The purpose of this article is to outline some activities using resources that can generally be found in most kitchens and involve very little expense. It is based upon a workshop at the 2019 International Primary Science Education Conference (PSEC) in Edinburgh, which consisted of a wide variety of demonstrations of science in action, where…

Teachers from Kates Hill Primary School describe uniting the school in a vision for science and raising the profile of science through enrichment by using Explorify.

In March 2016, the school that the author teaches at held its annual science day and the theme was "bees." Each class was given a different question relating to bees to investigate. The children in the authors' year 2 class (ages 6-7) were challenged to investigate the life cycle of a bee. The whole day was focused around the life cycle…

Artists and scientists attempt to understand all manner of things through skills such as observation, classifying, measuring, and making new connections. They share an innate curiosity about the world and how things work. This can be viewed as the common bond that ties the two disciplines together. In this article, Padraig Egan explores how art…

Cognitive gains in science content linked to single zoo visits are well evidenced; zoos are unique educational settings. Not only do they foster learning about the natural world, but they also help young people to connect with wildlife (Jensen, 2014; Pearson et al., 2014). Even out-of-classroom experiences of short duration can evoke strong…

Shifting the focus from words to concepts--does it work? The author shares his findings from such a project with three primary schools in the UK. Many children aged 7-10 find mastering the language of science difficult and do not make the progress that they could. Encountering complex terminology in the science language causes students to become…

During a recent theme on "Ourselves," Laura Mooney's class focused on height and looking at similarities and differences between a range of objects. This involved not only looking at each other, but also linked to their self-portrait development, where they had been learning about their facial features and comparing them to other…

Demonstrating is a traditional method in teaching science that can raise interest and encourage pupils to think about a topic. While demonstrating, the teacher can focus the pupils' attention on the relevant facts and introduce scientific principles and concepts. Through discussion and actively making observations and inferences, rather than…

Dramatic Science is an approach to teaching science that purposely places the children in thought-provoking situations where they need to apply their scientific understanding to decide how to act. Teachers can then apply drama techniques to help children develop and communicate their ideas. In this article, the authors share how modelling through…

What are children trying to tell when they can't find the words that they need? Children's gestures are valuable in informing teaching practice and how one goes about assessing children's work in science. These children's gestures may have more meaning attached to it than is at first apparent. Use such gesturing to learn what children know and can…

A group of third-year undergraduate student teachers used books and stories during science enquiry lessons as part of the BASICS (Books And Stories In Children's Science) project funded by the AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust. This three-year project involved a cluster of five primary schools in the greater Belfast area. The aim of the project…

Taking children out of the classroom to learn in a totally different environment can be very rewarding for both the children and the teacher. Part of the excitement is the unfamiliarity of the place, which has its positive sides but can lead to a lack of focus. As part of the Darwin 200 celebrations in 2009, the Charles Darwin Trust and…

Geology is not something that people tend to think about in their day-to-day lives; at least, not until it is time to dig out the dusty old rock collection from the back of the science cupboard and teach the rocks and soils unit again! Geology is very much part of people's lives. Geology is about so much more than just looking at rocks and…

Science is exciting because it is so accessible to the enthusiastic beginner. However, there is still a separation between professional scientists and novices, even in relatively open fields such as natural history. To help overcome this, the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) network is supporting projects that bring scientists, amateur experts and…