Teaching ScienceIdeas and help for trainee Science teachers

In the Zone is the Wellcome Trust’s major NEW initiative inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It provides a fun, free and fascinating way of using science to discover how our bodies work during sport, activity, movement and rest.

The website is aimed at both primary and secondary schools with two different sections. Both sections contain interactive games which can be used on the interactive whiteboard.

Teachers packs are available for download containing lesson plans, worksheets and ideas for science investigations.

If you are working in a UK school then keep an eye out for the In the Zone pack which is being sent to every school in the UK in Feb/March. Each box contains a teaching guide, curriculum guide, challenge cards and all of the scientific equipment you need to do the investigations on the website. Make sure your office staff know it’s coming, and not to put it in a cupboard.

You can access all the resources here :  http://www.getinthezone.org.uk

From XKCD

Discover Primary Science is a project run by the Discover Science & Engineering (DSE) awareness programme in Ireland. The programme aims to develop creativity in our children, show them how important science is to our everyday lives and more importantly how much fun it can be!

The Discover Primary Science programme is intended to be an invaluable resource for teachers and students alike by helping large numbers of young children to understand that science isn’t just about people in white coats carrying out difficult experiments. It’s about fun, discovery and adventure, and it is something which is fundamentally relevant to our everyday lives.

You can find some great science ideas and activities on their website. Go check it out: http://www.primaryscience.ie

Thanks to JPScience for the link!

Here are two great links to demonstrate the relative size of objects, from an atom up to the universe!

Scale of the Universe lets you scroll from the entire universe, down to the Solar System, a human, and then even smaller, down to sub atomic particles. It’s a great way to visualise aspects of scale. You can see it here.

Similarly the Cell Size and Scale interactive from the Genetic Science Learning Centre, University of Utah, takes you from a coffee bean down to a carbon atom.

Jaw dropping time-lapse footage from the International Space Station

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Finally, something from The Sun newspaper actually worth reading Hold Ye Front Page covers great moments in history/science told through the front pages of The Sun newspaper. A fun way of introducing a topic or sparking a discussion on the importance of these events/discoveries

Take a look here : http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/hold_ye_front_page/science/

The Young Science Investigators (YSI): Project Kit is a free interactive Science resource for 7-11 year olds from the BP Educational Service. It invites pupils to become Young Science Investigators, using the cartoon characters Beepy, Dev and Kate with a focus on science at work in the real world and scientific enquiry skills.

The kit is based around three curriculum topics : Electricity, Forces and Materials.

You need to register with the BP site to access it, but it’s free to do so.Find out more at : www.bp.com/bpes/ysiprojectkit

Here’s a fun flipper toy that you can make for use in science investigations. It’s pretty easy to make, the hardest bit is sourcing enough of the plastic credit card things. I keep an eye out for any place that gives away store or loyalty cards, and sneak a few out each time… (Thank you Costa Coffee!)

To make one toy you will need

• 2 x plastic cards (credit card sized)
• 2 x paper clips
• A rubber band
• Sellotape
• A hole punch

1. Take your two cards and using a hole punch (the same thing you’d use to make holes in A4 paper) punch a hole roughly in the middle about 1cm from the end of the card.

2. Take the two ends that don’t have a hole in, and sellotape them together with a few strips of tape.

3. Turn the cards over and sellotape the other side.

4. Take a paperclip and open it out slightly. Take the longer half and sellotape it to the card, close to the join. Make sure the other half is free of the sellotape – this is going to be the anchor point for the rubber band.

5. Repeat with the second paper clip.

6. Hook the rubber band around the first paper clip. Poke it through both holes and attach it to the second paper clip.

7. To make the flipper jump – open it right out and back on itself to really stretch the rubber band. Hold it down on a flat surface

8. When you let go. It should jump up.

Like this:

As a science investigation – pupils could look into the effects of changing the thickness of rubber band, length of rubber band, number of rubber bands, surface used etc.  Measure the height it jumps, or release it on a slight incline and measure distance travelled.

Have fun!

The Kitchen Pantry Scientist blog contains some great ideas for simple science experiments you can do with kitchen items, and as such makes them very useful for the average Primary classroom too!

There are some fun ideas – go take a look at : http://kitchenpantryscientist.com/

What happens when you drop an extended slinky spring? That’s the question this video asks. What do you think?

Here’s the answer:

And here’s an extension: