Teaching ScienceIdeas and help for trainee Science teachers

Another good video from Veritasium to explain the phases of the moon and eclipses. Maybe stop after the people have given their explanations for the phases of the moon and ask students what they think…

(And maybe stop it yourself there too, and try and explain it, before watching the rest of the video)

And here’s some Interactives to help explain it:

Day Night Demonstrator

Manchester Childrens University

McGraw Hill

Got any other good ones? Share them in the comments below.

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.

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!

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:

NASA’s 30-year Space Transportation System (STS) program came to an end on 21st July 2011. The Space Shuttle fleet delivered the Hubble Space Telescope, the International Space Station, and dozens of satellites, space probes, crew and supplies. Two Shuttles were lost: Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003. The touchdown of Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center marked the end of an era, after 135 missions. This video shows all of them in chronological order. http://www.nature.com/spaceshuttle

Cool song for teaching about Echolocation/Sound

Thanks to Sarah Dench at Brighton Aldridge Academy for passing on the link.

I’ve said this before, but I have a theory you can teach most of the Science curriculum using clips from Mythbusters And here’s another one that would be great in a GCSE physics class.

This is part of the episode “Mythssion Control” and this experiment is called “Crash Force” – if the video vanished from YouTube in the future try searchng for that.

Basically – the scenario is this. If you have two cars driving towards each other at 50mph and they smash into each other, the crash is the equivalent of one car driving into a stationary wall at 100mph. Or is it?

What do the students think?

Play the video until about the 1 minute 50 mark. Then get the students to make their predictions and explain their reasons.

Then play the rest of the video.

Surprised?

If you want – you can also show the first half of the experiment (up to about the 7 minute mark) where they test this in small scale – it might even be something you could try in the classroom first.

A compilation from the chap who made the special effects shots for the BBC Wonders of the Universe series. Good for some awe and wonder?

A Cosmological Fantasia from BDH – Burrell Durrant Hifle on Vimeo.