Learning Resources
Can you help Prescott on his Great Clean Water Mission?
Kempton Steam Museum has received funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to develop our audiences and improve what we offer schools and families. As part of this project, we’ve worked with specialist learning consultants Muddy Publishing to create high-quality, curriculum-linked digital learning resources for Key Stages 1 and 2.
Our resources are designed to be used flexibly – in the classroom, on site at Kempton Steam Museum, or a combination of both.
Each resource pack includes:
- An engaging PowerPoint presentation linked to STEM subjects and the history of clean water
- Educator Notes to help teachers get the most from each presentation
- Learning activities, including printable worksheets and low-cost classroom tasks
Everything you need to know about each resource is on this page.
Open the sections below for for more information and download links.
Key Stage 1: The Great Clean Water Mission
Key Stage 1 PowerPoint Activity Sheets
Keywords: clean water rivers filter filtration
📖 Topic Overview: The Great Clean Water Mission
Children will think about the importance of clean water. They will understand how dirty water can be made cleaner by using filtration. They will see a science experiment in action and become more aware of their own water usage.
🎯 Curriculum Links
- Science KS1: Uses of everyday materials
- Science KS1: Animals, including humans
- Mathematics KS1: Statistics
- Mathematics KS1: Measurement
💡 Prior Learning
Children will benefit from being familiar with germs and the presence of good and bad bacteria.
Key Stage 1: Puff, Push, Power
Key Stage 1 PowerPoint Activity Sheets
Keywords: energy steam gravity
📖 Topic Overview: Puff, Push, Power
Children will begin to think about why we use engines. They will be introduced to the amazing triple-expansion steam engines at Kempton Steam Museum and how they were used to pump water uphill to a reservoir. The lesson breaks the parts of an engine down into components with fun physical action for each.
🎯 Curriculum Links
- Science KS1: Everyday materials
- Science KS1: Working scientifically
- Mathematics KS1: Measurement
- Mathematics KS1: Geometry – properties of shapes
💡 Prior Learning
Pupils should be familiar with 2D and 3D shapes, in particular cylinders.
Key Stage 2: From Cloud to Tap
Key Stage 2 PowerPoint Activity Sheets
Keywords: water cycle rivers source reservoir gravity
📖 Topic Overview: From Cloud to Tap
Children will begin to think about where their water comes from and how they make use of a clean water supply in everyday life. The topic begins with the water cycle and discusses how London’s water starts as rain in the hills, in Kemble, in the Cotswolds (the source of the River Thames).
Children will understand how we store water in reservoirs for later use. The presentation explains how the steam engines in Kempton Steam Museum were used to pump water to service reservoirs at Cricklewood.
🎯 Curriculum Links
- Science KS2: States of matter
- Geography KS2: Human and physical geography
- Geography KS2: Geographical skills and fieldwork
💡 Prior Learning
- Pupils will benefit from being familiar with water cycle terminology e.g. evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
- Pupils should be familiar with the term gravity and that gravity is a force which pulls things down.
- Pupils should be familiar with maps, contours and grid lines.
Key Stage 2: Under Pressure, Steam Powered
Key Stage 2 PowerPoint Activity Sheets
Keywords: force pressure industrial history steam condensation
📖 Topic Overview: Under Pressure, Steam Powered
This topic provides an introduction to the concept of a triple-expansion steam engine based on simplified themes connected to the two impressive examples housed at Kempton Steam Museum. The engines are very similar in design and size to the RMS Titanic’s engines. This topic links to energy efficiency and sustainability because the steam is used 3 times, as opposed to being used once in single cylinder engines.
🎯 Curriculum Links
- Science KS2: States of matter
- Science KS2: Forces
- Science KS2: Properties and changes of materials
- Mathematics KS2: Geometry – properties of shapes
- Mathematics KS2: Measurement
- Mathematics KS2: Number
- Geography KS2: Human and physical geography
- History KS2: A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066
💡 Prior Learning
- Pupils will benefit from being familiar with different types of fuels and being aware of fossil fuels and renewable energy.
- Pupils should understand what a cylinder is and what it looks like in 2D and 3D form.
- Pupils should understand the basic principles of evaporation (water changing to a gas) and condensation (a gas changing to a liquid).
- For an introduction to steam engines, please see our KS1 resource ‘Puff, Push, Power’.
Have questions about using our Learning Resources? Email museum@kemptonsteam.org
Plan your visit
Would you like to bring your class to Kempton? Our resources work brilliantly alongside a visit to see the world’s largest working triple-expansion steam engine. Email us at museum@kemptonsteam.org to enquire about a class visit.
Funder acknowledgement
Our learning resources were made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund and were developed with Muddy Publishing.
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