This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), looks at how the boomerang works from design and scientific principles. Students explore how aerodynamic forces affect the flight of objects, relate the design features of the boomerang to its path...

Sovon, a Dutch bird protection organisation, counts birds. The number of greylag geese is increasing. Students are asked to investigate whether this increase is worrying for the diversity of water bird species? Students explore what the concept biodiversity means, how it can be described mathematically and what are...

In this activity, from the Institution of Engineering and technology (IET), students investigate a use of electronic systems to improve health care.

They study a case where a Body Centric Antenna (BCA) increases the...

In this activity students consider the questions:

• Why is the car manufacturer interested in planting trees?
• How much pollution do cars cause?
• How can plants compensate for car pollution?
• What...

This resource provided by Siemens, aimed at primary learners, looks at how science, technology and engineering has shaped the way we live. It is divided into four activities which link to aspects of the technology, science and mathematics curriculum.

• The power of steam - The first part...

In this activity students consider the questions: Where does rain water go? How can we model the flow of rainwater in real life? What can be done to prevent flooding? When is rain dangerous? Where do floods come from? How can we reduce the damage that flooding causes? Over the last decade some parts of Europe have...

The generation of energy with solar power plants in the desert is a highly controversial issue. In this activity students consider the questions: Which arguments do the opponents and the proponents put forward? To what extent do solar power plants have the potential to contribute to meeting Europe’s energy needs?...

In this resource, produced by OPAL (Open Air Laboratories), children take part in a pond dipping session and then try to identify the different animals they find. A second activity looks at water quality and how the presence of certain species can indicate how clean the water is.

Designed for use in the...

This resource, produced by OPAL (Open Air Laboratories), aims to develop an awareness that there are different kinds of invertebrates in the environment which have different habitat requirements. It links to the topics of minibeasts, habitats and classification and is designed for use outside the classroom when...

In this activity students consider the questions: Which components of food are healthy and which are not? Why should we care about this? What are the effects of the individual components of food on the human body? What do our families eat? What are the likely effects of what we eat? How can we ensure that the...

In this activity students make a comparison of conventional and energy saving light bulbs and ask the questions: How can individuals contribute towards the needs of society? Why have traditional light bulbs been abolished by the EU? In Germany, as in many other European countries, conventional light bulbs are to be...

Tunnelworks is a series of teaching and learning resources linking mathematics and science to the Thames Tideway Tunnel project, a major new sewer that will help protect the River Thames from increasing pollution. Background to the project is given in the ...

This challenge asks teams of students to plan a major sporting event in their local area. The resource provides an opportunity for students to explore their ideas in a creative environment. Teams can define their own goals and priorities, but may want to focus on three main areas of planning an event:

•...

In this activity, students explore the questions: What are the main sources of air pollution? What is the impact of transport emissions on air pollution and the natural environment? What can we do to reduce air pollution coming from transport? To what extent can emissions be reduced if solar powered cars instead of...

This activity introduces children to simulations - modelling or acting out real-world, or maybe imaginary, situations. Linking to the teaching of space, it asks what factors need to be considered when simulating the solar system. Out of these, the children then decide what the most important things to include in...