Science Hunters is a UK outreach project that uses "Minecraft" (a computer game that allows children to build with a wide range of blocks) to engage children with science. Sessions are based on a range of science topics and include practical activities. A new topic, on bioluminescence, was designed in collaboration with staff and…

Setting primary science in an everyday context supports learning in a number of ways. Exploring the science associated with everyday people, places and materials helps to access pupils' prior knowledge and experience and thus facilitates a more constructivist and pupil-centred form of pedagogy. This account looks at various examples from the…

Thermochromic paint can be made in the laboratory and used for temperature sensing by observation of colour changes. This can be illustrated by an improved method of showing comparative conductivity of heat by different materials, and an amusing method of indicating approximate temperatures of liquids in drinking glasses. The fabric Lycra, used to…

This article presents a way to integrate storytelling with the teaching of science: by making graphic novels. It describes how gifted 9- and 10-year-old students at the author's school researched the elements found in the human body and then created illustrated poems tracing the entire 'history' of individual atoms. The article explores the ways…

Martin Wagenschein's ideas of prioritising phenomena in making sense of science processes have influenced the German "Lehrkunstdidaktik" (art of teaching) approach. This article sketches a "Lehrkunstdidaktik" teaching unit inspired by Michael Faraday's "Chemical History of a Candle." It shows how primary and lower…

What is the future for school science and in particular for practical work? This article explores the question from four perspectives and seeks solutions for different age groups in the UK and beyond.

The Next-Lab project provides free web-based resources supporting teachers in enhancing students' learning experiences. By including online laboratories, experiments otherwise difficult or impossible to perform are facilitated (e.g. crashing meteoroids into Earth). This article briefly presents the project and opportunities offered to teachers and…

Changes in society can, on occasion, lead to new demands on schooling, and on science education in particular. A major such demand in the 1960s led to a conceptual form of science that has dominated school science education ever since. Subsequent major societal demands have usually not been nearly as successful in redefining school science…

This article discusses the development by the Royal Society of Chemistry of a framework to provide a relevant and coherent chemistry curriculum for all students. This work has been carried out by our Curriculum and Assessment Working Groups. The framework identifies three components that combine to give a rounded view of the discipline. Within the…

Secondary school science teachers report that their approaches to some topics are affected by the recognition that some pupils hold religious beliefs, while primary school teacher trainees express concern about teaching evolution to children with a religious faith. Pupils in British schools and internationally often assume a conflict between…

We propose an inquiry-based science activity centred on the effects of climate change on ocean ecosystems. This activity can be used to improve acquisition of knowledge on the effects of climate change and to promote inquiry skills, such as researching, reading and selecting relevant information, identifying a problem, focusing on a research…

Inspired by the inclusion of a British astronaut on the International Space Station, explanations and demonstrations that lead to an understanding of how satellites stay above the Earth are described. This is a mixture of separate ideas that have been demonstrated successfully at a public exhibition of science-based activities. Although some…

This article describes how the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) programme was implemented in the final year of primary school and the first year of secondary school in a number of schools in Ireland. The original CASE programme, pioneered in the 1980s, proved successful in its aim to develop the science-reasoning abilities…

Electricity from osmotic pressure might seem a far-fetched idea but this article describes a prototype in Norway where the osmotic pressure generated between salt and fresh water drives a turbine. This idea was applied in a student investigation, where they were tasked with researching which alternative materials could be used for the…

The National Curriculum for England has been revised and the statements on energy have some new phrasing and some new ideas. In this article, I will reflect on how these changes might be beneficial, relieving some of the strictures of previous drafts and providing opportunities to talk about energy in new, more constructive ways. I will discuss…