This Catalyst article looks at the production of rice, which is a staple food for billions of people. It describes how crop scientists have identified varieties of rice with favourable characteristics, such as flood resistance, and are using them to develop crops with increased yield. Such crops may help to...

This School Science Review article outlines the Space Academy programme led by the National Space Centre from 2008 to 2011 with the stated goals of harnessing the inspirational contexts of space and climate change to support GCSE, A-level and vocational students in their curriculum studies as well as to enhance...

A Catalyst article about the European Space Agency (ESA) which has sent the Venus Express spacecraft to explore Earth's cloudy neighbour. The purpose of the project, which is primarily to gather information about the atmosphere around Venus, is explained and is put into context with concerns about climate change on...

A Catalyst article looking at renewable energy. To tackle climate change and all the challenges imposed by the need to find alternative and reliable energy sources, there is one major resource that has remained untapped until now: wave power. This article describes the size of this resource and presents the leading...

Produced by the Wellcome Trust, the Big Picture magazine was aimed at post-16 students and explored contemporary issues within biology and medicine. Each contains accessible information, that is directly relevant to the curriculum, along with supporting resources such as stimulus materials, activity sheets and...

Democs is a series of resources produced by the new economics foundation (nef). Their aim is to promote discussion about contemporary issues. Materials contain teacher guidance and the information and structure that students need to develop ideas on difficult issues. They help students to gain confidence in their...

This collection of resources help teachers and careers advisers introduce students to the possible career opportunities in emerging green technologies. The activities help to highlight the jobs students can do to help tackle climate change and improve the environment. 

The collection includes a set of case...

These activities from the BEST project can be used with primary pupils. The diagnostic questions probe pupils' understanding of physical and chemical changes such as rusting and dissolving and how materials can be categorised using different properties. The response activities help to develop pupils' understanding...

This booklet contains a range of suggested activities and contexts for teaching about enthalpy at A level.  Curriculum links include heat transfer, enthalpy profile diagrams, exothermic, endothermic, reaction profile diagrams, enthalpy change of reaction, enthalpy change of formation, enthalpy change of combustion...

Produced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority for the 2006 changes to the science national curriculum, this guide was produced to ensure that those offering science information and guidance to learners in years 9, 10 and 11 had a single document containing accurate and up-to-date information on the full...

This is a complementary unit from the Department for Education to a suite of continuing professional development (CPD) units covering the five ‘key ideas’ at Key Stage Three (cells, interdependence, particles, forces and energy).

The Royal Institution's 2021 Christmas Lecture - Going Viral, will be broadcast on the BBC in late December. Although the specifics of the lectures are a closely guarded secret, STEM Learning have pulled together a collection of resources from the STEM Learning eLibrary that will support...

Chameleon bubbles are formed when a sodium alginate solution is dropped into a calcium chloride solution.  The bubbles are filled by an acid‐base indicator solution; so, adding the beads to acids or bases leads to colour changes inside the bubbles by diffusion and pH change. Students can learn about acids, bases,...

Produced by the Science Museum, this resource sees students working in groups to explore the issues surrounding genetic testing. Students receive a sealed secret box, that contains a chance card. Opening the box represents taking a genetic test. Students have to decide whether they would want to open the box. In...