- Practical Action home learning resources
Are you looking for activities that will engage your children aged 5-16 years whilst they are learning at home? We’ve pulled together our top learning at home resources that we hope will inspire you and your children during the lockdown period.
- BPS Back to School Guidance
The British Psychological Society has published new guidance to support education professionals to meet the psychological needs of children as they plan for their return to school during the Coronavirus crisis.
- The Great Exhibition at Home
Take part in an engineering challenge and create your Great Exhibition at home! Submit a 1 minute video presenting your Great Exhibition at Home, which tackles the question: How can engineering help protect the planet? Open for children aged 7-14. Closing date is 10th Spetember.
- Primary Engineer Leaders Award
How can we make life better for others and ourselves? Children, pupils and students in Early Years Settings, Primary and Secondary Schools are invited to interview an engineer, identify a problem, draw and annotate a solution to it. Closing date 10th September 2020.
- Look At Me Now campaign
It looks at the importance and impact of role models on the next generation by profiling STEM professionals. The campaign looks at what their influences were as children and how this shaped them into the individuals they are today.
- IET Home-learning resources and activities
The ever popular Faraday Challenge Day materials are ideal for using at home with your children. All activities are supported by teachers' notes, risk assessments and children's resources such as videos, presentations and guidance sheets.
- CREST Awards
CREST (CREativity in Science and Technology) is a UK-wide Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) award scheme managed by the British Science Association.
- The Squashed Tomato Challenge
Challenge your students to take on a real life problem affecting people in Nepal.
- What's in my tray?
What’s in my tray was created on social media to encourage teachers and technicians to use their Gratnells trays as part of their teaching resources.
- See Women
A collaboration between Siemens and the Girls’ School Association (GSA). TV presenter and scientist Fran Scott presents an interactive, curriculum-linked stage show to build confidence and motivate girls to consider a job using STEM subjects.
- The Greenpower Challenge
UK charity Greenpower Education Trust is inviting schools to enter the Greenpower Challenge with the aid of a bursary scheme, supported by Siemens. Closing date for the next round of bursary applications is Friday 14 February 2020.
- IOP Resources
IOPSpark is growing bank of over 2000 free, inter-linked IOP education resources and has been designed to give teachers, trainees and teacher trainers a one-stop-destination to access the best physics resources and thinking available.
- OurFuture.Energy
OurFuture.Energy is the place to find all the energy themed resources you'll need for your classroom
- Crest Awards through Practical Action STEM Challenges
We have worked with the British Science Association to ensure a number of our resources can be used to help pupils achieve a British Science Association CREST Award at different levels. Suitable for primary and secondary pupils.
- Who's responsible for gloabl goals?
This lesson activity encourages pupils to consider who is reponsible for ensuring we achieve the Global Goals (also known as the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs). Suitable for pupils 9-18 it stimulates discussion and debate, and help pupils recognise the role they themselves have to play.
- Global Goals
Practical Action have produced a range of different materials to support teachers in helping pupils understand the Global Goals and their targets; why they are important in reducing world poverty, and how pupils can take action themselves to help achieve them. Several activities for pupils aged 8-18.
- OF.E and ASE Energy Resources Project
Exploring energy resources provides students with an insight into their future, as the world’s energy mix is likely to look very different in the coming decades as we tackle the challenges of climate change a growing world population, and the need to connect over a billion people who currently don’t have access to electricity.
- OurFuture.Energy
OurFuture.Energy is an online education resource for 11-16 year olds, which aims to inform young people of the importance of energy in our daily lives, the basic science behind it and the challenges we face in balancing our energy use and supply to meet demand
- First Lego League
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is the operational partner for the FLL® competition in the UK and Ireland. FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) is a global science and technology competition with over 250,000 young people taking part each year.
- IET Faraday Challenge Days
Delivered free of charge by the IET, Faraday Challenge Days give students the opportunity to research, design and make prototype solutions to genuinely tough engineering problems. At each event teams compete to win a prize for themselves and a trophy for their school.
- Free A2 posters from IET
A range of free primary and secondary curriculum support posters, related to various aspects of electricity and power. IET also work as part of Tomorrow's Engineers and these additional engineering posters are available for download or order.
- IET Faraday DIY Challenge Days
Run your very own Challenge in school with these online DIY Faraday Challenge Days. These are packages of printable and electronic resources and guidance notes for teachers and technicians that take you through the day.
- Bloodhound SSC - Race for the Line Competition
The BLOODHOUND Project is a global Engineering Adventure, using a 1000mph world land speed record attempt to inspire the next generation to enjoy, explore and get involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Apply now for the 'Race for the line competition' - A Micro:bit Model Rocket Car Competition for England & Wales
- Practical Action Posters
A range of colourful posters freely available from Practical Action.
- Technology Justice
Questions around technology and the right to access it in today’s world and more are explored in this engaging set of resources for students aged 9-19.
- Moja Island
Evaluating renewable energy resources, Moja Island is a discussion based 1-2 hour activity which will reinforce students' understanding of renewable energy sources.
- Practical Action evaluation tools
Support your students to evaluate products and designs. The Practical Action evaluation tools give students (aged 7-19) an opportunity to analyse their products, designs or existing products.
- #techjustice in action
A series of three videos presented by Ortis Deley, technology justice is all about ensuring everyone has access to technology that is essential for life.
- Small Is Challenge
A design challenge for students aged 7 to 14. Students look at technologies from the last 100 years and invent a product that could help us lead a more sustainable future.
- Practical Action galleries
Images from Practical Action's projects around the world, helping poor people use technology to improve their lives. All images can be used by teachers and students for educational purposes.
- Who's most at risk
Who's most at risk? is an exciting role play activity that enables pupils aged 11-18 years to understand some of the key factors that place people around the world at risk from the effects of natural hazards.
- Global learning opportunities linked to the curriculum
These documents identify opportunities where teaching in a global context enriches pupils’ learning in the new science curricular for ages 7-14 and give examples of Practical Action's teaching resources for science. They are available for the England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland curricula.
- Power for the world
Downloadable resources aimed at pupils aged 7-14 working in teams as they learn about energy, energy resources and differences in energy access around the world. They go on to design and build their own wind turbine
- Out & About with Industry
An index of industrial museums in the UK
- Copper Alloys in Aquaculture
Aquaculture is a $100 billion global industry that supplies almost half the world's demand for fish and is the fastest growing animal-food producing sector worldwide. Copper alloys inherently resist biofouling, without any special treatments or additions.
- Q-files
A free online illustrated encyclopaedia for children
- Copper - Electric Motor
A basic introduction to the DC motor
- Copper and Electromagnets
Copper coils create the magnetic field in electromagnets
- Alstom hydropwer infographic
A useful downloadable infographic poster on world hydropower capacity.
- Electricity Timeline
A graphic view of the history of electricity in your own time machine
- Tomorrow's Engineers
Everything about engineering, schoool activities, events and careers in one place.
- Free teaching resources from the IET
FREE TEACHING RESOURCES - classroom activities for students aged 11-19 years with film clips, online games and quizzes.
- UK Schools Seismology Project
Information from BGS on how to get started and join in the project.
- Beat the Flood
Suitable for KS2-3 (age 7-14) pupils use their STEM skills to help them design and build a model of a flood- proof house.
- Practical Action STEM Resources
A range of different STEM challenges that can be both incorporated into your lessons or be used as the basis for an off-timetable day. Perfect for National Science and Engineering Week.
- NRICH enriching mathematics
Mathematics learning and teaching resources for all school ages
- Copper - The Friendly Metal
A cartoon story showing the surprising impact of copper in our everyday lives.
- Copper and Electricity
A detailed study of the role of copper in electrical motors, transformers, transmission through the grid. Resistance, resistivity and drift velocity are covered in detail.
- Copper Mining
A guide to the mechanics, chemistry and electrochemistry of commercial copper extraction.
- Copper Recycling and Sustainability
Copper is one of the most recyclable metals. This e-source looks at the science and environmental benefits behind recycling.
- Aerosols - How do they work? ARCHIVE
For students aged between 11 and 14 years. The aerosol can turns out to be a useful way of learning about pressure and kinetic theory. Lots of really helpful interactive graphics.
- Aerosols & Pressure ARCHIVE
For students aged between 14 and 16 years. A more advanced handling of kinetic theory and gas laws, using aerosols as a case study, with really useful interactive graphics.
- Discover Petroleum
Take a virtual tour of an oil platform and Fawley oil refinery. Find out how oil is found, extracted and processed. NEW worksheets added.
- Fawley Oil Refinery Tour
Travel round one of the largest manufacturing sites in the world to find out how crude oil is converted into fuel and oil products that drive the global economy.
- Practical Action resources
A variety of exciting and innovative resources from Practical Action support the teaching of climate change, renewable energy resources and cross- curricular topics such as sanitation and flooding