Day 4 (2019)
Another action packed day! A few sausages, baked beans & croissants later we set off for Bradford!
Our first stop was the Science & Media museum in Bradford. We were welcomed by our excellent guide who got everyone really excited about what they would find out and experience through the morning. Mr Shotton and Mrs Murdy conquered the bag packing challenge into our cage and off we went! There was lots to see and do at the museum but our highlight just has to be Wonderlab. It was AMAZING!!!
We all took part in a Light Show introduction which taught us lots about how light works and was also great fun! Several members enjoyed spitting (yes spitting!!) so we could see bacteria multiply and a willing volunteer was brave enough to have an endoscope shone in his mouth to show us even more lovely bacteria!!
The main part of the session was the time we had exploring many different sound and light activities including a mirror maze. These were all very hands on activities and really got us thinking. The magical tunnel got many of us problem solving – How did the light make the sounds?! Our guide was great – really enthusiastic! Four of us were awarded for excellent work by being allowed to control a planet. How amazing is that!!! Check out our photos for more info.
We rounded off our trip with playing some retro arcade games and buying some souvenirs in the gift shop.
The second activity of the day was ice skating. Everyone (including Claire!) rose to the challenge and took to the rink! Mrs Murdy and Mrs Rutherford were our support squad. It was great to see beginners grow in confidence during the time on the ice and thanks to our friendly snowmen everyone did really well. Of course we had the inevitable bumps and falls but great fun was had by all and do be assured we are all fit and well…
We once again had a very warm welcome at Bradford Grand Mosque. Bilali our guide smiled and greeted Mr Shotton like an old friend and told us we had once again brought the sunshine. It was great to know that he remembered Swansfield from last year. All the staff were incredibly impressed with behaviour as we visited different areas in the Mosque. It was amazing to hear how around 2000 people pray in the mosque on a Friday evening. It was a real privilege to be welcomed into this place of worship. The mosque sent us all home with a super goodie bag which includes snacks, stationery and a children’s information guide to the basics of the Islamic religion. A truly memorable experience!
Before we headed back to the youth hostel for an early night, we were treated to a curry buffet meal. The buffet was delicious although some of us found a few things too hot to handle! Our hosts were delightful and did as much as they possibly could to make our visit a happy one. The chef made sure everyone had the ice cream flavour of their choice and we had a magic ‘mango moment!’
Time has gone so quickly over the last four days and we are off home tomorrow…Aahh…But before then we have a very early start as we head off from Howarth to enjoy the Jorvik Museum and Dig in York before the final leg of our journey back to Swansfield. See you all tomorrow!