Office
3.18pm on 2 April 2012
Officer in attendance: PC Fearnley
A girl of approximately four years of age was found to be impersonating a postal worker. Attempts to arrest her ended in a ‘STAMP-ede’. Boom boom!


Shoplifter in Marks and Spencer’s 
11.03am on 4 April 2012
Officer in attendance: PC Field
A two year old female was witnessed walking away from the M&S shop with a trolley full of unpaid goods. Items stolen included a synthetic potato and large plastic T-bone steak.  The suspect was returned to her Mother who got ‘well done’ by the Officer in attendance. (Steak - well done - geddit!?)


Motoring Offences - Eureka Garage
11.49am on 12 April 2012
Officer in attendance: PC Fearnley
A six year old male was identified driving a Eureka! vehicle in a wild and erratic manner. Upon questioning the male was found to not possess a valid Eureka! vehicle licence. After a brief discussion on the Highway Code the child was sentenced to two minutes community service washing cars in the Eureka! car wash.


Bank Robbery - Halifax Bank
Between 12.40pm and 12.50pm on 16 April 2012
Officers in attendance: PCs Fearnley and Field
The Eureka! Bank vault was infiltrated by an organised gang of school children on a sugar rush following their lunch break. A number of vaults were ‘compromised’ and banknotes and withdrawal forms left strewn on the floor. Officers examined CCTV footage and withdrawal forms and have identified the names of suspects. The attending Officers are ‘banking’ on swift arrests being made. Ha! Banking!


Loitering on the Bench
2pm on 22 April 2012
Officer in attendance: PC Fearnley
A man of  64 was found asleep on the bench in the Eureka! Town Square. The Officer woke the man, who explained that his grandchildren had “worn him out”. The Officer sympathised. No further action required.


Health and Safety ‘Breach’  – The Dig 
2.15pm on 24 April 2012
Officer in attendance: PC Field
A small group of 5 – 8 years old were found to be working in the Eureka! Dig without the correct safety equipment and without appropriate permits. When asked to identify their Supervisor, the group pointed to a man they referred to as “Dad”, who quickly issued his workforce with hard helmets and high visibility jackets. No further action required.


If anyone has information relating to these or any other offences at Eureka! The National Children's Museum, please email PC Fearnley or PC Field. 

A visit to the Kinder Museum, Frankfurt

Whilst on holiday in Frankfurt, Germany, I happened across the Kinder Museum Frankfurt and, not one to pass up an opportunity, I popped in to have a look at how play and education is done German style.


Both Eureka! and the Kinder Museum share much in common in terms of ethos, which their website states is: "[The museum] offers… a hands-on oriented learning experience. In all its exhibits the visitors are encouraged to play an active role".


And what really chimes with me as Eureka!'s Playwork Co-ordinator was this following statement on the museum’s website: “Touching, testing, trying out: independent thinking and an autonomous learning environment are central to the children's museum”. Absolutely! One of the things we tell our school party visits at Eureka! is to ‘get their busy fingers on’ and really explore and learn in the museum by pushing, twisting and pressing the exhibits.


Now I am particularly squeamish, and the sight of blood makes me feel a little ‘funny’, so it was rather unfortunate that I timed my visit to coincide with the ‘Blood Suckers’ theme... Through a variety of hands-on exhibits and practical exercises that visitors can carry out, I got to learn about a rogue’s gallery of skin piercing, blood sucking critters, from fleas to leeches. 


Looking at the exhibits and the experiments on offer, as well as the Early Years play area, the Kinder Museum could easily have something to occupy an age range from 0 up to early teens.


I was particularly impressed by the re-use of electrical wiring and electrical parts to make your own blood sucking parasite model. The children even got to handle wire strippers whilst making models, which added an element of learning ‘with risk’ which I know that children love.


In terms of the size of the museum, for any regular Eureka! visitor the comparable area would be that of one of the Our Global Garden galleries. The Kinder Museum does however make great use of the space it has available. As well as hands-on exhibits, such as using a crank to emulate the jaws and blood sucking apparatus of a ‘critter’, there are areas for practical experiments and comfortable reading areas - all done without feeling cluttered.


The gallery had also been cleverly themed, going from a bright and airy reception area to a darker area with red lighting and red blood cell themed draping - it was an excellent contrast and it did feel as if you were travelling down a vein or an artery. 

I enjoyed the Kinder Museum and found it interesting to see how a city centre based museum that operates very differently from Eureka! in using a single ‘rolling’ gallery concept can work. Coupled with the friendly and approachable staff, should you find yourself in Frankfurt I really would recommend a visit.


For more information, take a look at the Kinder Museum Frankfurt website.


Or for Frankfurters with an interest in seeing play and education in England, here’s the Eureka! website.


Kevin Field
Specialist Play Enabler

Eureka! inspires 'Creativity in the Classroom'

At Eureka! we are known for our commitment to making learning the fun, exciting activity that we believe it should be; whether it’s here in the museum or out in the community with one of our outreach activities/shows. Manchester Metropolitan University decided that it would be great if we could pass on some of our ideas and enthusiasm to some of their student teachers at their conference about creativity in the classroom. We agreed, and enlisted the help of Captain Sam (the Scurvy suffering pirate) and me (otherwise known as Flora Explorer) and we headed west.

Captain Sam, aka. Darren

After a brief introduction to Eureka! (Who we are and what we do) from Jenny Goodall, our Play & Learning Assistant, it was over to us. Our first section highlighted the fun that a bit of drama, song, and dance can bring to learning. Captain Sam (that was Darren Fearnley - pictured, by the way) set the scene and then it was all hands to the deck (pardon the pun) as we got the students on their feet joining in with the ‘Scurvy Song’; a swashbuckling sea shanty with a riotous dance that tells the true story of Dr Lind’s clinical trial; which succeeded in discovering the cure for scurvy. (Not gargling with sulphuric acid, as it turns out!).


Next Flora (that’s me, remember) demonstrated the effective use of multi-sensory learning as she dived into her explorer’s bag and pulled out an assortment of spices – not just the boring powdered stuff but the actual parts of the plant; Vanilla seed pods, nutmeg nuts, cinnamon bark, cloves (dried flower buds) and a whopping great piece of ginger (which is a rhizome, or underground stem, if you’re interested). The students listened to me talking about the spices and read about where they came from on little cards, but the best bit was actually touching and smelling – or maybe it was the bit where I produced a packet of ginger biscuits so they could involve their sense of taste as well!


We produced some giant laminated coins to demonstrate that even ‘sums’ can be fun if you are playing a game and then went on to play with science – with some colourful, explosive, messy and amazing demonstrations.
The students were really receptive and asked lots of questions so I am sure that at least some of the things they saw will be finding their way into classrooms in the future. I felt it was a very worthwhile trip and the university agreed, giving us the following feedback:

"I just want to thank you for your excellent workshop. The evaluations were very positive and in the final session when the students were sharing their experiences, they discussed the workshop with enthusiasm."

I love the thought of enthusiastic teachers because if teachers are having fun teaching then children will be having fun learning – and that’s the ideal.


Jill Ward, Eureka! Enabler