Birmingham Institute for Forest Research (BIFoR) has provided a free online learning platform for schools which includes curriculum linked activities, developed to support secondary school students. These activities provide the opportunity for students to join a growing community of citizen scientists who are...

This film tells the story of how DNA sequencing was used to identify the gene BRAF. Clinical researcher Ultan McDermott tells the story of how scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute discovered a specific mutation in the BRAF gene, which is found in around half of malignant melanoma cases. He...

This resource presents four Fermi problems, or back-of-the-envelope calculations, based on a video about an underwater volcano disaster.  Students are expected to develop experience of using quantitative reasoning techniques and gain an...

This resource from Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is a practical, classroom activity that allows the students to make a balloon model of a disease-causing bacterium. This illustrates its basic shape and structure. Students can choose from three bacteria species...

This resource looks at the concept of a centre of mass, for a rotating body, or barycentre, using the principals of moments.  An demonstration activity is suggested, using tennis balls secured together will string.  A video linked to this activity is performed on the International Space Station, by ESA Astronaut,...

Produced by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) as part of their 'At Work With Science' series, this resource looks at a hypothetical, but realistic, project aimed at producing a new way of treating bacterial infections. In this activity, students first consider what features are important...

This Nuffield Working with Science unit aimed to give students the experience of designing experiments, carrying them out, and evaluating the results. The unit explores the paranormal which is a field where there are many strongly held beliefs, often unsupported by...

In this lesson, students apply their knowledge of chemical kinetics, spectroscopy, and structure and bonding, to an exciting new context – the chemistry of interstellar space. Having watched an engaging animation, students work in groups to find out about the nature of...

Learning ...

This unit looks at biofuels and how these relate to the climate crisis, fossil fuels and the food industry and whether they are the future of fuels.

In this unit students consider the relationship between the growing of crops for food or for fuel and conduct independent research to write a policy brief on...

From the Integrating Mathematical Problem Solving project by Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI), this activity for post-16 students demonstrates that if a link is suspected between a risk factor and an illness, statistical methods can be used to test whether such a link exists. Topic areas covered are:...

In this biochemistry-based activity students consider why many industrial chemical reactions are being catalysed by enzymes. They find out about an important coenzyme, NADH and act in role as industrial chemists by evaluating the different ways of recycling it.

This Nuffield Working with Science unit aimed to draw on the popularity of bird watching to develop skills of observation and investigation.

Guidance for teachers and technicians appears in...

The core of this Nuffield Working with Science unit is made up of sections covering the preparation and testing of beer, the science of brewing, and the effects of alcohol consumption.

Guidance for teachers and...

In this module students will study barnacle morphology, life histories and life styles as Darwin did. He based his classification and search for a common ancestor upon his studies. Recent work using genetic and molecular evidence and scanning electron microscopy shows how some of the key difficulties in drawing the...