The BBC has launched a new website called Exploring the Solar System which is very useful for primary and secondary schools as part of their work in Science.

www.bbc.co.uk/solarsystem

Exploring the Solar System covers all subjects – the moon, Earth, the Sun, astronauts – and contains images, facts, clips, videos and animations. It is a fascinating resource for anyone wanting to find out more about our Solar System. It also includes footage from the BBC’s space series Wonders of the Solar System, which is currently showing on TV and available to watch again with iPlayer.

National Science and Engineering Week takes place this year from 12-21 March. This is a nationwide celebration of science, engineering and technology involving people of all ages in thousands of events across the country.

Lots more information, along with free resources, can be found at the British Science Association site.

www.britishscienceassociation.org

They also run different projects. One of these is called ‘What on Earth‘ and it allows users to upload photos of local wildlife they have spotted and their photos are identified by experts. Anyone who sends a photo will also receive a free packet of seeds to encourage more creatures to inhabit their local space.

Survival Rivals is offering free Science teaching resources to UK teachers of pupils aged between 11 and 19. Three kits are available:

• I’m a Worm, Get Me Out of Here – Discover what colour worms your local birds prefer.
• Brine Date – What do brine shrimp look for in a mate?
• The X Bacteria – Explore antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

www.survivalrivals.org.uk

A variety of online resources are also available and teachers can even enter a competition to take four students to the Galapagos Islands, allowing them to follow in the footsteps of Charles Darwin.

Primary schools can sign up for the sister project, The Great Plant Hunt.

Here are links to some of the new resources that I’ve discovered via my Twitter network:

• BBC Wildlife Finder (from @mrstucke) – Watch videos of the most amazing animals in the world, from the BBC.

• You can now follow the fantastic Primary Resources site on Twitter – @primarystuff
• Use this amazing ‘Punched Out‘ font for your classroom displays and learning activities. The font makes printed nets of different letters. Just cut them out and stick them together.

• Try out ThinkDraw to create and rate pictures using a range of objects and colours. Thanks to @simonhaughton.
• Schools are now starting to develop their own iPhone apps as a way of sharing news and information with parents. Try the new application from Porchester Junior School (via @xannov).
• Scimorph is a new augmented reality site which teaches you about gravity and bacteria. Print the marker provided, place it in front of your web cam and interact with Scimorph while he teaches you! Thanks to @mbarrow for sharing this.

• Google have added an ‘Ocean Showcase‘ feature to Google Earth. Looks like a wonderful resource for schools (thanks to @dajbelshaw).
• The wonderful BBC Primary History site now has a ‘World History’ section. Suggested by @simonhaughton.
• Wikipedia have a ‘Simple English‘ version which uses simple words and grammar, making it much easier for children to read and understand. Recommended by @tombarrett.

Don’t miss the previous posts in this series:

• Part One
• Part Two

What have you discovered on Twitter recently?

Image – Twitter Logo Map 09

Thousands of primary schools across the country have a chance to win an amazing allotment makeover by taking part in the biggest ever Grow Your Own Potatoes project. Registrations are now open at www.potatoesforschools.org.uk for 2010’s Grow Your Own Potatoes project and this year there are 15,000 FREE packs available.

Potato Council’s Grow Your Own Potatoes project is linked to the curriculum and is a hands-on way for pupils to find out how things grow, and where their food comes from. Over 400,000 pupils will plant their potatoes in March 2010, carefully nurturing them from seed to plants, before harvesting their crop next June.

www.potatoesforschools.org.uk

The pupils that grow the heaviest crop of potatoes will win an allotment makeover for their schools including design, build and all the plants needed to get started. There is also a whole host of fantastic runner up prizes available, including eco-friendly picnic tables and playground benches.

All schools that take part in the Grow Your Own Potatoes project will receive their FREE growing kit in March 2010, containing Rocket and Vales Emerald seed potatoes, supplied by the British potato industry, grow bags, water spout, stickers and an interactive classroom poster. Advice, support and downloadable resources, covering how to grow and cook potatoes, are available at www.potatoesforschools.org.uk.

Registration closes on the 5th February 2010 but packs are available on a first come first served basis. So register your school now for what is sure to be the most successful Grow Your Own Potatoes project yet, and see how many potatoes your school can grow.

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the recording of one of this year’s Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. These lectures have been inspiring children and adults alike since 1825. They were initiated by Michael Faraday at a time when organised education for young people was scarce.

As the Royal Institution site explains… “In this year’s Christmas Lectures, Prof Sue Hartley will show you plants as you’ve never seen them before. They are complicated, cunning, beautiful and with plenty of tricks up their sleeve. And what’s more, we humans are dependent on them in ways you’d never imagine. As well as much of our food, our drugs, medicines and materials are all by-products of this epic 300 million year war.”

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the recording of one of the lectures. It was full of practical demonstrations, amazing facts and Sue presented it with a huge amount of enthusiasm for the subject. It was one of the most enjoyable Science lessons I’ve ever had and I can’t wait to watch it all over again on TV!

If you would like to see the lectures yourself, they are on More4 from 21st to 25th December at 7pm. Find out more here.

A new website has been launched to help schools teach pupils about sustainable living and the key role that scientists and engineers will play in tackling the challenges of climate change.

The online resource, 3MWorldlyWise is designed to boost young interest in studying the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths from GCSE to A-level and on to university.

www.3mworldlywise.co.uk

This free website  contains lots of helpful tips for living a ‘greener’ life, along with resources for teachers, and is particularly aimed at students aged from 11-16 years old (although it could also be used by upper KS2 children, I’m sure).

Succeeding with Science is an extremely useful site for primary and secondary Science teachers with lots of free downloadable resources and online magazines.

www.succeedingwithscience.com

The latest edition of the primary magazine, For Teachers By Teachers, is a twice yearly, free online magazine which encourages and supports science teaching in the primary classroom. Building on our previous online resource, Once Upon a Time in Cumbria, the current edition focuses on a local research project that helps Year 6 pupils to identify the events and innovations that can cause communities to change.

Along with a PowerPoint Presentation describing how Cumbria has changed over time, FTBT provides comprehensive notes and lesson plans enabling teachers to undertake projects about their own local area with their classes.

Moss Green Children’s Books are offering free colouring pages showing fruit and vegetables. They provide information about each particular fruit / vegetable, showing when they are in season, any pests who might attack them, and how they can be used in the kitchen.

www.mossgreenchildrensbooks.co.uk

The pages are available for a wide range of abilities and might be a useful addition to work on plants and / or healthy eating.

Quantum Theatre provide educational shows for schools in the UK. The company was originally set up in 1988 with the aim of using educational drama to support schools with their teaching of numeracy and science. Over twenty years on, nearly three thousand schools each year see Quantum performances, using them to introduce or reinforce these topics.

Some of the shows currently available include:

• The Big Drip - materials and their properties
• Captain Cholesterol & the Grannies from Mars - health & nutrition
• Bin Raider - the environment, re-cycling and energy-saving
• Lights & Sounds of Tinseltown - light and sound
• The Missing Link - animal & human biology
• The Mysterious Disappearance of Mr. Winchlever - forces & mechanics
• On the Trail of the Countback Kid – a new show which covers place value, number operations, the four functions, a variety of mental methods including approximation, partition and number bonds, times tables and written methods of addition and subtraction – a Maths lesson with a difference!

Find out more about the Quantum Theatre productions at www.quantumtheatre.co.uk.