Home School Science – Fab Science

There are a huge number of websites out there that can provide activities and information for home schooling…it can be a bit overwhelming! We’ve curated a few of our favourites. You might not need this list just yet but bookmark it and pop back whenever you need some fresh ideas.

STEM Learning

STEM Learning provide training and resources for teaching science from Early Years to A-Level. They run courses from their centre in York and coordinate Science Learning Partnerships all over the country (I am a course facilitator for our local one). They have stepped up to the challenge of supporting a home schooling nation by making a section on the website for family activities. It’s completely free and organised by age, I particularly like the Starters for STEM activity ideas. They even have subject experts on hand for questions…just hit the ‘Get in Touch’ button at the bottom of the page! Find the resources here.

Royal Institution

They do much more than just the Christmas Lectures! Check out their ‘ExpeRimental‘ section for all sorts of activities that really make you think.

Steve Spangler

We love Steve Spangler! He’s an American science communicator who does all sorts of science shows. He does make suggestions for things to try at home but many involve things that are easy to buy in an American ‘grocery store’ but less available in Tesco (dry ice for example!). His videos are a great watch though, he does lots of the big stuff that gets us all excited about science. Here’s the website or you could just head straight to The Spangler Effect YouTube channel.

BBC Bitesize

If your child has a question and you’d like a clear answer suitable for their age, BBC Bitesize is a good first stop. Although a quick Google search will give you hundreds of websites to answer any given question, the good old Beeb has fact-checked information, written with kids in mind and is even linked to the National Curriculum. They have games and activities to check learning and links to short video clips from the BBC archive. Sections available for every topic from Year 1 to GCSE, a great free resource. Start discovering BBC Bitesize here.

Explorify

Quick activities to spark curiosity from the Wellcome Trust. Don’t overuse them (leave some for the teachers to use when the kids go back to school!) but they are great way to get children thinking like scientists. You can find the activities here. If you are interested in children’s engagement in science, the Science Capital Project is a very interesting read. It’s all about helping children to realise that science is ‘for them’ and that they can be a scientist. This is something that many schools are trying to embed but what better opportunity to work on this than when we are home schooling? Let’s let them explore their own interests and become young scientists!

Twinkl

This is a huge database of worksheets, lesson plans, displays, colouring sheets, topic work and activities. Usually a paid for resource for teachers but they’ve made free home learning packs and they’ve got a suggested daily timetable if you like a schedule. Find the home learning hub here.

Science Sparks

Where many of us are just putting together home school ideas now that we’re all stuck inside, Emma Vanstone at Science Sparks has been doing this for years! She’s written a couple of awesome books on doing science at home (one of which is the genius idea of ‘Snackable Science’). Check out Science Sparks here.

Woodland and Wildlife Trusts

Even though we can’t get outdoors much, the Woodland Trust have written a blog on nature in your garden. They also have a website called Tree Tools for Schools with all sorts of outdoor learning ideas and spotter sheets. There are Wildlife Trusts across the country that have visitor centres and nature reserves. Obviously the centres are closed for now but they have lots of activities to do in your garden such as making a mini pond or a bug hotel. You can find their activities here.

Fab Science!

We are adding new ideas daily on our Home Education page and sharing interesting stuff on Facebook. To get more involved and let us know what you have been up to, join the Fab Science Facebook group. You can even ask us questions! Emma (chief Fab Scientist) is actually a science teacher as well as slightly bonkers person who likes exploding stuff. She’s happy to answer any questions, just pop them on the Facebook group or email emma@fabscience.co.uk

When teaching in both primary and secondary, I’m always astounded by the number of times children tell me space facts that I didn’t know! It holds amazing fascination and it is such a shame to have to move on to the next topic in the curriculum when I wish I had all the time in the world to run with that excitement and imagination. Here are some activities for your budding space scientist.

Space activities from NASA

Check out NASA’s special website just for kids. They’ve put together all sorts of interesting facts and fun activities for budding space scientists. From instructions to build your own spacecraft to how to weigh a planet…there’s plenty to keep you busy for home schooling and beyond.

Find out about life on the International Space Station in this interview with Tim Peake.

Be a star-gazer

You don’t even need a telescope to see stars and planets in the night sky. With just your own eyes you can see things that are thousands of lightyears away. If you want to find out more about what you can see or would like some things to spot you can try these websites:

Jodrell Bank’s website updates every month to give you ideas of things to look for. It’s not the most exciting website ever but worth a look!

The Schools Observatory gives detailed positions of interesting features each day. This is particularly good for planet-spotting!

You may spot the International Space Station on it’s regular trip around the Earth. It looks a bit like a plane flying across the sky but it doesn’t have any flashing lights. It’s also travelling around 30 times faster than an aeroplane. Check out NASA’s Spot the Station website to find out where it is right now.

What do you weigh on Mars?

Your weight is the amount of force that is pulling you down to earth. This is a combination of your mass (the amount of ‘stuff’ that you are made of) and gravity. Your mass stays the same wherever you are but your weight would change if you go to a different planet or the moon. This is because a smaller planet has less gravitational pull than a big planet. You can work out your weight on different planets by multiplying your weight on Earth by the following numbers:

For the Moon – multiply by 0.16 (you’d feel very light, this is why astronauts can jump so high). Mercury and Mars – multiply by 0.3, Venus – multiply by 0.9, Jupiter – multiply by 2.3 (you’d feel very heavy!), Uranus – multiply by 0.8, Neptune – multiply by 1.1. Saturn’s gravity is very similar to Earth so your weight would be about the same.

Note for super scientists: weight is actually measured in newtons, it is mass that is measured in kilograms. To convert from kilograms to newtons you need to multiply by gravity which is around 9.8 on Earth. So if your mass is 28kg, your weight is 274N. Your mass is still 28kg wherever you are in the universe but your weight would change.

Make your own bottle rockets!

All you need is: a short piece of hose-pipe, an empty lemonade bottle, some paper, glue and Sellotape. It’s also handy to have a piece of plastic plumbing tubing (if you have any left over from a DIY job). If you can’t get the plumbing tube, no problem just roll the paper around the hose pipe instead. It does the same job it’s just a bit trickier as the hose is bendy so you might need an extra pair of hands!

To make the rocket: roll a piece of A4 paper around the plastic tube (or hose pipe). Use glue to keep the paper rolled up but do not stick it to the tube! Push the paper over the end of the tube/hose so that you can fold the end over and stick it down with plenty of Sellotape. Take it off the tube and that’s your rocket done…it’s that simple! You can decorate it if you like.

To make the rocket launcher: attach the hose to the neck of the bottle, again use plenty of tape to make sure no air can escape around the sides of the hose. Stick the plastic tube (if using) on the other end of the hose and make sure it is well sealed too. Your rocket launcher is ready to go.

To launch the rocket: Find an outside space that has plenty of room for a safe launch. Make sure the rocket can’t hit anyone or end up in a road. Slide the paper rocket onto the hose (or tube). If you STOMP on the bottle, the air inside will be squashed and will rush through the tube under high pressure. This will make the rocket fly up in the air. You may want to get someone else to hold the tube so that you can get a really big stomp!

Don’t forget to share your home school activities on the Fab Science Facebook group…we’d love to see what you have been up to! You can find lots more resources for science at home on our home education page.

Useful websites