Fond memories are being created for staff and pupils of Lyceum Preschool while lessons are held at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo, the school’s administrator said.

The children have been housed at the facility in Flatts Village since September while their original location at Francis Patton School, one of the first two schools to transition to a parish primary school, undergoes renovations.

Inspired during a class trip to Bamz in 2023, Sarah Brown, the administrator at Lyceum, saw the potential synergy between the preschool's teaching methodology and the learning environment at the aquarium.

Ian Walker, the principal curator at Bamz, agreed that the partnership was “a perfect fit”.

“We were open-minded to the fact that education could happen anywhere,” Ms Brown said.

“That ideology is also embraced by Dr Walker and the educators at the Bermuda Zoological Society, who believe that high-quality experiential learning often takes place outside the classroom.”

A memorandum of understanding was signed between Bamz, BZS and the Department of Education, with school officially starting at the aquarium for Lyceum pupils last September.

Ms Brown said: “We’ve been welcomed with open arms by everyone, and they’ve treated us not as guests, but as part of the family.

“From a professional perspective, we’ve grown as a staff in terms of learning how to be flexible and our teachers have developed the skills required for a co-teaching partnership.”

Dr Walker added: “Having Lyceum spend this time with us has been a pleasure for all of our staff.

“The experience has shown what a valuable learning space Bamz is for Bermuda’s schools and it has given BZS educators additional opportunities to engage with this particular preschool through weekly classes.”

Ms Brown said that being co-located at Bamz has allowed Lyceum’s teachers to practise and implement the teaching methodologies that the Bermudian public school system adopted through education reform, even while their school is in transition.

The methodologies, called the Legit Pedagogical Model, have been tailored for Bermuda’s needs and promote hands-on, experiential, project-based, and inquiry-based teaching and learning methods that integrate various disciplines.

The Legit model allows teachers to adapt to individual needs by using a curriculum that explores broad themes while also encouraging pupils to develop questions based on their own interests.

The BZS said that the natural environment at Bamz, complemented by BZS educators and aquarium staff, enhanced the holistic approach.

It added: “Being surrounded by a diverse array of plants and animals means that Lyceum teachers can supplement the existing curriculum and take advantage of additional education opportunities that arise.

“For example, while learning about insects, pupils were able to observe ‘prehistoric-looking bugs’ found under a planter by one of the Bamz employees; explore the butterfly garden; participate in extra classes taught by BZS educator Kaiya Richards; and take a boat ride out to Trunk Island to learn about bees from Spencer Fields, local beekeeper and owner of Passion Fields.”

Ms Brown said: “While being in transition can be challenging for schools, the months that Lyceum is spending at Bamz ultimately benefits the students and will be an experience that everyone at Lyceum can look back on with fond memories.

“Having our students here means that our teachers get to think outside the box when designing lessons and we get to say that we have one of the most beautiful places in Bermuda as our school.”