This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), introduces students to the science behind communication technology, giving them an understanding of some of the vocabulary and concepts used. The handout includes a series of illustrations and...

Produced by ARKive, this series of activities teaches students about endangered species through the creation of an interactive museum.

The ARKive School Museum presentation looks at examples of endangered species and explains the concept of an ARKive School Museum. Students then research an endangered...

This activity, from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, concentrates on the design of buildings, their use and eco- effectiveness. Students will explore how, through applying circular economy principles, new buildings can be created that have a positive impact – buildings that do good rather than less harm.

The...

This activity, from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, introduces aspects of the circular economy through design-and-make tasks, focusing on food packaging for festivals. It addresses the circular economy principle that waste equals food. The activity provides students with the opportunity to consider mass food...

This activity, from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, follows the format of a ‘Dragon’s Den’ competition. It aims develop student’s understanding of responsible product development and how the principles of the circular economy can be applied to current business practice. Case studies of existing products are...

This design-and-make project, from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, provides hands on experience of working with materials, using CAD/CAM for design, and an opportunity for students to manufacture interesting products while addressing many circular economy concepts.

The activity explores the use of materials...

Biomimicry involves looking at nature for inspiration to solve engineering problems and to develop innovative new designs for products and architecture. This activity, from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, investigates what is meant by linear and closed loops systems and explores products that have been developed by...

This activity, for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, looks at textiles in fashion design. It provides an opportunity for students to increase their knowledge and understanding of a circular economy approach to developing textiles products and how textile companies are applying this approach to developing new products...

Worksheets from the Nuffield Foundation to support students using the Designing at Key Stage Three materials. The sheets provide several writing frameworks, for example, Writing a design brief and Evaluation against specification.

In this activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), students explore the basic principles of aerodynamics by looking at familiar products that have been designed with speed in mind and identifying features common to these products....

In this project, students investigate and compare the waterproof and breathability properties of a range of fabrics used in clothing designed for sailing. They will find out about the different fabrics used in wet weather sailing gear. In particular, how breathable waterproofs work and what advantages and...

This resource for Key Stage Three and Key Stage Four students provides some statistics about the eating habits of children in Italy and asks students to compare and contrast these with their own eating habits. Through this activity, students have to interpret charts and graphs, plan how to collect data and design a...

This package of resources by Learnbylayers provides a comprehensive introduction to 3D printing, where it is used in the wider world and why it is used to manufacture certain products. Students design an object, slice and print it and learn about the basics of 3D printing. The materials can be taught in class or...

This presentation and student activity support the teaching of the properties, types and uses of papers and boards. The presentation looks at how papers and boards are made, providing a brief scientific explanation for their structure.

This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), introduces students to the differences between analogue and digital communication. An analogue signal can be rendered useless by small amounts of interference, whereas a digital signal remains...