Stop the spread is a new STEM challenge for students aged 7 to 16. Highlighting the global issue of infectious disease students design, build and test a model of a hand washing device and produce educational materials for children in Kenya to encourage hand washing. It is accredited for the British Science...

These technical briefs focus on low cost approaches to accessing energy. This is vital to health and well being and low costs are particularly important to poorer communities in the developing world.

This resource supports student understanding of the properties and uses of Kevlar. It explores why designers might choose to use it,  some examples of products that are made from Kevlar, and suggests ways of using Kevlar in the classroom.

Nomex is a high performance fibre engineered to be able to perform in extreme conditions. This resource explores why designers might choose to use it,  some examples of products that are made from Nomex, and suggests ways of using Nomex in the...

This resource provides slides, discussion activities and experiments to help increase student understanding of composites. The composites it focuses on are glass reinforced plastic, carbon fibre, concrete, wood and textile laminates.

This resources provides students with an introduction to the topic of technical textiles. It provides an overview of what technical textiles are and why we might use them for different products. The specific classifcations of technical textiles...

This resources explores how moisture management technology is used to develop engineered products . It introduces key words such as breathability, wicking, microfibres and provides examples of products and tradenames that make use of this technical textile technology.

These teacher notes will guide you through the collection of resources created for space-inspired technical textiles. Including:

• ...

This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), makes students aware of the positives that modern communication systems give to society, and asks them to make decisions about the use of these systems for social, economic and environmental...

In this activity students explore why a water clock was the world's first programmable system. Programmable systems are by no means a modern invention. Many regard the first to be Ktesibios's water clock, which was invented approximately 2250 years ago.

The aim of this activity is that students apply what...

The Great British Space Dinner Challenge contains nine lessons:

Lesson 1: All Aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Sets the scene with a brief introduction the ISS and the Great British Space Dinner Challenge. Students develop a brochure about the ISS suitable for...

This paper from the May 2016 Using STEM Research Conference investigates the ways in which real world contexts can be used in D&T lessons, from local projects such as community gardening to global concerns such as climate change.

Author: Kay Stables

This lesson plan and classroom presentation explores some of the skills and knowledge needed to work in the field of biomechanical engineering. Combining knowledge from Biology, Design and Technology and Engineering, it asks students to investigate the design and development of a prosthetic arm. 

The...