Free education packs for schools from the Millennium Experience Did you know the Millennium Dome could contain more than 18,000 double-decker buses? Handy, considering the number of visitors expected to descend on Greenwich come the New Year.

The Dome, designed by Richard Rogers, is the largest structure of its kind in the world, and makes an excellent subject for school projects.

To help, these three packs have been sent to every school in the United Kingdom.

Making a Difference in Education offers a series of guided curriculum projects for each of the key stages, incorporating many cross-curricular links. There are maps, plans and a poster containing all sorts of fascinating information.

The second pack deals with the construction of this massive structure. It includes a dome template, which can be used to create a model; and a poster that shows how Rogers’ original sketch was developed.

The third pack homes in on art and design, with a glossary of vocabulary, worksheets, logos, story boards and suggestions on designing a website. It also has interesting projects on environmental sculpture and individual items such as a millennium watch.

A fourth pack on the Dome and mathematics will be sent to schools later this autumn.

These are well-designed , stimulating and informative resources with some sound starting points for work. A visit to the Dome would no doubt be more fun, and probably more stimulating, but would undoubtedly be far more costly.

Martin Child