Great Science Resources 7 - 11 years — The Great Science Share for Schools

It’s time to get curious! Encourage your pupils to ask questions that can lead to an enquiry. Here’s a range of engaging ideas and contexts to support you.

THESE RESOURCES WILL:

nurture the skills and curiosity of your pupils
inspire them to ask and investigate scientific questions they’re interested in
provide opportunities for your pupils to think as scientists, gathering evidence and communicating findings to others.

Featured

Great Electricity Share

How does the number of components affect the outputs in a circuit?
Investigate the effect of different components to vary the outputs in a circuit linked to the book ‘These Chips Can!’ written by Jules Pottle.

Curriculum topics: working scientifically, electricity

Cross-curricular links: literacy and history

Great Ocean Share

How can our we protect our oceans? Get practical - make models to investigate the effect of variables, and explore how scientific models are used to explore what happens in nature…

Curriculum:  working scientifically, materials and dissolving to form a solution
Cross Curricular: Citizenship, Global Sustainability

Great Observation Share

Are all flowers the same? What about insects?…
With supporting resources from Manchester Museum, pupils explore biodiversity and life on land.
Curriculum topics: working scientifically, disciplinary knowledge - observational drawing
Cross Curricular: Art, Industry

Great Sustainability Share

How do water and wind make things move?
Experience and apply knowledge and awareness of water and air exploration to connect how sustainable energy is produced.

Curriculum topics: working scientifically, forces (air and water resistance).
Cross Curricular: Design Technology, Maths, Geography

Coming soon for World Book Day...

Launching in time for World Book Day…
A brand new Science and Literacy storybook focussing on investigating electrical circuits.

Cross Curricular: Literacy, History

Great Science Poetry Share 2025

For all ages. Cross-curricular link: literacy

Creative Manchester, in partnership with the Great Science Share for Schools, is running a Micropoetry competition themed around ‘Connected Science’.

Great My Science Club 2025

For 5-11 year-olds

What impact does ocean acidification have on living things? Discuss ocean acidification and the effects it has on life in the ocean. Ideal for families and Science Clubs between pupils of different ages.

Great Question Ponder 2025

For all ages

Encourage talk and higher order thinking about sustainability linked to each Great Guided Enquiry.

Extend the learning... Ocean Academy

For 5-11 year-olds

Follow the My Science Club resources to inspire discussions about protecting our planet through responsible consumption.

Great Science Share for Schools Classroom Display Pack

Downloadable and printable materials for a classroom display - share creatively, record learning and raise the profile of science in school.

Great Science Shout Out 2025

For all ages

Enhance pupil voice by writing and sharing letters to make a great noise about why science is important in our lives

Great Quantum World

What conditions make the best spin?
Inspired by Quantum researchers and linked to Izzy Jones’ Quantum World.
Curriculum topics: working scientifically, variables

Great Fashion Share

What are clothes made from & why?
Investigate fabrics used in clothing and consider the issues of fast fashion. Supported by Energising Futures.
Curriculum topics: working scientifically, materials and their properties

Great Sports Share

What affects performance during sport?
Inspired by the Olympics and sport with support from Explorify and BBC micro:bit playground survey.
Curriculum topics: working scientifically, human body, muscles, fatigue

Great Computing Share

How much do the technologies in our school contribute to climate change?
Investigate and animate with micro:bits & Scratch, developed with Barefoot Computing.
Curriculum topics: working scientifically, block coding

Great Science Shout Out

For all ages

Enhance pupil voice by writing and sharing letters to make a great noise about why science is important in our lives

Great Guided Enquiry: Great Glass Share

Enquiry resources for 5 - 11 year-olds: Two age-related whole-class science guided enquiries all about glass, its properties and uses
Curriculum topics: everyday materials, states of matter

Great Guided Enquiry: Great Glider Share

Enquiry resources for 5 - 14 year-olds: Three age-related whole-class physics guided enquiries inspired by a story about curiosity and gravity; developed in collaboration with aerospace engineers at The University of Manchester.
Curriculum topics: everyday materials, forces

Great Guided Enquiry: Great Gather & Group

Enquiry resources for 5 - 14 year-olds: three age-related whole-class biology guided enquiries to get pupils outdoors foraging, in the context of mushrooms.
Curriculum topics: living things and their habitats, plants

Great Phizzi Share

The Great Phizzi Share resources aim to support children in developing ideas about the physics aspects in the curriculum through enquiry within the context of climate action providing an opportunity for young learners to share their concerns in the classroom.

Great Guided Enquiry: Doffa's Reindeer and Air Pollution

Enquiry resources for 5 - 14 year-olds: A reading by the author with an accompanying video lesson on air pollution and a lesson plan.
Curriculum topics: animals including humans, evolution and inheritance, living things and their habitats, plants, seasonal changes

Working scientifically: Plan and carry out a comparative test

Featured

ASE: Exploring Sustainability with Children

ASE: Exploring Sustainability with children

Enquiry resources for age 5-11 years-old. This article reports on a school’s approach to engaging children in Education for Sustainability.

PSTT: Sketchbook Science

PSTT: Sketchbook Science

Enquiry resources for age 5-12 years-old. Combine science discovery and art with the help of PSTT’s Sketchbook Science.

PSTT: Science and STEM Club

PSTT: Science and STEM Club

Enquiry resources for age 5-12 years-old. Practical investigations related to recent research about the environment and climate science.

The Royal Society: Brian Cox School Experiments

The Royal Society: Brian Cox School Experiments

Enquiry resources for age 5-11 years-old. Brian Cox presents a series of video resources to relate the experiments to the real world.

CREST: Bumblebee Mystery

CREST: Bumblebee Mystery

Enquiry resources for age 7-11 years-old. Prompt your pupils to think about pollinators and their habitats.

Featured

COMING SOON Extend with Explorify... 2025 Great Guided Enquiries

COMING SOON… Extend all three 2025 Great Guided Enquiries with a selection of specially curated activities from Explorify.

Open Schooling: What does pollution look like?

Open Schooling: What does pollution look like?

Enquiry resources for 7-11 year-olds, 60 minutes + prep time. Pupils engage in a variety of of investigations exploring the different types of pollution around us.

Open Schooling: Sounds Around Us

Open Schooling: Sounds Around Us

Enquiry resources for 7-11 year-olds, 70 minutes. Get pupils instigating the science around them, as they gather, record and analyse data about the sounds in your school.

Odgen Trust: Phizzi Practical Coin Battery

Phizzi enquiry: Coin Battery

Enquiry resources for 7-14 year-olds. A practical activity for pupils to follow in Michael Farday’’s footsteps and make their own battery.

Odgen Trust: Phizzi Sound Circus

Phizzi enquiry: Sound Circus

Enquiry resources for 7-14 year-olds. A hands and minds on investigation to get pupils thinking about sound.

CREST Awards Superstar Challenge: Investigating Ink

CREST Awards Superstar Challenge

Enquiry resources for 7-11 year-olds, 45-60 minutes. Pupils are tasked with catching a dog-napper using chromatography!

Explorify: What's Going On?

Explorify: What’s Going On?

Enquiry resources for 5-11 year-olds. Short, distraction-free videos to encouragepupils to explain their thinking and apply their knowledge in new contexts.

Explorify: Problem Solver

Explorify: Problem Solvers

Enquiry resources for 5-11 year-olds. Problem Solvers allow pupils to overcome hurdles, seek out solutions as a team, develop their critical thinking and have fun!

Explorify: What if?

Explorify: What If?

Enquiry resources for 5-11 year-olds. Start with a fun question to help pupils place their ideas and thoughts in new contexts and discussion skills.

Explorify: Who Is?

Explorify: Have You Ever?

Enquiry resources for 5-11 year-olds. Activities to inspire pupils to think about STEM subjects and science careers.

Explorify: Have You Ever?

Explorify: Have You Ever?

Enquiry resources for 7-11 year-olds. Relatable and adaptable science questions that build on pupils’ prior experiences.

Explorify: The Big Question

Explorify: The Big Question

Enquiry resources for 5-11 year-olds. Activities to get your pupils thinking like scientists as they work together to plan and present their own investigations.

Explorify: Zoom In, Zoom Out

Explorify: Zoom Out, Zoom Out

Enquiry resources for 5-11 year-olds. Visually engaging activities to hook the whole class and inspire question-asking.

Explorify: Odd One Out

Explorify: Odd One Out

Enquiry resources for 5-9 year-olds. Stimulate discussions with activities to promote observation and share ideas and knowledge.

Extend with Explorify...

Extend all three 2023 Great Guided Enquiries with a selection of specially curated activities from Explorify.

EBSOC: Science@Home

EBSOC: Opening a Can of Worms

Enquiry resources for 7-14 year-olds. Simple, hands-on activities linked to real-life research for families to do at home.

EBSOC: Opening a Can of Worms

EBSOC: Opening a Can of Worms

Enquiry resources for 9-14 year-olds. An animal behaviour teacher toolkit to support you create investigations with your pupils.

EBSOC: More Milk Zuri?!

EBSOC: More Milk Zuri?!

Enquiry resources for 8-14 year-olds. Free downloadable resources with interdisciplinary curriculum links with science, social science, literacy and sustainability.

EBSOC: The Big Balloon Blow-Up

EBSOC: The Big Balloon Blow-Up

Enquiry resources for 8-14 year-olds. Free downloadable resources to support your learners investigate microorganisms and climate change.

EBSOC: Pondering Pond Life

EBSOC: Pondering Pond Life

Enquiry resources for 8-14 year-olds. Free downloadable resources to support your learners investigate pond water microorganisms

Royal Society of Biology: Gopher Science Lab

Royal Society of Biology: Gopher Science Lab

Enquiry resources for 11-14 year-olds to support transition. Activity booklets, practical resources and online training to support pupils deliver their own Gopher Science Lab activities to younger pupils.

Institute of Physics: Marvin and Milo

IOPSpark: Marvin and Milo

Enquiry resources for 5-14 year-olds. A collection of practical Physics enrichment activities including downloadable pupil instructions.

The ASE: Primary upd8 (Free to ASE members)

The ASE: Primary upd8

Enquiry resources for 5-11 year-olds. Activities based on a current event or an everyday life context to help you design enjoyable science lessons that link to scientific enquiry skills.

The Institute of Engineering and Technology: Primary Posters

IET Education: Posters for Primary Schools

Posters to support enquiry for 5-14 year-olds. Downloadable posters for the classroom on curriculum topics.

The Institute of Engineering and Technology: Primary Teaching Resources

IET Education: Teaching Resources for Primary Schools

Enquiry resources for 7-11 year-olds, up to 1 hour. Downloadable resources to support the delivery of key topics within science and design and technology, linked to the environment and climate change.

OPAL Primary (Open Air Laboratories)

STEM Learning: OPAL Primary Education Packs

Enquiry resources for 5-11 year-olds. Downloadable packs designed for use outside in a local wildlife area, with classroom based follow up activities..

Practical Action: Plastics challenge

Practical Action: Plastics Challenge

Enquiry resources for 7-16 year-olds. In this activity from Practical Action, pupils sort and classify different types of plastic, compare and consider how different plastics can be recycled and design products made from waste plastics.

Practical Action: Beat the Flood

Practical Action: Beat the Flood

Enquiry resources for 7-16 year-olds. In this activity from Practical Action, pupils carry out comparative tests on different materials for strength and absorbency to help them design and build a model flood-proof house.

CREST Awards: SuperStar Challenges

CREST Awards: SuperStar Challenges

Enquiry resources for 7-11 year-olds, 1 hour. Collections of challenges that relate to children’s everyday experiences.

CREST Awards: Sustainable Solutions

CREST Awards: Sustainable Solutions

Enquiry resources for 10-14 year-olds, 5 hours. A team-based activity with the aim of encouraging each team to design and create a sustainable start-up business concept linked to their community.

Are you looking for some ideas for your Great Science Share?

Why not check out the CREST Awards, a scheme encouraging young people aged 5-19 years old to take on STEM project work and explore ideas that are interesting to them?

There are lots of resources on the CREST resource library, or you can come up with your own project idea on a topic that interests young people. You can use this project work to share your science as part of the Great Science Share.

CREST is a nationally recognised scheme for student-led project work in the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths).
A consistent and high standard of assessment and moderation is achieved for the scheme via our network of industry experts from the STEM and education sectors. It has been running since 1986 and sees tens of thousands of young people taking part each year.

Encourage your pupils to ask - investigate - share!

Buttons - Skills - People - Share

Staying safe whilst you share

We know things are uncertain at the moment, please follow the latest advice related to social distancing in your area to ensure you comply with your school safeguarding arrangements and restrictions. There are lots of ways you can still share and be safe!

For advice and guidance on how you and your children can risk assess your GSSfS investigation consult the safety resources and practical activity ideas on the CLEAPSS primary website: www.cleapss.org.uk.

CLEAPSS specialise in supporting practical work in schools including advising on health and safety. Start by reading their document ‘Assessing the risks of a primary science activity outside of a normal lesson’ and visit their primary site for further information.

For advice and guidance for Scottish schools, consult the health and safety pages on the SSERC website: www.sserc.org.uk

Safety & responsibilities: The Great Science Share for Schools and commissioned authors are not liable for the actions and activity of any persons who use these resources or in any of the suggested further resources. We assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using this information. These activities are designed to be carried out by young people working with an adult. The responsible adult is fully responsible for ensuring the activity is carried out safely. You can access further H&S advice from www.cleapss.org.uk or your relevant advisory association.