Sally always wanted to work outdoors in horticulture and began her career after leaving school. She now works in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, growing specimens for the University’s experiments and cultivating and curating some strange varieties of plant collections...

In this activity, seeds are grown in Petri dishes so children can make direct observations of the roots as they grow. The activity requires measurements over a number of days, so provides an opportunity to link to numeracy by working out growth rate and representing...

Produced by Understanding Animal Research, this information leaflet looks at the regulation of animal research in the UK. The law safeguards animals while allowing important medical research to continue.

The leaflet is useful as information for teachers and also as background or research information for...

In this topic from the Association for Science Education, students study the life cycles of plants and the adaptation of plants to different environments. The topic allows classes in schools across the world to exchange information about plant cultivation. The topic also provides a context for studying plant...

This field study resource pack encourages students to act as environmental scientists to assess the ‘health’ of a heathland habitat. The resource contains three separate activities that students can complete, depending on the time available and suitability of the site:
• Measuring nitrogen pollution in the...

This practical activity uses a simple and convenient model of the real environment in order to demonstrate the principles of random sampling and how to estimate biodiversity. Students use different coloured sugar balls to represent different species in order to put Simpson's Diversity Index to the test, which takes...

This resource considers how pollution from copper mines affects growth of plants, including a data analysis activity and a practical. The resource aims to address aspects of working scientifically.

The materials...

A Catalyst article about ants. A colony consists of hundreds, even thousands, of ants working diligently and cooperatively, perhaps to kill and carry a large prey item, build a large nest structure or develop and use road-like networks for foraging. Collectively, colonies of social insects can do amazing things and...

In this resource, aimed at primary level, children take measurements of their height using leaves. Using different sized leaves to measure different children, and then comparing their actual height with that measured in leaves, will help them to see the importance of using standard measurements.

Produced by...

Published by the Wellcome Trust, the 'Big Picture' explores issues around biology and medicine. This issue looks at the interplay between the biology that sculpts our form and the culture that interprets and adapts it.

This activity highlights...

The human body is an amazing piece of engineering. For thousands of years it has kept us running, thinking and, best of all, staying alive! But are there scientific innovations that we can use to make our bodies even better?

This activity investigates what conditions plants need to grow and why lack of light alters plant growth. It is part of a larger resource which looks at plants at primary level, ...

This video discusses how data is coded and stored. It takes a look at the genetic code in humans and shows how it could be stored as 1.5Gb of data.