This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). One of the most important questions facing us all is how we will use the planet’s energy resources over the coming decades. Many people believe that wind power can make a vital...

In this activity, students explore the requirements of aerodynamic design through testing simple shapes in a wind tunnel and explain the link between the test results from a wind tunnel and air resistance. The activity focuses on students acquiring an understanding of...

There is much debate about reducing greenhouse gases and how renewable energy sources might form part of the answer. Most people agree that renewable energy is a good thing, but how do people react when a wind farm is proposed to be built near them? The following...

From Practical Action, this challenge asks students to design a simple wind turbine capable of lifting a cup off the floor to bench height. The winning team will be the one producing a machine that lifts the most weight. The resource includes an instruction sheet, wind turbine images, links to videos and...

This resource focusses on making a balloon powered car to learn about forces. Presenting pupils with the question, 'How do things move?' pupils explore aeroplanes and cars, learning about ‘thrust’. Through designing their own balloon-powered car, children will explore how they can increase and decrease thrust,...

This resource aims to give students the opportunity to investigate the impact of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) on wheelchair sport. Students create a presentation that provides a justified answer to the ‘big question’, does engineering design make a difference to a wheelchair athlete's...

The 2012 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was won by Gurdon and Yamanaka, for their work on adult stem cells.

This Catalyst article explains how they discovered that a nucleus from an egg cell transplanted into a specialised cell can still develop into a fully functional organism. Yamanaka named these...

This well structured resource from the IET provides a quick and efficient way of making craft, recycled Christmas window decorations, whilst learning about the science of adhesives, the physics of positive and negative charges, and even the chemistry of bonding.

This resource can be easily adapted to...

This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), introduces students to Wi-Fi, its properties and capabilities, using a real-life scenario as the context.

Body centric communications have...

This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), is one of a series of activities which explores body centric communications. Students study data and annotate a diagram to show what electromagnetic radiation can penetrate the atmosphere. The...

Purpose: The use of sensors to measure variables in practical science activities has long been linked to the use of data loggers. This is no longer the case. Free software apps on mobile devices can link directly to one or more wireless enabled sensors. This significantly reduces cost and complexity, whilst...

This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), allows students to investigate the uses of communication technology in the modern world, making decisions about being dependent on such technology.

This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), allows students to investigate the uses of communications technology in the modern world. There is an opportunity to audit the students’ skills such as visualisation or map-reading to form a scale...

Written by Gwyneth Hughes and produced by the Association for Science Education (ASE), this resource pack looks at the role of women in science and technology. It consists of thirteen worksheets examining some of the issues around gender, science and technology.

The pack is primarily aimed at women. Its main...

From the Royal Astronomical Society, this leaflet looks at career pathways and opportunities in astronomy. It also gives case studies that illustrate the jobs held by women astronomers, including: * Astronomy lecturer and researcher * British Antarctic Survey researcher * Earth scientist * Astrophysicist