This Catalyst article presents six different images of Mercury, the planet nearest the Sun. Mercury has been visited by two probes. The most recent, Messenger, orbited the planet 4000 times in four years before crashing into its...

This podcast from the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Planet Earth collection looks at why scientists are working with the National Trust to restore the chalk grasslands around Stonehenge; how scientists are using satellites to study microscopic plants; and the etiquette of dining and bullying in...

This Teaching and Learning About the Environment pack, from the University of York Science Education Group, contains lessons on five environmental topics. All the lessons are fully supported by photocopiable student materials and accompanied by detailed teachers' notes. The lessons were developed by working groups...

This is one of the 14 Background Books published for Stage III of the Nuffield Chemistry Sample Scheme. The books were highly illustrated and designed to be attractive. This book is historical and traces the discovery of the group of elements that we now call the ‘noble gases’.

There are three parts to this...

The Great British Space Dinner Challenge contains six lessons:

Lesson 1 – All Aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This lesson sets the scene for the sequence of lessons with a brief Introduction to the ISS and the Great British Space Dinner Challenge.

Lesson 2: Fit...

This resource provides activities for children aged from 4-11,using the theme of exploring Mars as the context. With a focus on the Martian weather. The activities are:

This resource supports learning about the ExoMars rover, which will travel across the Martian surface and drill up to two metres below the surface to collect and analyse samples in the search for evidence of life. These activities support children in finding out how more about the rover and the ExoMars mission. The...

This Catalyst article uses physics to investigate the possible causes of the sinking of the Titanic. Mike Follows explains how the hull of the Titanic was constructed to be watertight, however, the strength of the rivets used on the ship were inadequate.

The article shows how the alignment of the sun, Earth...

Produced by the National Schools Observatory, this PowerPoint workshop and accompanying flash animation explains tidal activity on Earth. The workshop takes the form of a PowerPoint presentation that explains why tides exist, why there are two tides each day and covers related topics such as spring/neap tides and...

The last unit in the Geology: Structure of the Earth series, produced by Northumberland County Council, pulls together all that students have learned from Units 1 to 5, relating the different features of the Earth's structure to each other and developing further the theory of plate tectonics. The unit investigates...

Rockets are used to launch satellites, probes and even astronauts into space. A rocket launch is extremely impressive. Thousands of kilograms are burned in just a few minutes in order to provide the force that the rocket needs in order to overcome the gravity of the Earth. Rockets provide an exciting context to...

These resources from the European Space Agency climate change initiative education resource pack allow students to learn how a built up environment can lead to the urban heat island effect, so called urban hotspots. This phenomenon leads to temperature rises in cities that exceed those in surrounding rural...

This podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) looks at how the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland gave scientists an unparalleled opportunity for research, and why sediment from rivers like the Thames can act like time machines to bygone...