This resource consists of two field work activities. The first records lichens on trees as an indicator of air quality and the second looks for tar spot fungus on sycamore leaves. This links to curriculum work on plants, habitats, air quality and improving the environment. This resource includes a workbook, field...

This engineering resource, produced by Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI) for the Royal Academy of Engineering, asks the question: how can a camera, mounted on a helicopter, be used to track the location of a ground-based object? A number of discussion ideas are considered before using 2D and 3D...

The video shows air being pumped into an American football using a hand pump. The person using the pump pauses part way through to press the ball in order to check the pressure. They then continue until a final check is made and the ball is seen to be at the correct pressure. The challenge is to graph air pressure...

This resource uses the context of long distance runner Eliud Kipchoge trying to be the first person to run a marathon under 2 hours, to look at air resistance.  The video below is a good introduction to the challenge facing Eliud. 

The presentation, which contains teacher notes, looks at the forces involved...

This is one of a series of resources from the IET designed around the theme of the future of flight with the purpose of developing pupils knowledge and skills in engineering and mathematics. This activity focuses on developing the...

In this resource from the IET, pupils make use of the theme, the future of flight, to create a presentation for the board of an airline company suggesting how they could re-use aircraft, or parts of aircraft, being retired from their fleet. They will research the different parts of an aircraft and existing products...

The aim of this resource is to give students the opportunity to investigate the science, technology, engineering and mathematics behind aircraft design. Students will explore the forces acting on an aircraft during flight and use the iterative design process to design and improve the perfect paper aircraft.

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This STEMNET resource describes the background and career of STEM Ambassador Nathan Kan, a Senior Airworthiness Engineer.

Nathan works for QinetiQ, a company which provides technology-based services to the defence, security and related markets. It also delivers consultancy services to commercial and...

Alan works at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre, and is designing software for the James Webb Space Telescope.  Alan talks about his work on the mid infrared instrument which will look at the formation of galaxies in the early universe.  He uses coding in his job and explains how you need to write algorithms to a...

A Catalyst article about the life and ideas of Albert Einstein. He is most famous for his ideas on relativity which formed the theory of general relativity, in which he showed that gravity could be explained as the effect of large masses on space. After the Second World War he also worked with other scientists and...

A Catalyst article about alchemy, the study of eternal life, salvation, and the answer to the ultimate questions about life, the universe and everything. It flourished for more than 1500 years until, in the late 1600s, the beginnings of modern, scientific chemistry edged it aside. The article looks at what was...

Adults drink more frequently than adolescents, but when adolescents drink they tend to drink larger quantities. There is evidence to suggest that the adolescent brain responds to alcohol differently from the adult brain. Scientists at the University of Oxford are...