Use design and technology skills to use a 2D net to make a 3D Christmas cracker and hat This engaging activity for kids is one of a series of accessible STEM resources designed to allow learners to use the theme of the Christmas period to develop their knowledge and skills in Mathematics, Design & Technology and Engineering. Download our free activity sheet for a step-by-step guide on making a DIY Christmas cracker and hat from paper. This activity could be carried out individually or in small groups. Once you have created your Christmas cracker, consider what gifts you could put into it. Who would you give the gift to? Students could add designs to the Christmas cracker and hat as a fun extension activity. For example, they could add different colours and images related to Christmas, such as reindeer or snowmen. Learners could also create a joke book to be put inside their crackers using the IET resource titled ‘Christmas cracker jokes’. Tools/resources required Glue sticks Paper Coloured pencils Scissors Gold/Silver pens to add decoration Pre-printed Christmas images The engineering context Engineers use nets to make 3D models of structures and even products like vacuum cleaners. Suggested learning outcomes By the end of this activity, you will understand what a 2D net or surface development means and how engineers assemble them into 3D objects, structures and products. You will then learn how to create and make a Christmas cracker and a hat from a net. Download the free How to make Christmas crackers activity sheet! All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable so that you can tailor them to your students and your schools’ needs. The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, helpful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Oh ho ho, please share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation! #SantaLovesSTEM.

In this fun activity for kids, students can make cool crafts out of cardboard boxes. Use a cardboard box of any size and other recyclables you can find and use safely. We challenge you to get creative and bring one of our ideas to life or go a step further and invent your own project. Students should be encouraged to draw or write about as many ideas as possible for their cardboard box creation. They could make a castle, robot, rocket, or musical instrument. Learners could even think about a box they could get into or have fun with. No idea is too big! How long will this activity take? This activity will take approximately 30-59 minutes to complete. The engineering context Engineers must understand the environmental impact of the designs they produce and how their carbon footprint can be reduced, for example, by using recycled or reused materials more. This activity encourages resourcefulness by repurposing materials that might otherwise be discarded. Children can learn the value of recycling and environmental sustainability by transforming cardboard into imaginative creations. These crafts also enhance problem-solving skills as children conceptualise, plan, and construct their projects, developing critical thinking and spatial awareness. Download the free Crafts with cardboard boxes activity sheet! All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs. The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Don’t forget to take photos of your finished cardboard box design and share them with us @IETeducation.

Climate change and electricity? Investigate types of circuit with buzzers and lights to experiment and find out which is best for our planet. In this science activity for Key Stage 2, students will investigate different types of circuits to determine the most sustainable ones. They will then build their own Christmas lights by making a circuit with LED bulbs and crocodile leads. This is an engaging experiment that will encourage students to have fun with science! Students will first compare series circuits against parallel circuits. A series circuit is a configuration where components are connected one after another in a single path, creating a single flow of current. In contrast, a parallel circuit is a setup where components are linked across multiple paths, allowing current to split and flow through each component independently. Following this, students will replace the battery pack in their circuit with a solar panel. Students should consider the following questions: Are the LEDs as bright as with the battery pack? How does the weather affect the brightness of the LEDs? Can you add as many LEDs to your parallel circuit as you can with the battery pack? Solar power is a renewable energy source that is much better for our environment. In this activity, we use solar panels, which transfer solar energy into electrical energy and light energy without storing it. Solar panels aren’t useful for Christmas lights as it would mean that they would only work during the day if the solar panel were in direct sunlight. In order to use our Christmas lights at night, we would need to add a storage cell, such as a rechargeable battery, which could store the energy until we turn on the lights in the evening. We would still need to ensure that the solar panel is in direct sunlight during the day, though, to ensure our lights come on every evening. Next time you buy your Christmas lights, think about what you could do differently to help protect our environment, particularly Santa’s North Pole! Equipment required A 2 x AA battery pack and batteries A 3V solar panel At least eight crocodile leads At least 4 LEDs (Different colours if possible) 5V bulb to show the difference in light emitted Download the free Build your own Christmas lights activity sheet! All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs. The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Oh ho ho, and please share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation.

Describing a sports team using fractions and percentages In this fun maths activity, students will test their fractions and percentage skills by looking at football teams. Before a big competition a squad is selected and from that the final team will be chosen. In this activity we describe the squad using fractions and percentages and then select a team. Can someone else work out which team has been selected from the fractions and percentages used to describe it? The purpose of this activity is to deepen understanding of fractions and percentages as ways to describe proportion or parts of a whole. There are opportunities to look at equivalent fractions and equivalence between fractions and percentages. All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs. The activity sheet includes teachers’ notes, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. You can download our step-by-step instructions as either a classroom lesson plan or PowerPoint presentation And please do share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETeducation

Use fractions, percentages and averages to decide the best footballer In this engaging activity students will explore statistics and use them to decide on a ranking of football players. Football players are ranked in different ways and there are a variety of awards that they can be rewarded with. Each year the Ballon D’Or is awarded to the player judged to be the ‘best’. The Golden Ball is given to the best player in the World Cup tournament. In this activity, pupils are presented with data and can use it to decide who they consider to be the best footballer. The purpose of this activity is to explore statistics and to use them to decide on a ranking of football players. Pupils will compare data and use average scores to find ways of comparing data and making decisions. All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs. The activity sheet includes teachers’ notes, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. You can download our step-by-step instructions as a classroom lesson plan and PowerPoint presentation And please do share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETeducation

Create biscuits in national flag colours to celebrate an international sporting event Combine science, maths and design skills to celebrate the different nations taking part in international sporing events such as the Football World Cup and the Olympics. This fun STEM activity focusses on making and decorating biscuits with flags from the different nations. Students will consider the colours and shapes used in different national flags. They will then make and use icing to colour their biscuits in national flag colours from each teams. All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs. The activity sheet includes teachers’ notes, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. You can download our step-by-step instructions as a classroom lesson plan and PowerPoint presentation. And please do share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETeducation

Select your own football team based on data and strategy In this engaging activity for kids, students will use their math skills to build their own football team. Fantasy football games and football cards are great ways to get involved with football, follow players and enjoy the game even when the match is over. These activities explore the maths of fantasy football and football cards. The purpose of this activity is to compare numbers and measures, add totals and find differences within the context of exploring the ways that footballers can be compared. The resource includes three different activities that allow students to consider who they want in their team, use stats to select players, and turn their team into Top Trump cards. All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs. The activity sheet includes teachers’ notes, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. You can download our step-by-step instructions as either a classroom lesson plan or PowerPoint presentation And please do share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETeducation or send them via email to IETEducation@theiet.org to be featured in our online gallery.

Making a ghee lamp to celebrate Diwali A diya is an oil lamp that represents the triumph of light over dark, and good over evil. Diyas are traditionally made from clay or mud, with a cotton wick dipped in ghee to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights. This resource focusses on making, decorating and safely using a diya. This could be used as a one-off main lesson activity to develop making skills with air drying clay. Alternatively, it could be used as a part of a wider scheme of work to develop designing and making skills in Design and Technology, and Art, or to build links with Religious Education. All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs. The activity sheet includes teachers’ notes, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. You can download our step-by-step instructions as either a classroom lesson plan or PowerPoint presentation And don’t forget to share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETEducation

Design and make a ghee lamp to celebrate Diwali Lots of people across the world celebrate Diwali, which is known as the festival of lights. Can you make a diya lamp for use during the celebrations? Traditionally made from clay or mud, diyas are an oil lamp that are considered to bring good fortune. In this activity, learners will make a diya lamp using air drying clay. They will first create a pinch pot before making this into the shape for the diya. Once dry, they will design and decorate the lamp by adding colour and then use it to see how well it works. This is one of a series of resources designed to allow learners to use the theme of Diwali to develop their knowledge and skills in design and technology and art. All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs. The activity sheet includes teachers’ notes, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. You can download our step-by-step instructions as either a classroom lesson plan or PowerPoint presentation And don’t forget to share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETEducation

A set of printable resources and guidance notes giving teachers and technicians the basic ingredients to run their very own Faraday Challenge Day. This cross-curricular activity day brings science, design and technology, engineering and maths together in an engaging way. The IHEEM challenge is based on the IET Faraday® Challenge of the same name from our 2021/22 season of IET Faraday® Challenge Days. Students are given an engineering brief (found in the student booklet) to help IHEEM to design a prototype which could be used in a children’s hospital to make a stay in hospital more comfortable and relaxing for young patients and their families, carers and friends. They will need to demonstrate that they have the engineering skills required to engineer and construct a working prototype of their design and pitch their products to the judges. Designed for six teams of six students (36 students in total) aged 12-13 years (year 8 England, and equivalent), the challenge encourages the development of students’ problem solving, team working and communication skills. This activity day can be tailored to the needs of your school and your students by adapting the PowerPoint presentation and the editable student booklet. What’s included? The complete set of downloadable materials includes: Teachers’ pack A list of the practical materials needed, presenters’ notes highlighting key areas and reinforcing key themes throughout the day, some handy hints on how to deliver the day . . . plus printable Faradays currency and student certificates. Student booklet Available as an editable MSWord document to allow the booklet to be adapted to meets the needs of your students and your school. PowerPoint presentation A step-by-step guide for your students throughout the day, with supporting notes for the delivery of the presentation. Film clip Full briefing video introducing the challenge to your students. All online resources are free to download, and the student booklet and PowerPoint presentation are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs. And please do remember to share your activity highlights with us @IETeducation

Work out the density of materials This activity for primary kids gives them an opportunity to work out the density of a material using Archimedes’ principle, an ancient Greek mathematician. Combining maths and science, students will learn how to collect data through experimenting and understand the properties of materials. This activity will test students’ number abilities and teach them historical facts about ancient Greece. Resources are provided for teachers. And please do share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation

Create a water mill to produce electricity and power an LED In this exciting activity for primary students, kids will understand what is meant by, and the need for, renewable energy. They will make and test a water mill that produces enough electricity to light an LED and learn how water wheels work. This engineering activity will show students how electricity can be generated using the power of moving water and teach students facts about how the ancient Greeks have affected modern life. Resources for teachers are provided. And please do share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation

Make a water clock to measures time In this fun activity for kids, students will learn how water can measure time using principles from ancient Greece. They will then create a Greek water clock that can be used to measure a set period. This activity will test students’ maths abilities and teach them historical facts about ancient Greece. Resources are provided for teachers. And please do share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation

Use Pythagoras Theorem to measure objects In this activity for kids, students will be introduced to the concept of the Pythagoras Theorem and what it is used for. They will use this knowledge to create a string triangle in the proportion of 3:4:5 and use it to measure objects from their base. This activity will test students’ maths abilities and teach them historical facts about ancient Greece. Resources for teachers are available. And please do share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation

Make a measuring wheel that measures distances This activity for primary school kids involves making a measuring wheel for accurately measuring in metres and centimetres. This activity combines maths and history and is inspired by the achievements of ancient Greece. It is thought that the inventor of the odometer may have been Archimedes, between 2200 and 2300 years ago. Resources are provided to support teachers in furthering their students’ maths abilities. And please do share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation

Learn scale with ancient Greek mathematics In this engaging activity for kids inspired by the achievements of ancient Greece, students will discover how to create a scale drawing of an object using ancient Greek mathematics. This activity, which combines maths and history, will introduce students to the concept of scale and teach students facts about how the ancient Greeks have affected modern life. Resources for teachers are provided. And please do share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation

Measure the time taken to complete a task and plot results in a graph In this activity, students will take part in their own Olympics, an event invented by the Greeks, whilst applying history, maths, and PE. Students will record distances using a tape measure or an odometer to record the time taken to run different lengths. This activity will enable students to measure using different tools, record results and plot graphs. Resources for teachers are provided. And please do share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation

This Primary IET Faraday® DIY Challenge Challenge Day encourages students to consider how engineers work together to solve real-life problems. It enables students to experience the knowledge, understandings and skills engineers use within their work and the ways in which their strengths can be used to achieve an effective outcome. The students will need to work as a team to design a way of getting lighthouse keepers back to the mainland from a lighthouse based on a small island 200 metres from the nearest land. The design will need to use a zip line to carry the keeper safely across the waves which can be high during storms. The students will have access to the Faraday shop and a budget of Faraday money. They will need to plan what resources to buy and manage and record their budget. At times they may need to make decisions about affordability and effective use and should be encouraged to identify alternative, possibly cheaper, approaches to their final designs. At the end of the challenge day students will be asked to present their prototypes by demonstrating how their design could carry the lighthouse keeper safely to the mainland. Designed for six teams of six students (36 students in total) aged 8-11 years, the challenge encourages the development of students’ problem solving, team working and communication skills. This activity day can be tailored to the needs of your school and your students by adapting the PowerPoint presentation and the editable student booklet. The complete set of free downloadable materials includes: Teachers’ pack A list of the practical materials needed, presenters’ notes highlighting key areas and reinforcing key themes throughout the day, some handy hints on how to deliver the day . . . plus printable Faradays currency and student certificates. Student booklet Available as an editable MSWord document to allow the booklet to be adapted to meets the needs of your students and your school. PowerPoint presentation A step-by-step guide for your students throughout the day, with supporting notes for the delivery of the presentation. And please do share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation

Making a moisture sensor to check that a sports pitch is fit to play on In this engineering activity, designed for secondary school students, students will make and test a moisture sensor that referees can use to check the playability of a football pitch. This is one of a series of resources designed to allow learners to use the theme of the sport to develop their knowledge and skills in design and technology and engineering. This free resource focuses on making and testing a moisture sensor that referees can use to check the playability of the pitch. Activity introduction Your task is to make a waterlogging sensor that a referee can use to check whether the playing field is fit to play on. It should indicate when the pitch is too wet for play to safely take place. Follow the steps outlined in our free activity sheet to assemble your own moisture sensor circuit. Once the sensor is assembled place the moisture sensor in wet soil or grass to see if it works! After you have tested your moisture sensor circuit you can discuss with your teacher how successful the making of it has been. This activity will take approximately 50-80 minutes. What you will need A soldering iron, stand, sponge and mat/base Solder Moisture sensor circuit board A 9-volt battery and battery snap A 470-ohm, 1 kiloohm and 1.2 kiloohm resistor A transistor A 5 mm red LED A sticky pad The engineering context Sporting events require engineers of a wide range of disciplines to make sure that it runs smoothly and effectively. From structural engineers in charge of stadium design to textile engineers producing the players’ kits, the importance of engineers is huge. Electrical and electronic engineers need to have basic skills in circuit construction, including soldering components and testing electronic PCBs. Suggested learning outcomes By the end of this activity students will be able to make a moisture sensor circuit, they will be able to fit and solder components to a PCB and they will be able to test the moisture sensor circuit to check how well it works. Download the free activity sheet! All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs. The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Please share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation.

A project to design a sports logo This STEM activity is inspired by the Olympics. Students will learn about logo design by designing and creating a sports logo for a sports team of their choice. This free resource, aimed at secondary school students, will develop learners’ knowledge and skills in design and technology and engineering. Activity sheets for students and resources for teachers are provided below. This fun resource could be used as a one-off main lesson activity to build knowledge of branding and logos. It could also be used as part of a wider scheme of learning focussing on developing creative skills within graphics and graphic design. Imagine that a sports team is designing a new kit and your students have been asked to design a new logo for the team. They want the logo to represent the sport and be eye-catching. Your students will design a sports logo for a sports team of their choice. Their design should use an image or a simple shape that represents the sport. They need to think about how a sports logo is created from a single image. How are colours used to show movement on an object? How can an image of a sports person be converted into a sports logo? How can different shapes be used to add a background to the image? How do you add text to the logo? Then sketch their idea for a sports logo that meets the needs of both the brief and the design criteria given. Designs can be produced on the handout provided or on blank A4/43 paper. Once finished, ask three other people to suggest one improvement each to the design. Then select one of these suggested improvements and use it to update the design. This exercise should take approximately 50-60 minutes to complete. What you will need: Projector/whiteboard Sketching equipment Coloured pencils The engineering context Many top sport teams have logos that have become famous and appear on all their branded products. Suggest learning outcome By the end of this activity students will be able to design a sports team logo. They will also be able to communicate design ideas using sketches, notes and annotations. All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs. The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. And please do remember to share your activity highlights with us @IETeducation