This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). New applications for traditional fabrics are being found, but increasingly, fibres and fabrics are engineered for specific purposes. Much...

In this lesson students will develop an understanding of finishes that can be applied to timber to enhance their properties. Students will complete a finishes worksheet throughout the lesson; creating future revision notes. Lessons learnt knowledge will be tested in a series of exam style questions with provided...

Within this lesson students will develop an understanding of different finishes which can be applied to both paper and board to enhance their appearance and/or improve their function.  Students will understand the main properties and uses of paper and boards.

This resource explores the impact of globalisation on the manufacturing market. It explores the advantages and disadvantages of global product manufacture, looking at topics such as transport, sustainability, delivery, consumer rights, legislation. The presentation and worksheets combine to create a learning mat...

In this project, students compare the properties of a range of fabrics made from different fibres. The fabrics could be woven or knitted and they could be made from natural fibres such as cotton and wool or synthetic fibres such as nylon. Students should investigate physical properties, such as strength,  tear...

Dallas Campbell talks about how bras require engineering design to enable them to be both comfortable and supportive. He explains how a bra manufacturer...

Within this lesson students will learn how cellulose fibres are derived from wood and grasses and converted into paper. Students will understand the ecological issues in the manufacture and recycling of paper/board.

This lesson teaches students different uses of 3D printing and highlights the three main parts to the 3D printing process (I.e. design, slice, print).

Did you know that some of our everyday materials used on the high street were originally designed for use in space? Many of these space-inspired materials are also part of the Design and Technology (D&T) curriculum, including shape memory alloys, Kevlar, titanium, GORE-TEX and graphene to name just a few.

This collection of resources has been developed to support the teaching of modern materials. Each resource is inspired by space, providing information, experiments and discussion points for each of the modern materials and technologies.

This collection of resources has been developed to support the teaching of smart materials. Each resource is inspired by space, providing information, experiments and discussion points for each of the smart materials and technologies.

This collection of resources has been developed to support the teaching of technical textiles. Each resource is inspired by space, providing information, experiments and...

This collection of resources looks at the Life Cycle Analysis of a mobile phone. Included in this resource are the student worksheets. teacher notes and a presentation.

This is a unit of three two hour lessons to consolidate understanding of the specialised materials and mechanisms used on exploration robots. Students build or test, or build and test these to develop knowledge and evaluate them.  These resources are aimed at the 14-16 age group.  The context is focussed on the...