Amazing Explorers

We’re on the trail of Percy Harrison Fawcett and Frank Browning—

two brave and adventurous explorers who were born in Torquay. The

places they visited were very different as you’ll discover on your

journey around the Explorers Gallery...

Name____________________________________________________

School____________________________________________________

Teacher__________________________________________________

Activity 2a—Percy Harrison-Fawcett’s Trunk

(in the glass case)

In this trunk and next to it are some of

the objects Percy took on his journey.

Look carefully at all the objects. Write

down 3 of them, giving a reason for why

you think he took each one.

Object Reason ____________ _________________________

____________ _________________________ ____________ _________________________

Let us begin with Percy Harrison-Fawcett, most famous for his quest through the jungles of

South America to find the mythical lost city of Z...

Walk through the Holden Gallery, find the central staircase and take the right hand turn up into the

Explorers Gallery. Stop at the top of the stairs in front of the large glass and wooden ‘chest’ on your

left, which contains Percy Harrison-Fawcett’s belongings.

Activity 1a—What do you think makes people want

to become adventurers and explorers? Discuss your

ideas with your group.

This was the object that started Fawcett’s adventure

This object was given to Percy by a friend. Look

at it closely. Does it remind you of anything

you’ve seen before?

Activity 1b—What would it take for you to want to go on an adventure? Tell a partner and then share with the rest of your group.

Activity 2b—Now talk to a partner

about what you would want to take

with you on a long adventure. Choose

just 3 and write them down, with

reasons for taking each one—just like

you did for Fawcett’s objects.

Object Reason ____________ _________________________ ____________ _________________________ ____________ _________________________

Activity 3—Find the big black and white photo of Fawcett and his son, Jack, with the horses above the video seating area. Describe what you can see in the photo with the rest of your group. What do you think the photograph can tell us about the environment they were in? Use 3 brilliant adjectives to describe what you think the environment was like: ____________________/____________________/ ____________________

Activity 4—Find the anaconda that Fawcett saw. It’s directly opposite the photo of Fawcett and Jack in the forest. Whereabouts in the forest was Fawcett and his team when he first saw the anaconda?

___________________________________________

How long was the snake?

________________ft & inches/____________m

What did Fawcett do when he saw it?

________________________________________

Activity 7a—Go to the other end of the gallery,

past the Egyptian artefacts, turn right and find the

low glass case that contains some of Fawcett’s

personal possessions. Look carefully at all the

objects and talk to the rest of your group about

what you think we can we tell about Fawcett from

looking at these objects. Are there any clues that

can tell us that he was an explorer? What are

they?

____________________/____________________

Activity 5—Look at the 6 creatures below. Only some of them can be found in South America.

Tick the ones you think Fawcett might have seen on his adventure and check with your teacher

to see if you are right.

Jaguar Gorilla Bird-eating

spider

Sloth Armadillo Kangaroo

Activity 6—Fawcett and his team faced lots of

dangers on their quest to find the lost city of Z.

Talk with a partner about what YOU think some

of the dangers were. Write down the 3 MOST

dangerous and share them with your group.

What ideas do other people have?

I think the 3 most dangerous things were:

____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________

What do you think Fawcett and his team had to do

to stay safe? Suggest 3 things:

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

Now we’re going to find out a bit about Frank Browning. Go back to where the anaconda is

and to the right of that you’ll see a penguin and a big black and white photo on the wall.

Activity 9—Describe what you can see in the big black & white photo with the rest of your group. What can it can tell us about the environment they were in?

Write down 3 brilliant adjectives to describe this

Antarctic environment:

_______________________/

____________________/____________________

Object 1_____________________________ Reason_____________________________________________

Object 2_____________________________ Reason_____________________________________________

Object 3_____________________________ Reason_____________________________________________

Activity 7b—Talk to a partner about 3

objects YOU own that you would put

in this case to explain who you are.

List the 3 objects and what you think

each one says about you.

Activity 7c—Fawcett disappeared in 1925 in the Brazilian jungle

whilst on his quest to find the mysterious city of ’Z’. Nothing was

ever heard from him again. The false teeth in the case were kept

by his wife in case his remains were ever found. Like Cinderella’s

slipper, these false teeth were made for Fawcett and would make

identifying him easier. What bit of him do you think they would

they need to find? ________________________

Fawcett’s False Teeth

Activity 8—What do you think might have happened to Fawcett that caused his

disappearance? Talk to a partner or your group about some realistic scenarios.

No being abducted by aliens!

zing explorers amazing explorers amazing explorers amazing ex

Activity 11—Talk to a partner about both explorers and the places they visited. Who would

you rather have been, Browning or Fawcett? ______________________________ Give 2 reasons why: ___________________________________________________________/ _____________________________________________________________________________

Activity 12—If you were given the opportunity to go exploring where would you choose to go?

________________________________________________

Give 2 reasons why:________________________________________________________________/

_________________________________________________________________________________

Activity 10b—Thinking of the 3 most dangerous

things, how do you think might stay safe for each

one?

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

Activity 10a—Like Fawcett and his team, Scott’s

team also faced lots of dangers on their quest to

be the first to the South Pole. Talk with a partner

about what YOU think some of the dangers were.

Write down the 3 MOST dangerous and share

them with your group. Do you all have the same

ideas?

I think the 3 most dangerous things were:

____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________