Big Ben is the bell
of the world's
largest chiming
four-faced clock.
The Government is
planning a 150th
birthday celebration
for Big Ben and they
want you to design
the advertising
poster!
The poster must
show how special
Big Ben is.
The hammer that
strikes Big Ben
weighs 200 kg.
In the early 1970s an 18.5mdeep underground car park
was constructed for MPs. It is
very close to Big Ben. This
caused Big Ben’s tower to
lean another 6mm!
The construction of
Westminster Station on
London Underground’s
Jubilee Line left the tower
leaning 220mm (8.66 inches)
to the north-west.
Big Ben measures
2.7 metres in
diameter and 2.2
metres in height.
It weighs 13.5
tonnes!
How do these clocks compare with Big Ben?
The Royal Liver
Building, Liverpool, has
the largest clock faces
in Britain.
Constructed: 1911
Number of faces: 6
Diameter (each): 7.6m
Minute hand length:
4.27m
Hour hand length:
2.74m
Big Ben’s
clock faces
Constructed:
1859
Diameter: 23ft
Minute hand
length: 14ft
Hour hand
length: 9ft
The Colgate clock, in New
Jersey US, is octagonal.
Constructed: 1924
Diameter: 50ft
Minute hand length:
25ft 10in
Hour hand length: 20ft
Accuracy: to one minute
Reloj mas grande del
mundo, Equador
Constructed: 2004
Diameter: 30m
Minute hand length:
14.67m
Hour hand length:
11.07m
The 24-sided World Time Clock, Berlin,
tells people the time around the world.
Constructed: 1969
No hands!
Up2d8 maths
Teachers guide
Big Ben celebrated its 150th birthday on 31st May this year.
The theme of Big Ben offers plenty of opportunity to
rehearse, develop and use and apply the skills associated
with measures including time and also gathering and
applying information from data. Click here for more
information about Big Ben.
The ideas on this spread can be adapted to suit most ages
1st spread: Happy Birthday Big Ben!
●
Discuss what the government want the children to do – what constitutes ‘special’?
Discuss how they could design the poster e.g. what information to include, what
illustrations to use. The children could choose to use some of the information on
the spread, they could also look up some more interesting facts in the internet.
●
Focus on the maths element of each aspect of Big Ben mentioned on the spread:
●
Big Ben is the bell inside the tower which is known as The Clock Tower. Discuss
the fact that it is housed inside a four faced clock. The children could construct a
cube, after exploring nets, and then make their own version of the clock. They
could also make a cuboid to put their clock onto, so making the whole tower. You
could give them specific measurements or let them experiment with their own
dimensions.
●
Ask them to discuss possible shapes for the top and then let them make a variety.
●
Ask the children to tell you other things that have a bell inside. Make a collection
of items which contain bells, and bells too for a closer look.
●
Focus on the hammer, asking the children to imagine how heavy 200kg is. Can
they think of anything else that might weigh that amount? They could research
average weights of animals and see if any compare. How many ‘average’ grown
up men would weigh the same as the hammer?
●
Focus on Big Ben itself, discussing diameter, radius and circumference. You
could do a teaching session on circles prior to this and use these ideas as a using
and applying exercise. Give them the opportunity to measure out the diameter
and using ropes make an estimated circumference. They could scale down the
measurements of the bell’s size and draw its circumference on paper. If it was
scaled down by 10 and then doubled they could use a pair of compasses to draw
an accurate circumference.
… continued on the next slide
1st spread: Happy Birthday Big Ben! continued…
●
Make a clock face the same size as Big Ben's clock face on the playground.
Predict - could all our class stand on the clock face? Use the clock face for some
time games.
●
Ask them to make paper strips that are the height of Big Ben, estimating first.
●
Let them have a go at making a plasticine model of the bell using plasticine or
similar, aiming towards scaled down dimensions (circumference and height) that
are reasonably accurate.
●
Discuss the weight of Big Ben. How many kilograms in a tonne? How many in 13.5
tonnes? How many hammers would weigh the same as the bell?
●
Explore the idea of Big Ben’s tower leaning due to the constructions of the car
park and the Jubilee Line. They could try to measure the lean that it has and
model it using interlocking cubes or cardboard towers. This could lead into an
exploration of angles. They could measure the angle of lean from their models
using a protractor.
●
Inform the children that the bell strikes first exactly on the hour. You could watch a
clip from YouTube and count the length of time it takes to strike twelve.
2nd spread: World famous clocks
Useful websites:
Colgate clock
Reloj mas grande del mundo
World time clock
Royal Liver Building clock
● Look at the four other clocks shown and ask them to share similarities and differences in
terms of such things as size and shape. Compare them to the information of the clocks
of Big Ben.
● Discuss why can’t they compare the lengths of the hands on, for example, the Colgate
Clock and the Reloj mas grande del mundo: measured in different units. Use this as an
opportunity, if appropriate, to work on conversions between imperial and metric
measures of length, the goal being to convert the lengths of the hands to both feet and
metres in order to compare them. Do this for all the clocks and then order and compare
in terms of lengths of hour hand, diameter etc. They could make these conversions
using appropriate calculation methods or use a calculator.
● You could provide the conversion and concentrate on one measure e.g. meters with the
younger children. Big Ben: diameter: 23ft (7m), minute hand: 14ft (4.3m), hour hand: 9ft
(2.7m). Colgate Clock: diameter: 50ft (15.24m), minute hand: 25ft 10in (7.9m), hour
hand: 20ft (6.1m). Reloj mas Grande: diameter: 30m (98ft 6in), minute hand: 14.67m
(48ft 1in), hour hand: 11.07m (ft). Royal Liver: diameter: 7.6m (25ft), minute hand:
4.3m (14ft), hour hand: 9ft (2.7m). N.B. metre measurements have been rounded.
● What do they notice about the diameters and hands or the Royal Liver Building clocks
and those of Big Ben?
● Focus on each clock in turn and discuss the numerical data, measuring the diameters
and lengths of the clock hands on the playground.
… continued on the next slide
2nd spread: World famous clocks. continued…
● Discuss diameter and why is there isn’t one for the World Time Clock face.
● You could ask the children to make drawings of one or more of the clocks, scaling the
measurement of the diameter down so that they can use compasses to draw the
circumferences.
● Would one (or each) of these clocks fit in your playground? Measure the playground to
find out.
● They could make a model of the World Time Clock by forming a 24-sided shape out of
card.
● Did you know that the World Time Clock was first built in the Communist era? It told the
German citizens the time in all the parts of the world they weren't allowed to go!
● Imagine each of the 24 numbers were written on a door. When the clock strikes the
hour, the door opens and out pops something appropriate to that time of day. What
should it be for each hour?
● Explore other arrangements of 24 which could be used for a clock (eg a numbered 6 by
4 grid - a light could be on in the appropriate hour box only).
● Explore the times on the four clocks shown when Big Ben shows 12 noon. Find the
countries on a globe and order the times from earliest to latest. Explain why they are in
that order.
● There are several interesting clocks that the children could research, for example the
Times Square National Debt Clock which records the amount owing by the federal
government!