This STEMNET resource describes the background and career of STEM Ambassador Chris Robbins, a design engineer and Director of a small independent consultancy.

Chris uses maths to help companies solve problems by developing mathematical models and associated software to help select appropriate materials and...

Aerospace engineers need to take into account the heat generated when the space craft move through the atmosphere at extreme speeds, both during launch and at re-entry, as without proper thermal protection the space craft could be destroyed. Insulating blankets, foams and tiles are used to protect the spacecraft....

From Practical Action, this resource is an eco-tool used to compare the sustainability of two products or design ideas.

Produced in 1995, this publication, written by Ofsted at the request of the Department for Education, identifies some characteristics of good practice in Design and Technology at Key Stages Three and Four, and was aimed at those who are responsible for planning, organising and teaching Design and Technology in...

This paper, published by the Engineering Council in 2001, sets out the importance of design and technology education and the contribution it makes to the school curriculum. Design subjects play a role in developing innovative thinking and practices, and the skills needed in a knowledge economy. The aims of this...

Senior Design Engineer Lee helps to make buildings as energy-efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. Lee started out as an apprentice at NG Bailey, learning and applying engineering skills in work. He's now in his final year studying for a degree in building services engineering.

This resource gives students a brief overview of the different options available when building a parachute for the CanSat Competition. Students will learn about the underlying physics of parachutes and their design and how to control the speed of their CanSat. 

Learning objectives:

• Understand...

A case study from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) archives looking at how viruses and bacteria also take advantage of manmade infrastructure to travel and spread. People are not the only things to hop on and off buses and trains. The University College London Healthy Infrastructure...

This resource, from the University of Nottingham, describes a number of investigations which could be carried out in heathland habitats. Heathlands are excellent habitats to use for designing and carrying out experiments. Plants are often relatively easy to identify when compared with other habitats and...

This Core Maths activity covers the key points to consider when designing an effective questionnaire.

It is suitable for a whole-class introduction to the topic, providing ample opportunities for group discussion. The practical task enables students to design their own...

A Catalyst article about designing, building and testing a spacecraft. There are thousands of man-made satellites orbiting the Earth. Some are only a few hundred kilometres above the Earth and complete one orbit roughly every 90 minutes. Geostationary satellites are located around 40 000 kilometres from the surface...

As the number of cells in a microbial culture increases, turbidity increases. In this experiment students calculate doubling time and growth rate constant using absorbance as the measure of growth. Turbidity is caused by suspended cells in the growth medium scattering light, and may be measured using a colorimeter...

This experiment is a continuation of Determining Doubling Time. Students create a standard curve of absorbance against yeast concentration, and use this to determine the concentration of yeast produced over time.

The standard curve (dry mass, grams per litre) is generated from known concentrations of dried...

This collection of resources supports the development of practice in behaviour for learning.