This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Composites are made by physically combining two or more materials. Many composite materials are used to provide strength and rigidity while using thinner, lighter components. However, they...

This resource provides a cross-curricular design and technology and science project aimed at primary children. Using the context of the school class going to Greenland and forgetting all their shoes, children are asked to construct shoe soles that will insulate them as they take part in a dog-sled trip. Children...

The Fabric Fires activity for Key Stage Three students looks at how different fabrics catch fire and burn. Students are asked to first consider the commonest reasons for fires in the home. They then test and compare a fabric and a cotton wool ball, firstly when untreated and then having first soaked them in a fire...

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...

Aimed at primary level, this resource provides a design and technology project which links to work on the properties of materials and aspects of environmental geography. Children design and make a model of a pond and discover more about the work of engineers throughout the process. In the first lesson the context...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP).

Metals have been used for many thousands of years, but it was only in the 20th century that an understanding developed of how their properties could be explained in terms of their...

In this SATIS Revisited resource, students examine data, perform a risk assessment, and see how risks are sometimes reported in the media.

This unit focuses on the consumer and considers whether or not we should be concerned about any pesticide residues that may be found on fruit and vegetables. In the first...

This resource contains a series of lessons which are designed to extend students’ knowledge and understanding of plastics and plastic waste on a global scale. Linking to materials and their properties, the environment, recycling and design and technology, they contain investigations and activities aimed at both...

From The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC), this book is aimed at post-16 chemistry students but will also be useful for students following technology or vocational courses. The book helps students to first understand the basis of polymer chemistry and the plastics industry. It moves on to consider...

Produced by The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC), these activities help students to examine the recycling of materials, concentrating on polymers and the potential for the recycling of waste plastics. In doing so, students look at polymers, the properties of plastics, purifying components of a...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). ‘Sustainability’ is about using resources in a way that does not deplete them. An increased emphasis on renewable energy is part of the move to greater sustainability, but so is the idea...

In this activity from the Institution of Engineering and Technology, students investigate the properties of different categories of smart materials and decide which kinds of materials might offer the best prospects for a financial investment. Students work in teams and...