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If you’ve spent any time with kids recently, you’ve probably heard the slang term “six – seven“. It seems to have no meaning, just a general playful, in with the joke type phrase. Six – Seven is often accompanied by a palm up, hands moving up and down action. The slang term 6-7 is fairly […]
This simple apple ramp STEM challenge is a brilliant, hands-on way to learn about the effect of gradient on speed and friction. We’ve made a friction ramp to test toy cars before, and this apple version is a fun twist for an autumn themed STEM activity. The ramp is covered with bubble wrap to increase […]
Have you ever wondered how fireworks fly? The science behind the flight of a firework is the same as that of a rocket, and a fantastic demonstration of Newton’s Third Law of Motion. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Just like a rocket, a firework needs a force to overcome gravity. […]
This spooky science trick uses a magnet and a paper clip to make paper ghosts seem to fly through the air. It’s a fantastic way to learn about magnets and gravity with a fun Halloween twist! You can either draw your own bats, ghosts and other Halloween images or use my FREE handy template! Flying […]
I’m excited to share a fantastic guest post from the online learning platform Brighterly today. Brighterly has hundreds of expert tutors and is great for helping kids aged 6 to 15 improve their maths and reading skills in a fun, hands-on way. For many kids, math can feel complicated and overwhelming, all numbers and zero […]
These flying cups are a great STEM challenge for any time of year. One cup acts as an elastic band launcher, and the other is launched into the air! It’s a fun way to learn about forces, motion, elasticity and gravity! When the cup to be launched pushes down on the elastic bands, they become […]
A baking soda and vinegar volcano eruption or a fizzy potion are classic childhood science experiments and a great way to introduce the concept of chemical reactions. Washing-up liquid ( dish soap ) is often used to make the foam thicker and longer-lasting, but we recently discovered that egg white is a good alternative! This […]
Have you noticed more acorns than usual this year? It feels like everywhere we go, there are paths filled with acorns and leaves. A mast year occurs when trees and shrubs produce more seeds than usual. The collective term for fruits, nuts and seeds produced by trees is called mast, hence the term mast year. […]
These jelly/jello petri dish bacteria snacks are a fun Halloween party treat or just an unusual way to learn about bacteria! A petri dish is a shallow, round dish with a loose-fitting lid used to grow bacteria in a laboratory. Microbiologists use them for experiments and investigations. In a laboratory setting, a layer of agar […]
A few years ago, I helped a local school create a space science day. We had a whole afternoon of Tim Peake and International Space Station themed activities. The idea was to take the children on a journey starting with whole class film canister rockets, followed by a docking with the ISS game, and then an […]