In this activity students will make use of the theme of new and future technologies to design a futuristic backpack. They will discuss the purpose of backpacks and why they are used. They will then produce a labelled sketch of their design idea to meet the given design brief and criteria. Students can self or peer-...

This activity, suitable for a multi-lesson sequence or a single extended session, challenges students to design and prototype a simple motion-sensing alarm. The device is intended to prevent theft or the accidental picking-up of a bag.

Motion is sensed using the accelerometer built-in to the BBC micro:bit,...

This Licence to Cook practical session is about the production of bread based products, with students making either Dinner rolls or Pesto pizza or Finnish fruit plait. There is scope for students to be creative, selecting different types of ingredients that could be combined into the dishes. The writing frames can...

In this activity learners will make use of the theme of Halloween to learn how a simple lever works and how it can be balanced. They will work through a series of examples to see whether different animals sat at each end of the broomstick will balance it or not. They will then find as many ways of balancing the...

This resource asks pupils to apply their knowledge of forces, resultant forces and the affect of forces on the motion of an object. The first task checks pupils' ability to be able to interpret force arrows to describe qualitatively the motion of a lorry and calculate the resultant force.  Pupils are then asked to...

This activity can be used to explore the relationship between shape and hydrodynamics (resistance).

Curriculum links include aerodynamics, resistance, forces, buoyancy and thrust. There are a number of useful links to...

This resource from Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is a practical, classroom activity that allows the students to make a balloon model of a disease-causing bacterium. This illustrates its basic shape and structure. Students can choose from three bacteria species...

This resource focusses on making a balloon powered car to learn about forces. Presenting pupils with the question, 'How do things move?' pupils explore aeroplanes and cars, learning about ‘thrust’. Through designing their own balloon-powered car, children will explore how they can increase and decrease thrust,...

In this activity, students consider the evidence for causal links between sugar consumption, obesity and disease. They then weigh up arguments for and against banning sugary drink sales to children.

Curriculum links include:

Key Stage Three:

*Working Scientifically: Analysis and evaluation –...

In this activity students work as researchers on a TV show and plan a report about the claim that sunbeds cause skin cancer.

Learning objectives:

*Use knowledge about UV light to explain the link between sunbeds and skin cancer.

*Understand how scientific evidence can support a claim.

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This resource uses the context of the INEOS TEAM UK America's cup base in Portsmouth for students to explore the factors surrounding, using and installing solar panels on the roof of the building.  It includes the modeling required to maximise the roof area that can be used for solar panels and the data anlysis...

This play allows children to explore biodiversity through movement and music in a fun and engaging way.  It looks at how consumer demand drives the growing of a particular type of rice in India and the consequences if a disease or pest affects the growth of rice crops.

Great for use in an assembly or in...

In this resource, students use their STEM skills to help them design and build a model of a flood- proof house. Activities to help them with their design include testing materials (for strength and absorbency) and structures. Set on a fictitious island coping with the devastating effects of flooding caused by...

This lesson or enrichment activity investigates recursive algorithms using Fibonacci series.

It begins with an engaging maths magic trick ‘how to fake a super brain’ that uses a special property of Fibonacci numbers, and proceeds to look at the Golden Ratio in nature and its ‘beautiful’ properties.

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These activities have been developed for the National HE STEM Programme to be used in conjunction with the video resources found in this collection.

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