The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC) resources put curriculum science in real-life contexts. These materials focus on the use of mixtures in the kitchen and can be used to illustrate the properties of materials. Students examine a mince-pie as a 'mixture' and compare 'real' dairy cream with...

This activity, produced by Solar Spark, uses "magic dye", a mixture of three different dye molecules. The mixture contains a yellow disperse dye, a direct blue dye and an acid red dye. When a fabric is put into the mixture, the dyes only attach to the types of fabrics they can bond well with. For example, the blue...

Produced by Solar Spark, this activity allows students to make their own plastic from vinegar and milk. Milk contains casein in a form that is soluble in water. Making the milk acidic by adding vinegar makes the casein insoluble so the milk separates into a solid and a liquid known as curds and whey. Removing the...

Learn about the cooling down of liquids and thermal insulators in this colourful comic aimed at students in Key Stage Two. Written to promote enquiry skills in a context, it focuses on making predictions before carrying out an investigation on how quickly a hot liquid...

Learn about the properties of gases in this colourful comic aimed at Key Stage Two. Written to promote scientific enquiry, it contains a linked investigation which focuses on how to plan and carry out an investigation when considering which materials are good at...

Learn about the properties of materials and changing state in this colourful comic aimed at students in Key Stage Two. Written to promote enquiry skills, it contains a linked investigation which focuses on planning and recording when finding out how to make the best...

Learn about the properties of materials in this colourful comic aimed at students in Key Stage Two. Written to promote enquiry skills in a context, it focuses on making careful observations when carrying out an investigation testing the hardness of materials.