RAL Space is the UK’s national space laboratory where our thermal engineers and technicians help design and build spacecraft. They make sure that the components will work correctly and are protected in the extreme temperatures of space by using a special type of insulation. In this activity and presentation, pupils...

A pair of videos that studies the thermal insulation properties of bubble wrap. This first video allows students to see an experiment that investigates how increasing the number of layers of bubble wrap around a beaker affects the cooling of hot water. The second explains how to interpret the data, plot the graph...

In this Catalyst article, Mike Follows describes the surprising range of thermometers available to scientists today.

Many physical properties of materials depend on temperature. Thermometers are vital for measuring body temperature. The body's biochemical reactions work best at 37°C and the body is in...

This Science upd8 activity illustrates practical applications of classroom science in the context of using sustainable building materials, and highlights several related various career routes. Students become members of a consultancy firm which specialises in sustainable building projects. They have to use their...

Work done in this Nuffield 13 - 16 module followed from the B unit called ‘Machines and engines’ and the S unit ‘Fuels’. This X unit provided enough material for eight double periods. It could be selected to complete either a Science or a Further Science course. The...

Cambridge University glaciologist Professor Julian Dowdeswell has spent three years of his life in the Polar Regions.

As Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, this film follows him to Greenland and the Antarctic as his...

This video introduces the idea that engineers are working on solutions to help people. "Engineering makes a...

This video introduces the idea that engineers are working to save lives and save our planet. "...

This Catalyst article looks at thorium - a heavy element, similar to uranium. Some people think that it could be the nuclear fuel of the future, as it can be used as the fuel in a fission reactor - and it appears to be much safer than uranium.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2014,...

A new procedure which creates babies with the DNA of three people has just been given the go ahead in Britain. In this activity, students learn how it can help women with a serious inherited condition to have a healthy baby and why it is deemed so controversial. They describe how to create an embryo with three...

This Science upd8 resource is set in the context of controversial medical study. Researchers have created a human embryo with three separate parents. The scientists believe the development is a potential breakthrough in the prevention of serious diseases. Students take on the role of a trainee nurse who has to...

Through the Eyes of the Pupil, from the Nuffield Foundation, is a collection of writing by students that was published by the Science Teacher Education Project (STEP). The aim was to enrich teacher education with sets of annotated passages written by students for discussion in professional training courses.

These resources provide up to date information and class activities on the topic of tidal power. Based on cutting edge research and the development of the Severn Tidal Barrage, students gain a valuable insight into the work of engineers in the design of the barrage and the environmental and ethical factors which...