From Northamptonshire to Ireland, Giant Journeys reflects on an unforgettable school year filled with innovation, awards and thousands of smiling children.
It all started with a question…
How can we make children genuinely excited to learn?
That simple question has shaped every decision we’ve made at Giant Journeys.
As another school year draws to a close, it’s incredible to look back at just how far that question has taken us.
Quite literally.
From our home in Northamptonshire, we’ve travelled thousands of miles, worked with schools across England and Ireland, launched brand-new workshops, introduced artificial intelligence into classrooms, won awards we never imagined receiving and, perhaps most importantly, seen thousands of children leave our workshops asking even more questions than when they arrived.
For a company called Giant Journeys, it feels rather fitting.
Our Journey in Numbers
While we never set out to chase statistics, some are too exciting not to share.
This school year we’ve:
- ⭐ Reached 88 Google reviews, every single one rated 5 stars
- 🏫 Worked with schools across Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire, Hertfordshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Surrey, London, Bristol, Essex, Wolverhampton, Sheffield, Teesside and Ireland
- 🇮🇪 Delivered workshops in County Dublin, County Meath, County Wicklow and County Cork
- 🦖 Continued our hugely popular Dinosaur Visits
- 🥽 Expanded our immersive VR workshop range
- 🤖 Launched four AI-powered history characters
- 🏆 Won the Digital Champion Award from Digital Northants
- 🥈 Received Highly Commended at the NNBN Awards
- 🎓 Exhibited at Merged Futures 8 at the University of Northampton
Not bad for one school year.
Innovation has become part of our DNA
This year has probably been our biggest leap forward since Giant Journeys began.
We introduced brand-new VR experiences like:
Each allows pupils to explore environments that would otherwise be impossible to visit during a school day.
But perhaps our biggest innovation has been something completely different.
Artificial Intelligence.
Children can now talk to history
Instead of simply learning about history…
Children can now hold real conversations with it.
This year we launched four AI-powered characters:
- Taki – Stone Age Journey
- Marcus – Roman Centurion Journey
- Amina – Ancient Egypt Journey
- Tommy – World War One Journey
Each character answers pupils’ questions live while guiding them through bespoke CGI environments that we’ve built ourselves, including Roman streets, Egyptian tombs, Stone Age settlements and First World War trenches.
We didn’t just build School Workshops
We built worlds.
One of the things we’re most proud of this year has been creating our own interactive environments.
Children don’t simply watch history.
They walk through it.
Whether that’s navigating the trenches of World War One, exploring the Colosseum with Marcus, discovering the Great Pyramid with Amina or investigating prehistoric settlements alongside Taki, every environment has been designed to encourage curiosity and exploration.
Because learning sticks when children feel part of the story.
Perhaps our biggest achievement wasn’t an award…
It was being invited back.
Again.
And again.
As we looked through our bookings from the last two school years, one thing became incredibly clear.
Schools don’t just book Giant Journeys once.
They invite us back.
Schools including The Abbey Primary, Wootton Park School, Sharnbrook Primary, Eastfield Academy, Histon & Impington Brook Primary, Great Ouse Primary Academy, West Haddon Primary and many others have welcomed us back for different workshops and year groups.
To us, that’s the greatest compliment imaginable.
Although…
…there is a running joke in the office that it might actually be the biscuits we always leave behind. We’ll let you decide!
What teachers keep telling us
Rather than telling you what we think about Giant Journeys, we’d much rather let teachers do the talking.
Across 88 Google reviews, the same words appear time and time again.
“The children were buzzing.”
“One of the best educational visits we have had.”
“Even our reluctant learners were immersed.”
“The best experience ever.”
“I’ve never seen them so excited to learn.”
One teacher wrote:
“Brilliant visit! Excellent facilitator, children were engaged and learned so much. I have never seen them so excited to learn. Wonderful. One of the best educational visits we have had.”
Another shared:
“Even our reluctant learners have been immersed in a special experience that they have been extremely vocal about. We will be using this company again.”
And perhaps our favourite review wasn’t from a teacher at all.
It came from a seven-year-old.
“The best experience ever!”
We’ll happily take that.
Our dinosaur competitions just keep growing
Our free Dinosaur Visit competitions have become one of our favourite traditions.
This year we’ve once again been giving schools the chance to win unforgettable dinosaur experiences across multiple counties.
Congratulations to this year’s winners:
Northamptonshire
- Cogenhoe Primary School
- Irthlingborough Infant School
Bedfordshire
- Gothic Mede Academy
- The Vale Primary Academy
Buckinghamshire
- Buckingham Primary School
Cambridgeshire…
We’re coming for you next.
These competitions have been one of the best ways of giving something back to local schools while introducing thousands more children to science and palaeontology.
Out and about in the community
This year hasn’t just been about classrooms.
Reggie the T-Rex made a memorable appearance in Northampton Market Square as part of the celebrations surrounding the Women’s Rugby World Cup, delighting families and causing more than a few double-takes from shoppers.
We also showcased our interactive Winter Market experience, allowing visitors to explore a Victorian version of Northampton’s Market Square using a games controller.
The response was fantastic.
In fact…
You’ll be seeing much more of that project in Northamptonshire schools next year.
None of this happens without people
Although Giant Journeys often feels like dinosaurs, VR headsets and AI characters…
Behind the scenes is a fantastic team.
From Salina, who somehow keeps everything organised in the office, to Gary, Owen, Emma, Kaylee and Charlie, who have all helped deliver unforgettable experiences to thousands of children.
Every workshop is a genuine team effort.
We’re incredibly lucky to have them.
Looking ahead…
If this year has taught us anything, it’s that children are endlessly curious.
So next year we’re planning to be even more ambitious.
New AI characters and immersive experiences.
More schools, more competitions in more counties.
We’ve also got a few exciting projects that, frustratingly, we’re not quite allowed to talk about yet but watch this space!
Thank you
Finally, thank you to every teacher who trusted us.
Every child who asked an impossible question (Darren, Gary and Emma did their best with these!)
Every school that invited us back, every kind review and every biscuit accepted in the staff room.
It’s been an unforgettable journey. We genuinely can’t wait to see where the next one takes us.
