Resources by Science and Technology Facilities Council - UKRI

Mars Express

Produced by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this wall chart describes the space mission to Mars, the experiments aboard, whether there is water on Mars, Britain's Beagle2 lander and the search for life on Mars. Mars Express was the European Space Agency’s first mission to Mars. Its role is to...

Martian Death Rays

Could there be life on Mars? Perhaps so, although the high intensity of UV light means that it is unlikely to be found on the surface. The experiment demonstrates how bacteria grown on agar plates can be killed off by UV exposure. Curriculum areas covered: • Microbiology • Cell biology • Aseptic technique The video...

Materials Podcasts

Produced by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), these naked Scientist podcasts look at materials science questions in an accessible and informative way.

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Meteorite hunters

In this lesson, pupils learn about where meteorites come from, how they form and what the different classifications of meteorites are. Pupils then use this knowledge and ideas of classification to identify samples from the meteorite hunters box, and to find the real meteorites in their samples.

Curriculum...

Meteorite hunters

In this activity, students will learn about the properties of the different types of Earth rocks and the rock cycle. They will also learn the basics of meteorite hunting. They will then apply this, along with the use of a classification chart and scientific testing, to identify the samples in their meteorite hunter...

Meteorite investigators

In this lesson, students will investigate some of the meteorites and associated rocks in the loan box. They will test them for magnetism, do a visual analysis and measure their mass to calculate the densities of their items. This activity is particularly geared towards getting students to estimate the volume of the...

Meteorite scientists (11-14)

In this lesson, students will investigate some of the loan box’s meteorites and associated rocks. They will test them for magnetism and perform a visual analysis of the samples. In addition, they will make a to scale model of the samples out of plasticine and perform a displacement test to allow them to determine...

Meteorite scientists (7-11)

In this lesson, students will learn about where meteorites come from and the different types of meteorites. They will then use this knowledge to describe the rocks in the lunar loan box and try to work out what they are.

Curriculum links:

• Observing closely, using simple equipment.
• ...

Model Cells

The cell is the smallest unit of life and for many millennia single celled organisms were the only form of life on Earth. It’s this type of life that astrobiologists are looking for elsewhere in the solar system. In this activity, wallpaper paste is used to build model cells Curriculum areas covered: • Cell biology...

Molecules of Life

This resource includes a suite of games designed to promote thinking, learning and understanding as well as being enjoyable and engaging. They are all based around molecules that play key roles in life on Earth.

In the ...