Conkers are also great for making, and can be combined with other forest finds and materials to make some cute characters and autumnal wreaths. Once they are cool pierce them with a sharp tool or drill and thread a string 30cm to 60cm long through the hole and knot the bottom. There’s the option to ‘time limit’ a conker game, limiting a game to set time e.g. 5 minutes - however, it’s not necessary to limit a game One of the main benefits of clamps and vices is that they provide a secure and stable work surface. This is particularly important for contractors working on intricate projects, where even the slightest movement can cause damage to the materials.

Mobile Advertising: You can opt out of having your mobile advertising identifiers used for certain types of Interest Based Advertising, by accessing the settings on your Apple or Android mobile device and following the most recent published instructions. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing. Conkers/Horse Chestnuts. You could substitute acorns or other nuts (foraged or otherwise) if conkers aren’t readily available in your area.This section sets out our data retention policies and procedures, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal information. The Conker is the nut which is produced from the Horse Chestnut Tree ( Aesculus hippocastanum) - not to be confused with a sweet chestnut. Stampsies (or stamps) is where if a conker ends up on the floor, a player shouts ‘stampsies’ and then races to try to stamp and crush their opponents conker. The best way to make a hole in a conker is to use a sharp screw-type device. It’s important to use a screw-type method rather than trying to punch a hole in the conker, as if you try to punch a hole (for example, using a kebab skewer or bradawl) then it’s highly dangerous and your likely to put the the skewer through your hand - as the conker is so small and hard.

Orchar Park – There are a few horse chestnut trees around the perimeter of this Broughty Ferry park. Goggles and arm guard: for safety, if you don’t want to risk your eyes or forearm a pair of goggles and arm guard are key! Vices are great for tasks such as sawing, drilling, and filing. The jaws of the vice can be adjusted to securely hold the workpiece in place while you work on it. Learn about spiders, and make some conker spiders in this great Halloween activity (while avoiding using too much plastic). Resources We may disclose your personal information to any of our employees, officers, insurers, professional advisers, agents, suppliers or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.

Camperdown Park– Dundee’s biggest public park has 90 different species of trees, among them an abundance of horse chestnut trees. Scoring in conkers is very straight-forward. In every game you basically win the points of your opponent’s conker. So for example, if your conker has 2 points (i.e. a is a ‘two-er’) and your opponent’s conker has 3 points (i.e. is a ‘three-er’) then then winner’s conker will become a ‘five-er’.

The game continues until one of the player’s conkers smashes, and the player whose conker is remaining (un-smashed) wins As you’re getting close to drilling through the other side of the conker, make sure you move the fingers of the hand grasping the conker, so they’re position to let the gimlet exit without drilling your hand! Talk to them about spiders as you do the activity - are spiders insects? How many legs do they have? How many eyes? What do they eat? How do they catch their food (not all use webs etc). You may want to share some photos of spiders to talk about body parts as conker spiders aren't quite true to how a spider looks - no abdomen! We ended this week with the very important task of cleaning our big teeth we have in the forest. The children had the opportunity to draw some food on the big teeth and then wipe them off at the end. We spoke about the importance of brushing our teeth and looking after our mouths. This week we began our new adventure on Monkey Camp where the children have enjoyed exploring new areas of the forest and engaging in different activities.

Instructions

Conkers start growing from early Spring, and by mid Spring you can see white ‘conker blossom’ on Horse Chestnut trees.

If you have conkers growing near you, they are a lovely resource to link to nature through play and learning. Every time I see a fresh smooth conker I am mesmerised by the swirls and beautiful colours. We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information. Decorations! Go wild with natural materials – decorative grasses, flowers, and colourful autumn leaves all look great and are another thing to go on a hunt to find (bonus activity there!). How about little shells, pretty pebbles, or found feathers? As long as it’s not too big for their conker creations and is (relatively) clean or cleanable, anything goes! Craft materials like coloured feathers, googly eyes, paint and glitter also work well, and don’t forget fabrics, raffia, string or wool too. The earliest records of mentions of the game of conkers was in the early 19th century, with the first mention appearing in Robert Southey’s memoirs published in 1821. The game grew in popularity in the 1800’s across England. Before you disclose to us the personal information of another person, you must obtain that person's consent to both the disclosure and the processing of that personal information in accordance with the terms of this policy.

The real name for a conker is a horse chestnut - or in its latin name Aesculus hippocastanum Conker Equipment Preparing for a game of conkers is easy if you have all the right equipment - essentially the biggest challenge is how to make a hole and string a conker safely (as conkers are really hard!). Here’s a step-by-step guide to holing and stringing a conker: