Enrichment resources

Meeting / interacting with scientists

• • I'm a scientist get me out of here is an online event where school students meet and interact with scientists. It’s an X Factor-style competition between scientists, where students are the judges.

  • STEM ambassador networking events are a great way to meet with potential visitors - see the calendar to find the next one. You can also request STEM ambassadors by filling in this form (needs several weeks' turnaround time).

  • Request a woman scientist is a website that helps you connect with women scientists who are keen to speak publicly about their work and visit schools.

Competitions

• • The Primary Engineer Leaders Award is a free national competition, which requires children to address the question "if you were an engineer, what would you do?" Here is an example powerpoint that you could use to introduce engineering and the competition to the children.

  • Every year the Royal Society invite schools to sign up to help judge their Young People's Book Prize. Each judging panel will be sent a set of the shortlisted books to read and then they have to submit their vote and comments.

  • CLEAPSS put on an annual practical science competition, the deadline is in July - in 2017 it was a marble run challenge and this year it's a cabbage-based challenge!

Getting involved in citizen science

• • 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!

Carrying out real scientific research

• • If you'd like to have a go at carrying out original scientific research with school pupils, take a look at the Manuka Honey Project resources for inspiration and advice.

  • Gillespie's current project involves researching the local mosquito population, and you can find out more about it on the Mission Mosquito website.

Science week

• • The British Science Association run British Science Week, which was last held between 9th - 18th March 2018. Their activity packs are full of helpful resources.

  • The charity Practical Action has put together excellent resource packs, many of which bring together science, technology and engineering.

  • The Polar Explorer programme, run by STEM Learning, also has some brilliant resource packs, which could be used for a science week.

  • Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut is a set of resources developed with NASA, which could be used as the basis for a science week. They are aimed at ages 8 - 14, but can easily be adapted.

Resource kits

• • You can BORROW THE MOON! Literally - the STFC have several school kits that they lend out - pieces of the Moon along with meteorites, helpfully comes with teaching resources. Advance booking required.

  • The James Dyson Foundation lends out an "Ideas Box" to primary schools for free.

In-school workshops / shows (£)

• • The science dome is a mobile planetarium, which can be set up in a classroom or school hall for a day. It costs around £510 + VAT, this includes around 5 shows with up to 60 children watching each one.

  • The Science Museum can come to your school with shows and workshops, it costs £600 for a day, which includes up to 4 workshops.

  • Sci-Hi Education bring aviation workshops featuring a 1/3 scale plane into schools - including one on the history of flight and another on women in aviation! Full day is £400, half day £250.

Trips

• • This spreadsheet is a crowd-sourced list of physics trips.

Science / STEM / STEAM clubs

• • This blog post is a collection of ideas about how and why to run a science / STEM / STEAM club

Lunchtime science club box

• • Fill a box with science books, toys and games, and bring it out for lunch time clubs and wet play!

  • Space enrichment box labels and list of resources.

  • Books: The Royal Society's Young Person's Book Prize shortlist, colouring books e.g. Animalium and activity books e.g. Self-Destructing Space Book

  • Magazines: Whizz Pop Bang,

  • Toys: Lottie dolls, Lego

  • Scientific equipment: pocket microscope

  • Games: Brainbox, Top Trumps, Guess Who animal game

  • STEM challenges: Destination Imagination's exploring material properties resource is full of ideas for quick challenges, perfect for a lunch time club (and most resources can be obtained in a £ shop!).

Involving parents, carers & family members

• • The Royal Institution's ExpeRimental resource: "a series of short films making it fun, easy and cheap to do science experiments at home with your children."

  • The Marvin & Milo cards from the Institute of Physics are handy for sending home as rewards, or even better use them in a club and then send them home (print them off the website or as the IoP for physical sets).

  • The James Dyson Foundation's Science Challenge cards are also a useful resource.

  • Mr Shaha's Recipes for Wonder by Alom Shaha is a book aimed at parents, to help them help their children to think like a scientist.