Online activities
Inspired by this year’s theme of ‘Innovating for the Future’ we’ve collected some of our favourite online activities here. We'll be adding more activities to these pages in the run up to Science Week, so keep checking back.
Whether you’re at home, at school, planning lessons or looking to indulge your curiosity in science, the online activities below bring science to life for any age. They’ll be available to browse and dip into in your own time all week (and beyond), and we’ve organised them by age group to help you choose.
Primary: 7-11 years
Zebrafish Workshop
Meet our Zebrafish! These fascinating creatures are helping our scientists learn more about ourselves as humans and how we can improve medical treatments. This series of downloadable workshops offers an interactive look at what we have learned from these surprising little fish.
Find out more about the fish themselves, explore the similarities and differences between Zebrafish and humans and introduce the idea of inheritance and DNA with a series of hands-on activities and games.
Topic Area: Animals Including Humans
Downloads:
Kitchen physics
Physics is all about understanding the physical world around us, from tiny particles that make up the objects around us to huge stars out in space. The good news is, you can do some physics experiments at home with things you might find in your kitchen! Our physics students have developed these simple activities for you to try at home.
Topic: Forces, The Earth and Space
Year 5 science resource packs
These five resource packs have been developed by MSc Science communication students and address key topics in the Y5 curriculum and also show the exciting research being done here in Sheffield by University scientists. There are videos, presentations, stop motion animations, experiments and worksheets to get Y5 students thinking about forces, space, materials, animals and living things.
Secondary: 11-15 years
Edible Experiments
With this series of videos find out why mustard burns your nasal passages but chillies don’t, the link between beetroot and camels, why you might taste boiled potatoes when you eat cheddar cheese or how beetles can make a surprising contribution to our food.
Topic area: Chemistry
Harvesting Light
This downloadable activity, devised by award-winning artist Paul Evans and physicists from The University of Sheffield pack uses art and science to explore the potential of new technology to revolutionise renewable energy using light from our nearest star. This technology applies the weird world of quantum physics to address a real world problem – how do we create enough usable energy for our future needs?
Topic area: Physics
Downloads:
Soil Microbes, the key to global food security?
Join Professor Duncan Cameron from The University of Sheffield’s Institute of Sustainable Food for this mini lecture on our journey to achieve access to safe and nutritious food for everyone.
Topic Area: Biology