Science at home

Mental health

• The charity Mind offers advice for maintaining wellbeing during the coronavirus pandemic
• Unicef have a page on how teenagers can protect their mental health during the pandemic
• TrueTube is a website that provides free educational videos (some of which have accompanying lesson plans) for teaching citizenship and PSHRE. They cover topics that are science related (e.g. genetic engineering) but also cover mental health, grief, the Earth, ethics and relationships - all of which will become more important than ever over the coming months.

Physical health

• This BBC exercise at home advice page includes lots of videos and links
• The BBC are planning something (will add when available) but in the meantime I know that Joe Wicks is offering daily PE lessons for kids at 9am
• Lots of yoga / pilates etc studios are streaming classes, e.g. East of Eden is offering toddler, kids, antenatal & postnatal classes with discounts for those who can't afford the full price

Food

• Jack Monroe's recipes are low cost and often use tins / long life products. I have found her book Vegan(ish) so useful - even if you're not vegan, it gives you ways to make things when you can't get hold of your usual ingredients (e.g. you can use the liquid left over from tins of beans instead of eggs! It's amazing!!)

Motivation & planning tools

• Printable weekly Moomin schedule!
• Forest app / chrome extension helps me stay focused - you plant a tree, it grows as long as you stay focused :)
• Lots more to come...

Science activities irl and online

• Back garden / balcony / through the window / in the park / on google maps scavenger hunt from Ignite Futures (I may have added some of these for anyone who doesn't have access to a garden!)
• Explore space with Google Sky!
• Visit different habitats, national parks, interesting geological sites etc. on Google Earth or Google Maps (e.g. I searched for 'SSSI' which is short for Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and came up with lots of interesting places in the UK such as this.
• Scale 2 is a website and app that allows you to explore all sorts of things at different scales - you can zoom in or zoom out. Clicking on objects gives you some information about them, anything that is of particular interest can then be further researched!

Practical science at home / outside (with an adult or responsible older child)

• Science Sparks Early Years themed science activities
• Under 5s informal science learning directory
• British Science week activity pack, on the theme of 'our diverse planet'
• ExpeRImental online videos, resource list and certificates for science investigations to do at home
• Outdoor play activity ideas

Online, TV & apps

• Explorify short science activities
• CBeebies science
• Hopster is an app that is both a streaming service (a bit like a carefully curated netflix) featuring tv programmes and also includes games, books, music and learning activities for pre-school children. It costs £3.99 per month

Most school websites have a section telling you which topic your child is learning about at each point in the school year. You can use that as a guide to choosing activities!

Practical science at home / outside (with an adult or responsible older child)

• ExpeRImental online videos, resource list and certificates for science investigations to do at home
• Book: Mr Shaha's Recipes for Wonder - science around the kitchen table
• Wildlife Watch activity sheets - activities to do outside to learn about and help wildlife
• Engineering challenges from the James Dyson Foundation
• This year's British Science Week theme was 'our diverse planet' and the British Science Association put together lots of activity ideas for schools.
• Starters for STEM: 10 things you can do around the house to develop STEM knowledge & skills
• Guidance for teachers from CLEAPSS on practical science that is suitable to do at home

Online learning, TV & apps

• BBC bitesize
• The Planets TV series (Brian Cox)
• The Kid Should See This - awesome videos for curious minds

Projects / competitions

• The Great Bug Hunt! competition (deadline 12th June)
• Farmvention (farming meets invention!)

Printable / paper activities

• The Woodland Trust activities can be done online or printed out
• WhizzPopBang magazine
• Books on science - here is a blog post I wrote on this

Websites that could be explored independently

• The Children's university of Manchester

Note: there is a thread on the Institute of Physics 'Talk Physics' forum to support teachers and schools during this time. This includes a list of recommended resources for learning KS3 physics at home.

Practical science at home / outside

• Guidance for teachers from CLEAPSS on practical science that is suitable to do at home
• The Milo and Marvin activities from the Institute of Physics have instructions and also scientific explanations

Online learning

• BBC bitesize

Printable / paper activities

• Books on science - here is a blog post I wrote on this

Projects / competitions

• Zooniverse is a collection of citizen science projects - covering a vast range of topics. For instance you could classify galaxies through Galaxy Zoo, or assist Penguin Watch, who need your help to monitor penguins! Learning about careers
• Jobs that use science from BBC Bitesize
• Engineer stories from James Dyson Foundation

Note: there is a thread on the Institute of Physics 'Talk Physics' forum to support teachers and schools during this time.

Practical science at home / outside

• Guidance for teachers from CLEAPSS on practical science that is suitable to do at home

Printable / paper activities

• Books on science - here is a blog post I wrote on this

Projects / competitions

Online physics learning

• Isaac physics is an online platform designed to support students with developing problem solving in physics.
• Science and Maths by Primrose Kitten youtube channel
• Free Science Lessons website has revision videos, printed workbooks and downloadable workbooks
• GCSE required practical youtube channel from Malsebury Science & Tech
• GCSE Physics online website (you have to pay for some things, others are free)

Learning about careers

• Jobs that use science from BBC Bitesize
• Engineer stories from James Dyson Foundation

Note: there is a thread on the Institute of Physics 'Talk Physics' forum to support teachers and schools during this time.

Practical science at home / outside

• Guidance for teachers from CLEAPSS on practical science that is suitable to do at home

Printable activities

Printable / paper activities

• Books on science - here is a blog post I wrote on this

Projects / competitions

• Connect young founders competition

Online learning

• Isaac physics is an online platform designed to support students with developing problem solving in physics.A level physics online website (you have to pay for some things, others are free)

Learning about careers

• Jobs that use science from BBC Bitesize
• Engineer stories from James Dyson Foundation

University prep

• For students who are planning to apply to university, there are lots of free online university courses that might help them choose which course to apply for, for instance on the FutureLearn website you can learn about Moons, the discovery of the Higgs boson, atmospheric chemistry of the Earth and other planets, science writing, and starting programming with Python. Other reputable online courses can be found on Coursera and edX.

• The Institute of Physics will be offering online courses for teachers and technicians - all of which are listed on the TalkPhysics website. In the meantime, their physics education website Spark hosts lots of articles, resources and advice on teaching physics.
• The TalkPhysics website is a forum for teachers and technicians to talk about physics education, share ideas and ask for help.
• Isaac Physics have online CPD, both to support teachers to use their resources and also to develop subject and pedagogical content knowledge.
• The Royal Society of Chemistry's education website has lots of excellent blog posts and articles on chemistry education, and they also offer CPD.
• FutureLearn host online CPD, for instance on Teaching Practical Science: Physics - the full list of courses offered by STEM Learning is here.
• The IsolationEd twitter account aims to support teachers with CPD during the pandemic
• The Physics Teaching Podcast is a great way to learn from colleagues & reflect on your practice

General resources to support teachers

• I've made an example of a week's worth of distance learning tasks, trying to include a mixture of online watching & reading, on paper and practical work. I've annotated it with some thoughts on why I've done it this way and variations / additional support you might want to include.
• Blog post 'teaching in the time of Covid' includes links to lots of other useful resources
• The ASE coronavirus hub is a place to find resources for science teachers
• IOP quick online demos include videos, instructions & explanations behind them
• Sign up to access the Physics Pandemic Pedagogy google drive
• This is a searchable directory of online physics simulations collated by Helen Reynolds
• The 'teaching science in extreme circumstances' wakelet is a collection of useful resources
• Lots of teachers are sharing their resources via twitter, google drive and blogs, e.g. worksheets & revision booklets from Dr Edmunds, GCSE quizzes from @FabPhysics,
• BrainPop are offering schools free access to their excellent animations during the pandemic
• TEDEd videos are free and lots come with follow-up quizzes
• Pearson are offering some digital resources for free during this time