Do children realise what a huge industry is involved in both producing and disposing of plastic?

Children are surrounded by plastic; at home, school, their packed lunch...
How much thought do they give to this excess - not a lot I imagine!

But both the production of plastics - the petrochemical industry - and the relatively recent business of recycling/disposal of plastic is worth talking about with them.

Working with plastics is a great way to open up discussion - so look at Plastics Playtime for some great activities.

Children test and classify plastics before investigating their thermal insulation and shock resistance properties. The children then design, make and test a package for a fragile object, using plastics and other materials.
These activities are aimed at 8-10 year olds but can easily be adapted for other primary ages.

Is 'kitchen' science a good route to 'real' science for primary age children?

Setting science in a meaningful context is part of the tool kit for primary teachers.
Unless children can relate classroom activities to their own experiences attention can wander and not much gets understood. So using kitchen science is a great way in.

All CIEC activities are context based - mainly an industrial context so the science in school and its practical applications become linked.

Jenny Harvey, CIEC Advisory Teacher in the North East, recently delivered some of the Kitchen Concoction activities at Breckon Hill School, Middlesborough. This was followed by the children visiting local industry Chemoxy International where the children were able to see some of the science they had discovered for themselves in school being put into practice.

Year 6 at Breckon Hill Primary school, Middlesborough, making bubbles after developing their own 'best' mixture with guidance from Kitchen Concoctions

Focusing on the use of mixtures in the kitchen. Children examine a mince-pie as a 'mixture' and compare 'real' dairy cream with imitation aerosol cream. Activities include making a soap bar, developing a bubble mixture, investigating the effectiveness of washing products and scourers, and making a simple fire extinguisher.

Is primary school the right place to tell children about the scientific industries?

There is much debate about equipping school leavers for the workplace. It seems that many young people leave school with little idea of what to expect from the world of work. Perhaps earlier engagement with what 'work' is all about would be a good thing for both employers and the young people who at times can seem ill-prepared.

Work experience in the later stages of secondary education is an invaluable way to show 'work' to pupils who may have no idea what to expect. But wouldn't it be great to start introducing them to workplace scenarios at a much earlier age?

Why not look at some of the CIEC resources which are all context based - setting children scientific problems to solve based in the world of the science industries?

If your pupils have been watching #Crufts2014 over the weekend why not look at CIEC resource Medicines for Pets .

This resource focuses on the processes involved in developing pet medicines. The context is closely related to the challenges faced by research scientists and manufacturers.
Activities investigate the extraction and purification of the active ingredient, the formulation of a tablet, the best tablet shape and developing a suitable coating..

A good week to teach primary science space topics with #Gravity in the news

What a great night for British Film! Sadly CIEC have no science resources even remotely connected with #12YearsASlave but we have a great primary resource for 9-12 year olds Is There Anyone Out There? which would make a great tie in to #Gravity.

This resource is based upon the quest to discover more about our solar system through space projects such as the European Space Agency's Aurora programme, and NASA's Curiosity mission seeking to gather evidence of life on the planet Mars. The children take on the role of space scientists or space engineers to discover more about Mars.

One of the favourite activities involves constructing a chocolate volcano to mimic lava flow. The pic shows a primary science 'ambassador' making the volcano (and having fun!).

Re-engaging primary children after the half term break

After having (we hope) a great week at home for half term it is a bit of a struggle to get the children back into a good 'learning' mode.

Maybe this is a good time to treat them to some primary science?

If it is difficult to find the time how about looking at some of the CIEC stand-alone resources?

All of the primary CIEC resources are either available as FREE downloads or as websites.

This week CIEC is featuring Generating Electricity

Which features:
Wind generators, circuit construction, problem-solving and electrical safety - everything required for teaching the electricity topic at Key Stage 2 is included in this investigation-based activity pack.

How can I link primary science to Sochi?

It seems a good idea to tap into children's enthusiasm for the winter Olympics at Sochi and get a good primary science session going on linked to something they have seen.

Even the most casual observer of the games will realise that resistance - either of snow/ice or wind plays a big part in the final result.

So resources looking at forces seem an ideal link.
How about Feel the Force

The activities provide an opportunity for children to learn about the properties of air and in particular, the frictional force it exerts. The ideas are put into a real life context, that of a transport company looking for ways to reduce the fuel consumption of their lorries.

First Children Challenging Industry site visit to Johnson Matthey at Royston, Hertfordshire

 

St Mary’s pupil inspecting the substrate before the wash coat is applied.

 

The first site visit for Children Challenging Industry as it moves south to Hertfordshire was a tremendous success both with Johnson Matthey and St Mary's RC Primary School, Royston.

Read about it in Business Weekly

http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/news/general-news/engineering/16375-johnson-matthey-schools-future-engineers