national science & engineering week taster activity pack

TasterActivity Pack Part of the British Science Association’s National Science & Engineering Week Activity Pack Series.

For further information visit www.nsew.org.uk

National Science & Engineering Week is funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

A taster activity pack from the NSEW Activity Pack Series: www.nsew.org.uk 1

This taster activity pack has been compiled for National Science & Engineering Week 2011. It is intended to show the range of activities on offer from the NSEW website, these are a potential source of ideas for school or home activities. There is a broad range of activity packs free to download on the NSEW website, including the pack for 2010 – ‘What on Earth?’ Other packs available include:

Change Champions Ticket to Ride Save Our Bees Food for Thought Just Add Water Exploring Energy Colour Chaos Vertically Challenged Einstein’s Birthday Party Pack Domestic Science Sounds like Science Sixty Second Science

Each pack contains a range of activities that can be used during NSEW, each pack has a central theme, is inline with the curriculum and is CREST accredited. CREST Star Awards All activities can count towards a CREST Star Investigator award if you would like to accredit the children’s work. For the CREST Star activities (aimed at 5-7 year olds) children discuss, solve problems and share experiences. In CREST SuperStar activities (aimed at 7-11 year olds) children work independently, discuss ideas and how to test them, solve simple problems and decide how to share results. The pack is split into CREST Star accredited and CREST SuperStar accredited activities; indicated by the logos on those pages. Older children This pack is developed for 5-11 year olds. However, for older children there is a section in activities 2-4 which gives ideas that could be used to develop the activity further. How to use this pack


Some activities in this pack includes pages for teachers to help explain the activity to the children and organiser’s notes. Make sure you read the activity pack well in advance of National Science & Engineering Week (12–21 March 2010) in order to ensure the activities can be done during that time. 1: ’60-second Science’ These activities challenge participants to measure 60 seconds in many different ways. Activity 1 Design a track to make a marble roll for exactly sixty seconds Using simple materials like egg cartons, cardboard, Plasticine, tape, etc. design and make a track for a marble to roll along. Try to make the marble roll for exactly 60 seconds. Activity 2 Reversing the sands of time – design a 60-second timer. Make a cone using acetate, stiff paper or card and tape. It needs to have a small hole at one end so that it acts as a funnel. Hang the funnel over a container that is large enough to contain the material that you are going to pour through the funnel. Use sand or another material that will move through the funnel into the container below. The challenge is to design a 60-second timer. As a group challenge, which timer is the closest to 60 seconds? Try out different materials that will flow through the funnel, experiment with funnels that have different sized holes. How does this timer compare with human estimation? You can use these timers later to time the fun-sized science activities! Activity 3 Morse code messages How long a Morse code message can be sent in just 60 seconds? Activity 4 Text messaging How long does it take to type a set message and send it? Are there any intergenerational differences? Fun-sized science activities You will need a group or groups of participants, and different science activities that can each be completed in one minute for this type of event. Having a 60 second time limit will add an element of excitement to the event. Individually, or in small teams, participants complete a circuit of science activities. Participants have one minute at each station to complete a task, gather information, or complete an investigation or experiment. They should record their findings at the end of each minute and at the conclusion solve a problem/puzzle or compare with other groups/individuals. Activity 5 Make a paper aeroplane or parachute, boomerang or a water rocket that stays in the air for 60 seconds.


Activity 6 Chromatography You will need: a collection of black pens, coffee filter paper or blotting paper, cups or beakers, water, Smarties and a dropper. Mark a large dot with each pen near the bottom of the paper (approximately 1cm diameter). There should be a little space between the bottom of the paper and the dot. Next stand the paper in a beaker or cup with a small amount of water so that the marked dots are just above the water. Watch the water soak up the paper and into the ink. What happens after 60 seconds? Now try placing a Smartie stain or ink blob in the middle of the paper. Rest the paper on top of the beaker or cup and carefully drip water on the centre of the stain/ink blob. What happens after 60 seconds? Activity 7 How much water can you move in 60 seconds? Use a set total volume of water and try different methods of transferring or transporting it. Activity 8 Take a measurement of Pi in 60 seconds using people and string! Pi (π) is equal to the circumference of a circle divided by the diameter of a circle. To investigate the value of Pi wind string round the waist of an average person seven times. If you then stretch the string out in a long line you should be able to get twenty-two similar sized people standing along it because Pi = 22/7! If participants stand shoulder to shoulder this works out quite well, or vice versa, the length of string of 22 participants goes around one waist seven times. Activity 9 Build a structure in 60 seconds. Each team receives the same information to build a structure of a set shape (e.g. cube or pyramid) using given materials in 60 seconds. Teams then combine their structures at the end to build one very big version! For example, use pieces of short wooden dowel and sticky tape to make a triangle-based pyramid and then combine the pyramids to make one large one. The British Science Association Young People’s team use spaghetti and marshmallows for this challenge! Activity 10 Balancing science Can you balance on one leg for 60 seconds? Can you balance on one leg with a bag of sugar in one hand held out sideways?


Activity 11 How many? How many balloons can you blow up? How many websites can you visit? Activity 12 Can you compose Sixty Second Science poetry? Experiment with limericks and haiku (17 syllable poems).

These activities and more can be found in ’60-second Science’, available for download on the National Science & Engineering Week website – http://www.nsew.org.uk


2. Slippery Slope Your challenge: To investigate sliding! Talk about

Have you ever slipped on a patch of ice, or a wet floor, or a banana skin?! If you had a sledge, would it be easier to pull your sledge over ice, or grass, up a hill, or

down a hill, with someone on the sledge, or with it empty? What affects how objects slide and how could you test these?

Here are some ideas to get you started

1. You have been given a test surface and some objects to slide on it. Which ones slide best and why is this?

2. As a group, can you come up with a fair test for deciding which object is the best slider? Try your test out.

3. Now choose just one of the objects and, using your fair test, investigate what happens when you make changes to the test surface. You might try rubbing on some silicone floor polish or adding a layer of another material on top of your surface or …something else.

Sharing your ideas Talk about what you found with the rest of your group.

Here are some extra things that you can do

1. Moving quickly is important in many sports and sometimes this is all to do with improving sliding. Think of as many examples as you can of sports in which it’s important to improve sliding to help you to win!

2. Sometimes it’s important for things NOT to slide – can you think of some examples? Can you find the best surface for an object of your choice not to slide?

An Engineering-Themed Activity from:


Slippery Slope ORGANISER’S NOTES What do I do?

1. Read the challenge to familiarise yourself with the activity. 2. Check the resources list. 3. Give the children time to discuss what things affects sliding? 4. In small groups, give the children a test surface (see suggestions in material list) and a

selection of objects. Can they predict which objects will slide best? Give them a short time to test out their predictions.

5. Discuss the results together, so what affects sliding – the size of object, shape, material, amount of force applied? Or…

6. As a group, try to devise a fair means of comparing how objects slide. One simple way might be to lift one end of the surface until sliding starts – can the amount of incline be simply estimated? (A ruler held up against a wall might make a useful reference point.) Another method might be to give the objects a shove (as in the game shove-halfpenny) and see how far they move (but are the ‘shoves’ all the same size?!) Is it enough to do any test just once? (Are the results identical every time?) If not just once, how many times?

7. Finish by encouraging the children in small groups to investigate different test surfaces. Background Friction is the resistance encountered when surfaces in contact slide against each other. Smooth or even surfaces produce less friction; rough or uneven surfaces create more friction. The lower the friction the more easily objects will slide. Smoothing out surfaces can help to reduce friction – polish, wax, water, grease, and soap, all these substances can be used as lubricants to fill bumps in the surfaces so that the friction is reduced. There are lots of examples in sport where we reduce friction to move faster e.g. wax on the bottom of skis, polish on bowling alleys, flowing water down swimming pool chutes, sweeping brooms in curling, grease on a bicycle chain… Sometimes it is important to hinder sliding e.g. studs on football boots, grit on roads, tyres with deep tread on vehicles, chalk on hands for rock climbing… Suggested materials

Test surface e.g. tin tray or baking tin, plastic chopping board, wooden board, piece of correx

A selection of test objects e.g. matchbox, eraser, stone, piece of wood, ice cube, 2 pence coin

Ruler Silicone furniture polish and cloth To investigate different surfaces a selection of: pieces of sand paper, felt, polystyrene sheet,

sugar paper, shiny card, cling film

For older children Have a look at the soles on the bottom of everyone’s shoes. How do the designs differ? How would you go about designing and testing a new sole for an ‘ultra-grippy’ walking shoe? How could you model and test these designs? These activities and more can be found in ‘Ticket to Ride’, available for download on the National Science & Engineering Week website – http://www.nsew.org.uk


3. What on Earth... is soil? One of the most important natural resources on the Earth is soil. Most life on Earth depends upon the soil for food as plants obtain nutrients from it and many animals then eat the plants. Farmers have a very important job growing the food for the world. If we did not have farmers, we would have to grow all of our own food. Farmers must take good care of soil so that they can grow enough food to feed everyone. To do this, farmers need to know what type of soil they have. Did you know there are different soil types? Imagine you are a farmer. Your important challenge is to find out the type of soil you have been given. How are you going to find this out? What tests do you need to do? (Your teacher will give you some hints and tips) Talk about: 1. What different types of soil can you think of? 2. What makes them different from each other? Think about the following characteristics:

a. How do different soil types feel? Slimy and sticky or dry and grainy? (Texture) b. Is it lumpy or smooth? Are there lots of different sized bits? (Particle size) c. Are all soils the same colour? d. If you pour water on it how fast does the water disappear through the soil? (Porosity)

3. Test each of these differences and from the results find out your soil type. Your teacher/supervisor will help you.

Here are some ideas to get you started: Your teacher/supervisor will help you collect some sample soils for you to test and compare. Now you can start to test your soils. Sharing your ideas: What results did you get? What types of soil do you think you have?

Here are some extra things that you can do In addition to type, soil has another characteristic called pH. Have you heard of this before? This is a measurement of whether something is acid, neutral or alkaline. Farmers need to know the pH of their soil in order to make sure their crops are healthy. How do farmers test pH? Do you have any ideas? Your teacher/supervisor can help show you.


What on Earth is… Soil ORGANISER’S NOTES Ideal method: Make the children think about different soils. What is different about them? Why do they think soil is important? Do they understand why farmers need to test their soils? Try and get them to brainstorm about different soil types. Have different soil types collected and in pots to help prompt them. For example they may immediately see the difference between sandy and peaty soils but not clearly see differences such as porosity, texture, particle and colour. You could choose to introduce these words by demonstrating what they mean. Once they understand how different soils vary get them to brainstorm how they could test what soil they have in their ‘mystery pot’. This should be a pot of soil you have hidden until now. From what they have learnt can they identify the soil in this pot? Get them to brainstorm ideas about how to test this soil and give them tips. The ideal method of testing each characteristic is below: Porosity: Water an area of soil with a watering can. Surface water disappears quickly on sandy or gravelly soils, but remains on the surface for longer on clay soils. Texture: Take a handful of soil and gently squeeze. If it feels slimy and sticky when you release the pressure the lump stays in shape - it is clay soil. Sandy or gravelly soils feel gritty and the lump crumbles apart. Peaty soil feels spongy. Loamy and silt feel smooth and retain their shape for longer than sandy soil, but not as rigidly as clay. Particle size: Add half a handful of soil to a large glass jar. Fill with water. Stir well. Leave to settle for two hours. Sandy/gravelly: Most of the sandy particles sink and form a layer at the bottom and the water looks fairly clear. Clay/silty - the water is cloudy with a thin layer of particles at the bottom. The tiny clay particles take ages to settle. Peaty - lots of bits floating on the top, the water is a bit cloudy and there’s a small amount of sediment sitting at the bottom. Chalky: there are white gritty fragments at the bottom and the water is pale greyish in colour. Loamy: fairly clear water with a layered sedimentation at the bottom with finest particles at the top. Colour: The colour of the soil can help suggest the soil type. For example very sandy soils are likely to be lighter in colour, chalky soils will have a grey appearance or have visual flecks of white where the chalk is visible, peaty soils with a high percentage of organic matter will be very dark. However alone this is not enough to conclude your soil type as the colour mostly depends on the amount of organic matter in the soil. Example method for testing acidity: You may want to extend this activity and introduce the children to pH. To do this you may want to show them how to test the pH of their mystery pot. Do they know what pH is?


Usually if your area has soft water you have acid soil, if you have hard water (there is always scum around the bath) the local soil is alkaline. However, to be sure you need a soil test kit (available cheaply from all good garden centres) some de-ionised water and a soil sample. 1) Dig several 'soil cores' from various beds 2) Discard the top 3cm of soil then mix it all together 3) Dry on a radiator 4) Follow the test kit instructions Advanced background information: Soil is made up of four parts: air, water, minerals, and organic material. Air and water provide nutrients to plants so they can make food for themselves. Organic matter, also known as humus, is made of plant and animal remains in various stages of decay. Minerals are the clay, sand, and silt particles. The mineral content determines the soil type.

Sandy soil has mostly sand and no organic matter. Sand is the largest of the soil particles, feels gritty, is the heaviest, and allows water and air to move easily through it.

Clay soil has mostly clay, a little organic matter, and sand. Clay particles are very fine and are the smallest of the three soil particles. Clay is sticky when wet and hard and brick-like when dry.

Silt is the soil particle that falls between sand and clay in texture. It is considered a medium-sized soil particle.

In addition to type, soil has another characteristic called pH. This is a measurement of whether it is acid, neutral or alkaline. The normal pH of British soils is between 4.0-8.5. Acid or 'ericaceous' soils have a pH between 1-7, for example peaty soils. Neutral soils have a pH of exactly 7, for example some clay soils. Alkaline or 'limey' soils have a pH between 7-14, for example chalk soil. The pH of soil has a huge influence on what plants will grow. Most plants prefer a pH range of 6.5-7. This is the point where nutrients are most easily available. Some need acid soil, for example most rhododendrons, or an alkaline soil, for example saxifrages. Suggested materials:

1) Different soil samples 2) Water 3) Soil pH test kit (optional)

Developing the activity: You may want to develop this activity further. There are many resources for schools out there connected with planting, organic farming and healthy food. For example;

1) The Woodland Trust is giving away a free pack of 30 native trees (enough for a small grove or short length of hedge) to all schools which come with guidance on planting and maintenance plus curriculum-linked activities. There is more information on their website www.treeforall.org.uk

2) The Department for Children, Schools and Families has a Growing Schools website which has been designed to support teachers in using the "outdoor classroom" as a resource across the curriculum for pupils of all ages. www.growingschools.org.uk.


3) Think Food and Farming is the exciting legacy project building on the successes of the Year of Food and Farming. It will promote healthy living by offering children and young people direct experience of the countryside, farming and food through growing and cooking activities, and visits to farms. There is a large amount of information and links to resources on this website. www.thinkfoodandfarming.org.uk

These activities and more can be found in ‘What on Earth?’, available for download on the National Science & Engineering Week website – http://www.nsew.org.uk


4. Ripen it! The next thing you could investigate on your science mission is another change to do with food! Have you ever noticed that food such as fruit bought from the shop will ripen over time? It may even go rotten and start to smell if you forget about it. Why does this happen? Your challenge: Can you test what will affect how quickly a banana will ripen? Do you think you can slow down or speed up how quickly the banana changes? Talk about: 1. How can you tell an unripe banana from a ripe or a rotten one? 2. Can you slow down how quickly a banana ripens or goes rotten? What might help? 3. What different types of packaging are there? How could you test which might be best for a

banana? Here are some ideas to get you started: 1. What types packaging are you going to test? You can test other things too to see if they help. 2. How long will you need to do your experiment? (You may need to leave the bananas for a

week in order to see the effects of your experiment). 3. When and how and what will you measure? Think about colour, texture, taste and smell. 4. How will you make sure your tests are fair? Now you can start investigating banana ripening. Get your materials ready and start your experiment. Sharing your ideas: After the experiment what did you find? What’s the best way to store bananas – and stop the rot?

Here are some extra things that you can do 1. What about other fruit? 2. Will a very ripe banana affect how quickly other bananas in the same bag ripen?


Ripen it! ORGANISER’S NOTES What do I do? 1. Familiarise yourself with the activity 2. Check that you can leave bananas to ripen over the period of a week or a few days and that

the children will be able to come back and test banana ripeness. 3. Set the scene by discussing fruit and especially banana ripening. For example - have they

noticed all the types of packaging used in supermarkets? 4. Give the children time to discuss their ideas about 1) what changes happen when a banana

ripens 2) how long it usually takes 3) what might affect ripening 4) how they could test what type of packaging might be best for a banana

5. Gather everyone’s ideas and discuss how you are going to test these and how you will record the results (you will have to leave the bananas a couple of days or a week to see the results).

6. Now let the children try out their ideas and see what they come up with 7. When they have set up their experiment make sure the bananas are left in a suitable place

(temperature and moisture will affect the results as well). 8. When the children come back and collect the results talk about what they have found. The

children could create displays if you want (especially if they are able to take pictures). Background information 1. As fruit ripens, it produces a gas called Ethylene. Ethylene is a gas that naturally ripens fruit, but

it can also over ripen fruit and cause spoilage. 2. If the fruit is not packaged properly, then the Ethylene gas can build up in the package leading

to rotten fruit. 3. Packaging is not only designed to prevent damage to the fruit but also to prevent over

ripening. An agricultural scientist, food scientist, packaging scientist, and material scientist all work together to design the right packaging.

4. Ripening fruit "breathes,” or respires. That means that it takes up Oxygen and gives off Carbon dioxide. Oxygen is essential for the chemical reactions involved in ripening.

5. Ripening can be measured in a number of ways, including taste, colour, texture, smell and firmness. Pictures could be taken of the colour of the fruit if the children want to display their work later.

6. Paper bags tend to keep in ethylene, but they are porous enough to allow oxygen (and ethylene) to pass through. Bananas therefore tend to ripen quicker in a paper bag.

9. It’s recommended to leave the fruit alone for four or five days to ripen. Do not open any of the bags during that period. On the fifth or sixth day, examine all the fruit.

Suggested materials per group:

1. 7 very green bananas 2. 1 very ripe banana 3. brown paper bags 4. "zipper-lock” plastic bag 5. plastic wrap 6. a marker


For older children:

You could look into what is actually happening to the fruit when it ripens and then eventually goes rotten. Think about this on a molecular level – what’s could be happening to the bananas cells? At a cellular level – ripening is associated with an increase in the activities of enzymes which breakdown the cell wall. You can see in the picture below that the cell wall of plant cells is usually thick and strong but in fruit that is ripe the walls have been broken down. When it is rotten the cells have been broken down even more. Why does fruit ripen – what is the advantage for the fruit tree?

Unripe Ripe Rotten


Thank you for using the ‘NSEW Taster Activity Pack’. We hope you enjoyed the activities within this pack and continue onto our website to find more free activity to help your science week go with a bang! To help us to continue to provide new activity packs, we’d like to ask you to tell us a little about what you did for National Science & Engineering Week. Please take a few minutes to fill in this form. If you used this activity pack for NSEW, send in this completed form and we will send you a National Science & Engineering Week Certificate. Organisation: Address: Postcode: Tel: Fax: Email: Which dates did you do National Science & Engineering Week activities on? What did you do? Please make any comments about this activity pack, National Science & Engineering Week and/or other possible topics for future packs.

Tick this box to be added to our mailing list. This will keep you up to date with NSEW, including grants, resources and activities. Your contact details will not be passed onto third parties.

Please return to: Fax: 0870 770 7102 Post: National Science & Engineering Week FREEPOST LON 20848 London SW7 5BR

national science & engineering week taster activity pack

Documents