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.
Your brain is the planet’s most powerful learning machine. But our current systems of education aren’t doing enough to unlock our true potential. This is what Born to Learn is all about.
Born to Learn is the first animation in a fascinating series aimed to provide easy-access to the exciting new discoveries constantly being made about how humans learn!
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.
King’s College London has launched a brand new, free CPD resource for KS3 science. Thinking Beyond the Classroom brings together three strands of King’s well-known research in science education: Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education, Assessment for Learning and Science Beyond the Classroom.
The unit is supported by ten activities fully trialled and tested in schools. The activities support and encourage observation, group work and discussion and are easily carried out in school grounds, parks and local open spaces. The CPD unit includes video-clips of the activities being used by KS3 students in an inner city location and the unit is designed to show how teaching strategies used in the classroom can be transferred to the outside.
Thinking Beyond the Classroom was developed by Melissa Glackin, a science education tutor on King’s PGCE course.
For those who don’t already know Bad Science is a book, a a guardian newspaper column and a website by Ben Goldacre, an award-winning writer and broadcaster who specialises in unpicking dodgy scientific claims made by scaremongering journalists, dodgy government reports, evil pharmaceutical corporations, PR companies and quacks. It promotes a healthy scepticism as a way of detecting powerful and effective uses of science and misuses and abuses.
Ed Walsh, Science Advisor for Cornwall Learning, has taken eight of the case studies from the book and turned them into lessons aimed at GCSE students. The lessons are designed to engage and excite students and encourage them to think for themselves.
The “Bad Science is good for school science” project is a partnership between Bad Science author Ben Goldacre, publishers Harper Collins and Cornwall Learning.
Three lesson plans are available on the website now, with more to follow, along with video resources.
The Science of Scams was a set of hoax videos produced by Channel 4 in association with the amazing Derren Brown. In total there were 7 hoax videos which appear to demonstrate paranormal phenomena. In fact they’re all based upon real scientific principles.
This hoax footage was been posted all over the internet in an attempt to find out if people would either accept it as genuine or question it in an attempt to discover the real truth. These include evidence of ghosts, telekinesis and much more.
On the Science of Scams website they show the original hoax videos, then go through the process of explaining and debunking the scams behind them.
These videos could all be used to generate discussion around Critical Thinking skills for KS3 and Ks4 and promoting healthy skepticism of what they see on the internet. Would provide interesting discussion matter if handled correctly.
In addition, 5 of the videos could link themselves to Scientific Investigation in the classroom. Students could develop experiments to test and replicate these videos.
Here’s how you might link some of the videos to the Science curriculum
Ghost on Film
This is a great way to introduce the famous Peppers Ghost experiment – Recreate with model room and a toy plus a sheet a glass. Linked to Ks3/Ks4 Mirrors and Reflection. Investigate properties of glass / mirrors. ICT Opportunity – use video camera inside the model to recreate what an observer might see.
Psychic Wheel
Linked to KS4 – Convection currents & Energy transfer abd also link to particle theory – expansion of gases and density. Students could try and build their own wheel – try with different heat sources.
Brick Breaking
Linked to forces and pressure Ks3/Ks4. The experiment could be mocked up safely using a melon instead of someone’s head. Also linked to materials (using “fake” bricks that look same as normal brick)
Chi Energy
Linked to KS4 Chemical Reactions as an example of Exothermic reaction. Investigate experiments which generate heat – test out – measure heat of reaction. Datalogging opportunities in measuring temperature changes.
Telekinesis
Linked to Magnetism and Static Electricity. Look at how static can make objects repel / attract. Interestingly “psychic” Uri Gellar does a similar thing with a magnet in a false thumb tip (videos showing this keep getting removed) Coulc look at how different materials can hold different charges – insulators such as plastics
There are two other videos which cover Psychic Readings and the Ouija Board – would leave out as not linked to “Science” as such – but could still have criticial thinking component perhaps. It may be best to leave that Ouija boards alone in a school setting just to be safe from parental complaints.
Each experiment on the sites list practical information for technicians and teachers – apparatus lists, health & safety notes, and instructions about how to set up and run each experiment. It’s aimed at those who think they’d like a bit of advice so there is quite lengthy information. The initial focus has been on GCSE but there’s also KS3 and A Level material.
Top 10 Flash Bang demos – produced by the Why Not Chem Eng site, shows 10 experiments guaranteed to capture your students interest, along with links to the instruction sheets and accompanying videos. Health and safety guidance is also provided. Make sure you read it!
Also don’t forget to check CLEAPPs for ideas, but also for more safety guidance before you do any experiment. Please make sure you do a risk assessment!
Google is looking for the brightest, best young scientists from around the world to submit interesting, creative projects that are relevant to the world today.
To help make today’s young scientists the rock stars of tomorrow, in partnership with CERN, The LEGO Group, National Geographic and Scientific American, Google is introducing the first global online science competition: the Google Science Fair. It’s open to students around the world who are between the ages of 13-18. All you need is access to a computer, the Internet and a web browser.
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
And here’s another one that would be great in a GCSE physics class.
