How about having your own science week?
Should the magnets in the magnetic cars be ones with the North and South or not? ...
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@SphereScience
"Many thanks for coming in to our school and making the day so enjoyable for everyone – your workshops really were the talk of the school (amongst the children and staff) and would definitely recommend your workshops to others in the future and hopefully ask you back in the future too."
Vikki Freezer, Mora Primary School, London
Booking information can be found below the workshop details.
Contact us at email@spherescience.co.uk or click here to complete our online form.
Click here for a list of all our primary workshops. Each one has the overall aim to “develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science; to answer scientific questions about the world around” and cover the teaching of “practical scientific methods, processes and skills."
We have workshops with specific environmental themes marked § below and we can often adapt sessions to reflect environmental and other class topics.
In many schools, we have supported their science week by providing a range of our workshops.
We can offer many of our exciting practical workshops remotely in your classrooms. We will lead the activity safely by video-conferencing (a webcam will be needed) and send the materials to you ahead of time. We can be very flexible about timing and numbers. The cost will depend on the number of children taking part, the number of sessions and the workshop chosen; requests will be costed individually. The school can keep all the materials we provide for their own science lessons.
Foundation
Story
Key Stage 1
Candles Electricity
Carousel Materials and Magnets Story
Key Stage 2
Air Candles Light Space
Boats Citrus Paper-making Story
A set of contrasting movement investigations about air resistance including making gyrocopters, hoopsters and kites.
* Age: Y5/Y6 * Time: 90 minutes * Space: hall
"Good progression of investigative skills/ideas. Good discussion of variable/constant. Reinforced good practice in fair testing."
A sequence of short investigations about water resistance using different materials to make and test boats and rafts.
* Age: Y3/Y4, Y5/Y6 * Time: 90 minutes * Space: classroom with sink
“There is no more open door by which you can enter the study of science than by considering the physical phenomena of a candle”
Michael Faraday
An exciting interactive discussion about the origins and properties of waxes, changes of state and non-reversible changes. Time and content vary with age group.
* Age: N, R, Y1/Y2, Y3/Y4, Y5/Y6 * Time: 75 minutes
* Space: classroom or hall with electrical point
"Covered hundreds of learning objectives! I couldn't possibly ask the children what they had learnt because there was so much!"
Five investigations into materials and forces, themed around a circus.
* Age: Y1/Y2 * Time: 75 minutes * Space: hall
"Excellent range of fun activities that children could understand and enjoy, staying on task throughout. Promoted team work and thinking."
Can pupils test accurately, fairly and process results? An investigation into how much Vitamin C (relatively) is found in different fruits.
* Age: Y5/Y6 * Time: 75 minutes * Space: classroom with sink
"The children have never been so enthusiastic about science. Very well taught, organised, resourced and differentiated."
A sequence of engaging electrical investigations to discover more about circuits and their components. This is easily differentiated for different ages and experiences. Solar cells are used with older children.
* Age: Y3/Y4, Y5/Y6 * Time: 90 minutes * Space: classroom + outside
"Highly organised, well-resourced and, with a wide range of activities, children were expected to discover rather than being spoon-fed."
Pupils use litmus to identify acids, and design a fair test to investigate how temperature affects an acid/carbonate reaction.
* Age: Y5/Y6 * Time: 90 minutes * Space: classroom with sink
Five short investigations about reflection, casting shadows, how shadows change during the day and the composition of white light.
* Age: Y3/Y4 * Time: 60 minutes * Space: hall or large classroom
Pupils discuss recycling in general and use old sugar paper to produce new paper.
* Age: Y3/Y4, Y5/Y6 * Time: 90 minutes * Space: classroom with sink
“The kids loved this and want to do it again – we will!”
How does the energy from an elastic band power a small toy? How does friction impede it?
Pupils make and keep their own rollers, investigating the variables affecting how far and fast they go.
* Age: Y3/Y4, Y5/Y6 * Time: 75 minutes * Space: hall or large classroom
"Practical, hands on, requiring skills such as measuring, decision making, precision and safe use of equipment."
This is about combining and separating mixtures of solids, liquids and gases. The workshop ends with an explosive finalé.
* Age: Y5/Y6 * Time: 60 minutes * Space: classroom with sink
A set of activities about phases of the moon, the solar system, stars and shadows. Pupils also use and evaluate scientific models.
* Age: Y5/Y6 * Time: 90 minutes * Space: hall
"There was a fun element to the workshop and I am particularly looking forward to using the umbragraph next time the topic is being taught."
A series of accessible investigations, linked to a picture book, including making trucks, using scientific snow and sand, and investigating rafts. Parents and carers can be invited to take part.
* Age: N/R/Y1 and Y5/Y6 * Time: 60 minutes * Space: hall
"Excellent workshop. The activities engaged all the children and were quick and easy to do. The activities stimulated lots of good discussions among the children. They enjoyed working with the Year 5 pupils and are keen to take all their things home."
Pupils designing a model wind turbine and investigating variables to improve its efficiency.
* Age: Y5/Y6 * Time: 90 minutes * Space: hall
"The children really enjoyed making wind turbines. The content was first class and fitted in well with the science topic on electricity."
Booking
As our workshop programme is very popular, the more lead-time and choice of date you can offer us the better. All our workshops are designed specifically to develop pupil skills in thinking and working scientifically. Notes are provided as support for teachers to follow up the workshops in class and we hope that they will use the ideas in their own teaching.
Some of the workshops need extra support - either adults or pupil helpers. Pupil helpers will have an opportunity to develop science communication skills so the pupils selected to help need to be alert, fairly competent and likely to benefit from taking part.
Three workshop sessions will usually fit into a school day. Workshops are designed for a class of about 30 children with their class teacher although variations are possible. For example, with some combinations of workshops, it can be possible to fit four into one day. With some workshops we can see two classes at a time. There is also the possibility of fitting in seven or more workshop sessions where the staff teach alongside us. Please feel free to discuss these options with your Workshop Leader.
Our standard terms and conditions, including safety aspects, can be found here.
Costs
Please enquire for details.
There are organisations offering grants to support science activities in schools - click here for more details.
Curriculum
All our workshops have the overall aim to “develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science; to answer scientific questions about the world around” and cover the teaching of “practical scientific methods, processes and skills." If your class is studying a specific topic, we will do our best to ensure the workshop relates to it.
Click below for a list of workshops and how they link to:
English Curriculum
IPC Curriculum
Scottish Curriculum
Welsh Curriculum
Students use different forms of chromatography (including radial and ascending) before investigating how to separate the pigments in grass.
Space required: laboratory or classroom with sink
Time: 90 minutes
Students investigate the amount of Vitamin C in different fruits using DCPIP solution. They need to identify and control all variables to produce accurate results.
Space required: laboratory or classroom with sink
Time: 90 minutes
A progressive sequence of electrical circuit investigations using a variety of small components including solar cells. We use lamps as an indoor alternative in bad weather.
Space required: laboratory/classroom + outside
Time: 75-90 minutes
In small teams, and with a fixed set of materials, students have to design and build a runway for a marble. The best runway being the one where the marble takes the longest time.
Space required: large room
Time: 45 minutes
Students each build and test a wind-up model to determine the optimum value for each variable. They can retain their models for further testing.
Students retain their rollers for further testing.
Space required: hall
Time: 75 minutes
In small teams, and with a fixed set of materials, students have to design and build a tower that will hold a marble aloft. The best tower is the tallest one.
Space required: hall
Time: 45 minutes
Students are challenged to design a model wind turbine and then to make it more efficient by investigating different variables and measuring the effects. The wind turbines will be tested using an electric fan.
Space required: hall
Time: 90 minutes
Booking
As our workshop programme is very popular, the more lead-time and choice of dates you can offer the better.
All our workshops are designed specifically to focus on students developing their skills in thinking and working scientifically. We hope that the teachers will find some of the ideas useful in their own teaching.
Workshops are designed for a group of about 30 students and their teacher although variations are possible. You are welcome to discuss options with your Workshop Leader. We can also provide problem-solving activities for event days.
Click here to download details.
We can offer some activities remotely in your school. We will lead the activity safely by video-conferencing (a webcam will be needed) and send the materials to you ahead of time. We can be very flexible about timing and numbers.
The cost will depend on the number of children taking part, the number of sessions and the workshop chosen; requests will be costed individually. The school can keep all the materials we send.
Our standard terms and conditions, including safety aspects, can be found here.
Costs
Please enquire for details.
There are organisations offering grants to support science activities in schools - click here for more details.
Curriculum
All our workshops are practical, exciting and inspiring, with investigations of variables that can be changed easily to enable students to collect data and/or assess results.
Contact us at email@spherescience.co.uk or click here to complete our online form.
Science clubs
Are you looking for ideas for easy-to-organise practical science clubs?
Using video-conferencing, we can talk you through a variety of possibilities to provide exciting and inspiring sessions. Give a buzz to the science in your school!
We can provide basic materials for the sessions and lead/support by video-conferencing.
Projects are costed individually.
Contact us at email@spherescience.co.uk or click here to complete our online form.
Free downloadable resources
Bird A template
Bird B template
Bird C template
Gyrocopter 1 template
Gyrocopter 2 template
Gyrocopter result template
Jumping bean template - small
Jumping bean template - large
Publications
Add more gin!
Stellar work!
SPLATS
That’s the way to do it!
SPLATS = Students Presenting Learning And Teaching Science.
This project brings together secondary schools and local primary schools to enjoy an exciting practical science day. Secondary students present a series of science activities to primary pupils. To date we have worked with over 1000 secondary students delivering activities to nearly 8000 primary pupils.
In this project:
Secondary students develop confidence in presentation, communication, planning and organisational skills
Primary pupils and their teachers enjoy hands-on science activities which develop science enquiry and investigation skills
Primary pupils meet secondary staff and students
Secondary schools develop closer links with primary schools
As a typical format, eighteen sixth-form students present six workshop sessions to six classes of Y5 primary pupils and their teachers, hosted on the secondary school site.
Day 1 students are trained to present science workshops.
Day 2 pupils meet the students and enjoy an action-packed day of practical sessions.
Variations could be:
More than one event day
Students from Y9 or Y10
A bigger secondary cohort
Day 2 hosted by local primary schools
The cost of one SPLATS Project - one training day, one event day and all materials for 180 pupils - is £1800 plus VAT. Variations can be costed accordingly.
Please note that there might be a small contribution towards accommodation/travel if the Workshop Leader is not local to your area. Please enquire for more details
Contact us at email@spherescience.co.uk or click here to complete our online form.
"An excellent project that both sets of students gained a lot from. The greatest improvement was in the students confidence in their own presentation and communication skills.
"I would recommend it. It achieved all that I had hoped it would do but in a number of areas exceeded my expectations."
Head of Science, Bedfordshire
"I really enjoyed the training we received; it was fun, enjoyable and I learnt a lot from the experience. I enjoyed it so much that when our teacher suggested that we could progress our skills further by teaching other year groups I wanted to be involved. In science club myself and a group of friends tried out some experiments and activities that we thought were suitable for year 4s.
"I would really encourage anybody who is thinking about doing SPLATS to try it; the experience was an unforgettable one and I really thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it."
Paige from Hall Cross School , Doncaster
"I was chosen to take part in SPLATS by my head of chemistry, having shown a great interest in chemistry and sciences during my GCSE studies.
"Initially we were taught the many activities that we would be teaching … and over the course of 2 days gave lessons to classes of year 5 pupils from surrounding schools in the local area.
"Through being involved in SPLATS I have been inspired to focus my sixth form education towards becoming a chemistry teacher. I would highly recommend SPLATS as it has both improved my teamwork and confidence skills whilst being a thoroughly enjoyable experience."
Alfie from Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield
Cascade is a two-day practical science course for trainee teachers. It has been run successfully for twenty years with students from many universities including Kings College London, Christ Church Canterbury, Sheffield Hallam and Warwick.
The course provides experience and confidence in teaching practical, investigative science.
The first day is a training day and the second allows the students to work with local primary pupils. It can take place at any point during the teacher training course.
"I’m a first year and when I first went into school I had a casual friendly manner and then it is difficult to keep control. This activity has given me a chance to use lots of techniques to manage the class in practical work and I have found class management surprisingly easier than I thought."
Trainee teacher
"My favourite was the electricity we had chance to explore different circuits and the solar cells worked even though it rained."
Trainee teacher
"My confidence in teaching science has increased significantly, and I have gained some great ideas as to how I can introduce scientific skills within my own teaching.”
Trainee teacher
"The activities chosen demonstrated excellent practice, were highly sound in terms of educational pedagogy and were in line with the most recent OFSTED guidance. All the children were able to engage with the tasks set, yet there was ample opportunity to extend beyond this.”
Course tutor
Contact us at email@spherescience.co.uk or click here to complete our online form
Wanting to hold an exciting science week?
Running a special event?
Having a family fun day?
Planning a science festival?
Interacting with local schools?
We can design and organise engaging science activities for any event, and we have run family science days for up to 2000 people.
Whatever your needs, we can design and provide activities for you and cost them accordingly.
“It was such an amazing day with so many families attending who absolutely loved the activities, the variety and the chemistry behind it. We received some excellent feedback left with some very very engaged and intrigued families.”
Sheila Pott
The Salters’ Company
"Thank you again for an exemplary day’s activities at half term. “Exemplary” in a very literal sense: everybody can learn from you. Most particularly, my grandson loved it. What greater accolade could there be!"
Richard Robinson
Director, Brighton Science Festival
Contact us at email email@spherescience.co.uk or click here to complete our online form.
For the jumping bean templates, click here: small and large
For the balancing birds, click here: Bird A, Bird B and Bird C
Encourage public interest in your company. Create a buzz!
Our hands-on activities:
Reflect the science or engineering involved in your business in practical activities for schools
Link your business with your local community with school workshops and family days
Promote your company to potential employees
Stimulate positive media coverage and good public relations
Support the teaching of science in schools
Are good fun for people of all ages
We love what we do and we can make it work for you
We listen to your objectives and suggest a strategy to meet them
We are friendly, straightforward and easy to work with
We have exemplary feedback from twenty years’ work
We can design suitable activities for you.
Contact us at email@spherescience.co.uk or click here to complete our online form.
Here are just a few of our successful initiatives
We provide a "Sorting Things" workshop for their local primary schools on behalf of Urenco. This creates a link between their work and the national curriculum, developing practical science skills. Watch this film clip or listen to this short podcast.
‘An outstanding workshop and one which we would like to do again.’
The Salters Company of London asked us to provide an exciting family activity day during the February 2019 half-term. It was so successful we worked in partnership with them to provide a bigger and better version in February 2020.
CLEAPPS provided for Foley’s School in Cyprus to have a day of our “Rollers” workshop as a prize in their 2019 competition.
STEM Learning asked us to train STEM Ambassadors to deliver practical science activities. This proved so successful that the Ambassadors ran the activities at other events, no longer needing our support.
We have recently been involved with NuGen and their Bright Sparks initiative.
"Sphere Science has provided science workshops for three of NuGen’s Bright Sparks’ events, an education programme which focuses on engagement with teachers and pupils at high schools close to NuGen’s Moorside Site and explores educational and societal issues around the need for new electricity production. Sphere Science created a range of activities to suit the theme, and delivered them with passion and enthusiasm which was passed on to the pupils. Throughout the event and the lead up Sphere Science were very accommodating and helpful, with nothing being too much trouble. Thank you for all your help and we look forward to working with you again."
Charlotte Wong
For more than a decade we delivered over 6000 workshop days and over 120 Family Days (for up to 2000 people at a time) on behalf of Shell UK. All this work was themed around the physical sciences (including renewable energies) and developing investigative, practical skills.
"Through your workshops, family days and teacher training programmes the Shell Education Service has inspired hundreds of thousands of students about science. The Sphere Science team has worked hard to deliver a consistently popular programme, for which we have received much positive feedback from participants over the years. You have provided sound advice about how to engage and inspire primary age children, and successfully delivered the programme on time and on budget. As a way of exciting young children about science, we are proud of what you have achieved and grateful for your hard work and commitment."
Anna Haslam, formerly Head of UK Social Investment & Sponsorships at Shell
"The Family Days run by Sphere Science have always been extremely popular with local children and their families. Everyone that takes part has a fantastic time and the kids always come away learning something new."
John Raine, Upstream Social Investment Manager at Shell
Our exciting show is a series of science tricks with unexpected and surprising outcomes. It challenges the audience to think through, with the help of the presenter, how each trick works.
This show is ideal for Science Festivals, Family Days, assemblies or after-school events. We are very flexible.
Watch clips of shows here.
"This show was not just for the kids, the adults really enjoyed it and learnt a lot as well."
It is also possible to combine the show with some of our workshops.
Please note that there might be a small contribution towards accommodation if the Presenter is not local to your area. You might consider 'partnering up' with other schools or community groups in your local area to share the cost.
Contact us at email email@spherescience.co.uk or click here to complete our online form.
We run interactive practical courses in Science Learning Centres, universities, teacher centres and schools and we continually review and update our materials.
Courses can be delivered by video-conferencing, especially for individuals or small groups - just ask for details.
We also offer one-to-one sessions to enable a staff member to learn how to deliver our remote workshops.
Our courses are inspiring and bursting with practical ideas.
We provide
CPD to increase confidence in teaching science enquiry and investigative skills, for experienced teachers, new teachers, trainee teachers and teaching assistants.
CPD for experienced primary teachers, including science co-ordinators and subject leaders, to discuss challenging contexts likely to introduce pupil misunderstandings and topics which are difficult to extend.
CPD on creating a science buzz in schools through science clubs, family days and events. We have twenty years' experience of running science clubs and managing family days.
"Hands on task / lots of great ideas for science lessons to take back. Whole table felt that the presentation was very good – wish that we had been inspired by science with explorations like today, when we were at school."
"Practical ideas / resources / recommended books etc investigative skills, addressed misconceptions. Feel enthused."
"Very practical and plenty of ideas across key stages. Excellent."
We offer exciting practical primary INSET days to support the teaching of science enquiry and investigative skills. These aim to increase staff confidence in structuring investigations and in encouraging pupils to ask questions and look for answers.
We design the day to meet each school's needs, focussing activities on physical processes and materials and their properties. Short courses are negotiable.
Due to popular demand, we now have a one-day course specifically focussing on materials and their properties. This shows how easy it is to carry out simple yet exciting chemistry experiments safely.
"I'm glad I made the right choice of selecting Sphere Science when looking for someone to share their expertise with us :)"
"I would like to say huge thank you for a lovely inset. Staff were excited and have been asking for some of the resources they used. The inset also encouraged them to think outside the box and as a result they have adapted some of their plans."
Costs include materials and assumes up to thirty participants at an agreed venue. Notes are available but photocopying is not included.
Please note that there might be a small contribution towards accommodation/travel if the Workshop Leader is not local to your area. You might consider 'partnering up' with other schools in your local area to share the cost. Please enquire for more details
Contact us at email@spherescience.co.uk or click here to complete our online form.
