In this Future of Flight challenge pupils explore flight in nature investigating biomimicry and flight technology. They consider what the forces of flight are and investigate forces with gliders and through using a wind tunnel.

Teachers' introductory video...

Gelli Baff, a crystalline powder, has been dumped into a bathtub filled with water. How can you force the hydrogel to go down the plughole in order to drain the bathtub? 

In this investigation, students learn about swelling reactions, balanced reactions, and polymerisation. Students should be able to...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). There are a wide variety of materials that have unusual and interesting flow properties, and which find applications in industry and consumer...

In the context of finding out why we grit roads in winter, students are shown what happens when salt is sprinkled onto ice lollies.  They are then asked If they believe that the temperature of the ice lolly with the salt will increase or decrease, causing it to melt faster. Students then investigate some...

This Salters’ Science extension module for biology deals with the breeding, cultivation and harvesting of plants as crops. Experiments on soil structure and nutrient content are matched with data about major crops to show why different crops require different conditions...

This Salters’ Chemistry Course unit from the University of York Science Education Group covered:
* The use of relative atomic masses in determining the masses of reactants and products.
* The manufacture, properties and uses of fertilizers.
* Soil...

This rich task from Cre8ate introduces students to a Latin Square, where each row and each column has all the variables once and only once. Students may be aware of Sudoku puzzles which are based on this scenario. They are challenged to find 12 different designs which...

Plant gums are often used in the food industry as thickening and stabilising agents. Gums are water soluble polysaccharides, such as starch and cellulose. In this activity, students investigate what happens to the texture when different polysaccharides are mixed.

When solutions of some polysaccharides are...

This hand eye co-ordination activity from Cre8ate maths involves the collection of real data, hypothesis testing and scatter graphs. The extensions may also include the use of a variety of averages. Health professionals often have to assess a wide variety of attributes including hand eye co-ordination. This topic...

Eight practicals produced by the Institute of Physics (IOP) that help students to understand energy transfer and transformation and the use of energy in its various forms.

Accompanied by the Teacher and technicians'...

This Cre8ate maths flight testing activity requires students to work in groups and, having made their own helicopter seed model from a template, record the landing positions and distances from a central point when the model is dropped from a standard height of one metre...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Thermocolour film is a fascinating material that changes colour depending on the temperature. It allows a very wide range of phenomena to be...

The Propagator project introduces students to hydraulic systems and their inner workings. Using a...

A Catalyst article about hydrogels. Soft contact lenses, disposable nappies, hair gel and plant water crystals all make use of substances called hydrogels. These are polymers which have the unusual property of being able to absorb huge quantities of water. The article looks at the structure of hydrogels and their...

These resources were developed by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme and the Centre for Science Education at Sheffield Hallam University in order to demonstrate new ways that ICT can be used to enhance practical work in science. Research scientists use computer technology in both the collection and the...