**This Christmas STEM activity lets students create Christmas tree decorations in a new way, using chromatography! ** Students will use coffee filters, washable felt tips and a few other items to learn about mixtures, pigments and more! 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 share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETeducation #SantaLovesSTEM

Experiment to find out which substances effect oxidation of apples Thinking about what snack to leave out for Santa and his reindeers on Christmas Eve, our activity suggests cut-up apples but experiment with ways to prevent discolouration. Using different substances such as saltwater, lemon juice and milk, students will test their maths and science skills and learn about oxidisation, acids, alkalis and more. 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 share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETeducation #SantaLovesSTEM

Engage your student’s sciences skills and get them thinking about liquids, ions, icy surfaces and global warming In this winter STEM activity, students will experiment with salt to test different freezing points. This activity will engage their sciences and maths skills and get them thinking about liquids, ions, icy surfaces, global warming and more! 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 share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETeducation #SantaLovesSTEM

This activity will engage student’s maths and science skills, making them think about adhesives, molecular bonds and more! One of the traditions at Christmas time is to decorate our houses. In this creative Christmas STEM activity, students will be making wintery window decorations which will stick to a windowpane all by themselves! 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 share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETeducation #SantaLovesSTEM

Make edible snowmen from puffed rice and marshmallow This easy STEM themed baking activity lets students use puffed rice cereal, marshmallows and decorative items to create snowmen Rice Krispie treats! Baking is engineering. It is uses science, maths and technology skills to engineer and create solutions and new tasty products. So, engineers need all these skills – precision in weighing out ingredients, the safety required in the kitchen and product design and quality engineering to test, taste and improve with each bake! 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 share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETeducation #SantaLovesSTEM

Watch crystals form from a bicarb solution It’s hard to imagine a wintery snow scene without crystals and icicles. Drips of icy water freeze into long frozen structures which hang from roofs, windows and from the branches of trees. In this fun activity students are going to create crystals without the use of a fridge! This experiment will test and improve their maths and science skills. 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 share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETeducation #SantaLovesSTEM

In this fun Christmas STEM activity, students will make their own slime – the gooey slippery stuff that’s fun to pull and stretch. This experiment will dive into the science behind this sticky stuff and encourage students to have fun with science. Download the activity sheet below or watch our video for step-by-step instructions. If you’re up for an extra activity, try our snow sparkle slime word search where you look for words used in the experiment. 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 a classroom lesson plan for free. And please do share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETeducation #SantaLovesSTEM

Play our card activity about animals that hibernate over the winter Play a fun, science flashcard game to learn about the different animals that hibernate over winter, where they hibernate, what they eat and how long they hibernate for. Although you might think a hibernating animal is just having a very long sleep, there’s actually some very clever stuff going on inside its body. Its body temperature, heart rate and breathing rate all drop, so that the animal uses less energy. It’s a game for two or more players. For an extra activity, we have included a crossword puzzle that uses words from the game to promote sticky learning. A free activity sheet and card templates are available to download. And please do share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETeducation.

Learn how to create a captivating retro lava lamp in this fun Christmas STEM activity for kids. Have a go at our mixtures and density experiment to create fun colour bubbles and explore science. Equipment you will need A jar Half a jar of sunflower oil Water Red food colouring Bicarbonate of soda or an effervescent tablet And a torch The engineering context Understanding the way different materials work and the properties they all hold is vital in creating and developing solutions to our world’s problems. Engineers are interested in the world around them and use these different materials as the basis of every solution they create. Watch the IET video with ‘Science with Bexy’ and download the activity sheet for free! 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 experiment highlights with us @IETeducation! #SantaLovesSTEM.

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.

We see aeroplanes fly, and cars move daily, but how do they move? In this engaging KS2 activity, students will learn about a vital force called ‘thrust’ and construct their very own balloon-powered car. Through this hands-on experience, participants will enhance their engineering skills, practical craftsmanship and their understanding of scientific principles. They will make and test their cars and discuss the force that makes it move - its thrust. This activity could be used as a main lesson activity to teach learners about thrust, or as one of several activities within a wider scheme of learning focusing on forces. It could also be used as a D&T or Engineering activity to develop practical making skills. Download the presentation for a step-by-step guide on how to make the balloon-powered car. The teacher could demonstrate the making shown in each step, and learners could complete each step after it has been shown. Alternatively, if learners are able, the teacher could show all steps first and then learners could make their car. The engineering context Comprehending thrust and its associated forces is important for automotive, aerospace, and space technology engineers. A prime illustration lies in designing high-speed racing cars, where the aim is to propel the vehicle forward with utmost velocity. Suggested learning outcomes By the end of this activity, students will be able to make and test a balloon-powered car, and they will be able to understand what is meant by thrust. Download our activity sheet and other related resources for free! 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 below as either a classroom lesson plan or PowerPoint presentation. Please do share your highlights with us @IETeducation

In this fun Halloween STEM activity for kids, students will learn how to use the Sun to tell the time. They will make a simple stick sundial in the school area, identify where the shadow is cast every hour and mark this with stone and chalk. The following day students can test their results to see if the sundial is accurate at telling the time. This is one of a set of resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum. They are designed to support the delivery of key topics within maths and science. This resource focuses on the making of a simple sundial built in the school grounds. This can be used to support learning of telling the time and to understand how light creates shadows. How long will this activity take? Approximately 20-40 minutes to complete plus follow up. Tools/resources required Sticks Stones/Pebbles Chalk The engineering context Solar engineers design and make solar energy projects, from large-scale ones to home rooftop installations. They need to understand how the sun casts a shadow during the day to make sure their solar panels produce enough electricity. Suggested learning outcomes By the end of this activity students will be able to make a simple stick sundial and use it to tell the time and they will have an understanding of how the shadow is created with the stick blocking the sun. 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

Gather information about local flora and fauna and create a map with coordinates showing the location of plants and animals In this engaging activity for KS2, students will work in groups to collect information about the flora and fauna in their area. They will then create a map that displays the location of these plants and animals using coordinates. This is one of a set of free STEM resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum. They are designed to support the delivery of key topics within maths and science. This resource combines understanding of the natural world with maths skills, to create a map and guidebook of the local flora and fauna. A fun and practical exercise in which students will take real measurements of the area and use grid paper to create a scale representation. Additionally, students will incorporate digital photographs or drawings of the flora and fauna to create informational pages for the guidebook. For optimal results, it is advisable to conduct this activity in small groups. Selecting a suitable location is crucial, which could be the school grounds, nearby park, or other accessible area such as a local forest. It may be best if only one team member produces the map, and the other focus on measurement and describing the observed flora and fauna. The flora and fauna could include plants, trees, observed birds and wildlife and insects. This activity will take approximately 80-120 minutes to complete. Tools/resources required Access to an appropriate outside area with flora and fauna Pencils Rulers Clipboards Digital cameras Grid sheets to map the local area Tape measures Chalk Glue sticks or sticky tape The engineering context Environmental engineers across the globe engage in the mapping of flora and fauna to monitor changes in the natural world. Their research spans a variety of areas, including the impact of deforestation in the Amazon, the effects of climate change in the Polar regions, and the consequences of flooding in Asia. Suggested learning outcomes By the end of this activity students will be able to draw a map, they will be able to plot the positions using coordinates and they will be able to create, identify, and describe flora and fauna. Additionally, they will be able to use SI units for lengths/distances and they will be able to measure an area and scale it onto a map. 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

The natural environment – measuring leaves Trees and their leaves are an important part of our natural environment. We can use our maths and science knowledge to better understand them and hence the environment around us! In this activity each participant chooses a tree to collect six leaves from. Once the whole class has collected their leaves, return to the classroom to measure the lengths and widths of six leaves from a single tree. Place this data in a table and then calculate the mean average length and width of the leaves from the tree. As a class discuss the meaning of these values. What do they tell us about the size of the leaves on each tree sampled? Activity info, teachers’ notes and curriculum links This is one of a set of resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum; they are designed to support the delivery of key topics within maths and science. This activity could be used as a main lesson activity to teach learners how to collect data and calculate the mean value of a data set. It could also be used as one of several activities within a wider scheme of learning focusing on the use of maths and science to understand the natural environment. Tools/resources required Access to an outside area with trees and leaves Rulers and/or tape measures Calculators 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. All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download and are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs. Please do share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation

Develop and reinforce your knowledge of the different parts of a leaf by painting and labelling a leaf print In this fun activity for kids, learners will be guided through the process of creating a visually attractive leaf print using various types of leaves and paint. This activity aims to reinforce learners’ understanding of the different parts of a leaf by labelling them. Download our free activity sheet for a step-by-step guide on how to make leaf prints! This is one of a set of free STEM resources that has been developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum, with a focus on key topics within maths and science. This particular resource is centred around creating leaf prints and developing knowledge about the main parts of a leaf. Leaves can be collected from trees in and around the school premises as available. In case it is not feasible for the learners to venture outside and collect leaves, the teacher could have a selection of leaves already picked and ready to use. It is important to avoid leaves that have completely dried out as these will not work. This activity can serve as the primary lesson or as one of several activities in a larger scheme of learning centred around using science to better understand the natural environment. There is also potential for the incorporation of art and design elements. This activity will take approximately 60 – 90 minutes to complete. Tools/resources required Access to an outside area with trees and leaves Paints and paint brushes Old newspapers or other methods of protecting desks from paint A4 or A3 paper for the prints The engineering context Environmental engineers are professionals who work to develop solutions to environmental problems. They use engineering principles to identify and design solutions for a range of environmental challenges, including pollution control, waste management, and water treatment. Environmental engineers play a crucial role in protecting the environment and ensuring that human activities are conducted in a sustainable and responsible manner. They work in a range of industries, including government agencies, consulting firms and non-profit organisations. Suggested learning outcomes By the end of this activity students will be able to make a leaf print using different leaves and coloured paints, and they will be able to identify and label the main parts of a leaf. 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

Card matching activity with animals and foodstuffs Herbivore, carnivore or omnivore? Play this fun and interactive game that will teach you all about the diets of different animals! This STEM game is great for primary school children to teach them about the world and the creatures living in it. It’s simple to assemble and all instructions can be found in the free, printable activity sheet below. This activity could be used as a main activity to develop knowledge and understanding of the terms herbivore, carnivore and omnivore, as well as giving examples of animals included in each category. **Activity: ** This is one of a set of resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum. They are designed to support the delivery of key topics within maths and science. This resource focuses on what is meant by carnivore, herbivore and omnivore. It involves identifying what animals eat and sorting them into groups. This activity could be carried out individually, in pairs or in small groups. The cards for the game can be found in the teacher presentation below. Print and cut the cards out from the presentation. 1 set of 20 sorting cards should be given to each individual, pair or group. Sorting labels of herbivore, carnivore and omnivore could be provided if appropriate. The cards have coloured borders representing their grouping – red for carnivore, green for herbivore and blue for omnivore. These could be omitted by printing the cards in black and white. Tools/resources required Animal diet card game cards Drawing paper Coloured pencils The Engineering Context Food engineers are responsible for ensuring the safe and efficient processing, packaging and delivery of food to every store shelf in the world. It is a vital job to help safely feed all of humanity and the animals that we look after. Suggested Learning Outcomes By the end of this activity students will be able to identify and name a variety of common animals, they will be able to identify and sort animals into categories of what they eat and they will be able to sort animals into herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. Download the Animal diet game activity sheets for free! All activity sheets, worksheets 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

Growing seedlings in compostable home-made paper containers This is one of a set of resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum. They are designed to support the delivery of key topics within maths and science. This resource focuses on plants and how they grow. Learners will make a compostable plant container, plant and grow a seed. Plants are an important part of our natural environment. We can use our science knowledge to better understand them and hence the environment around us! Activity info, teachers’ notes and curriculum links In this activity learners will make a compostable plant box and then plant and grow a seed that can later be grown outside. This activity could be used as a main lesson activity, to teach learners how to plant seeds and care for their growth. They will also gain an understanding of what seeds need to grow i.e. sunlight, soil and water. It could be used as one of several activities within a wider scheme of learning focussing on the use of science to understand the natural environment. It could also be used to develop initial understanding of nets (making 3D forms from 2D shapes), contributing to learning in maths. It could also be used to start a discussion on the environment, as the container is biodegradable, whilst many traditional plant pots are made from polymers (which in turn are made from non-renewable oil), which take hundreds of years to decompose. 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. Download the free activity sheet for free! 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. And please do share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation

Finding the density of materials by weighing items and immersing them in water This is one of a set of resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum. They are designed to support the delivery of key topics within maths and science. This resource focuses on understanding density and, through a series of practical tests, working out which materials are low and high density. Activity info, teachers’ notes and curriculum links In this activity learners will learn about the density of materials through testing. Learners will have an opportunity to weigh and work out the volume of an object. They will use this information and their number skills to calculate the density. They will then repeat this for other objects and discuss their results as a class. This activity could be used as a main lesson activity, to teach learners how to collect data through measurement and to use number skills in a practical context. It could also be used as one of several activities within a wider scheme of learning focusing on the use of maths and science to understand the properties of materials. 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. Download the activity sheet for free! 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. Please do share your learning highlights with us @IETeducation

In this fun science activity for kids, learners will be shown the difference between deciduous and evergreen trees, in terms of their foliage and changes across the seasons. The difference will be reinforced by comparison with behaviours relating to the wearing of clothing. This exercise could also include the creation of a ‘class tree’ where learners write their names on leaves and attach them to a paper representation of a tree on a noticeboard. This is one of a set of free STEM resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum. They are designed to support the delivery of key topics within maths and science. This resource focuses on understanding the difference between different types of trees. This activity could be used as a main lesson activity. It could also be used as one of several activities within a wider scheme of learning focusing on the use of science to understand the natural environment. This activity will take approximately 30 – 50 minutes to complete. Tools/resources required Projector Noticeboard with ‘tree’ structure assembled from strips of brown sugar paper Paper for learner leaves Safety scissors (unless leaves are pre-cut) What is the difference between deciduous and evergreen trees? Deciduous trees lose their leaves in autumn. Evergreen trees, on the other hand, keep their needles (or pines) all year. Deciduous and evergreen are the terms used in the national curriculum, but some learners may find hardwood and softwood easier. Hardwoods come from deciduous trees and softwoods come from evergreen/coniferous trees. These terms are just types of wood and not the properties of the wood – hardwoods are not necessarily hard (balsa is soft enough that it can be marked using a thumbnail) and softwoods are not necessarily soft (parana pine is used to make wooden stairs). Suggested learning outcomes By the end of this activity students will be able to state the differences between a deciduous and an evergreen tree and they will be able to describe how a deciduous tree changes with the seasons. Download the free The Difference Between Deciduous and Evergreen Trees 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

Using the effects of air pressure to defy gravity Gravity is defied in this super simple gravity-free water experiment. Children use the effects of air pressure to make it look as though there is zero gravity in an upside-down glass of water. Get your children to fill a glass with water, place a piece of card over it and turn it upside down. Discuss how gravity works, why gravity is important, and how the water stays in the glass. Gravity discovery is exciting and using a hands-on experiment with minimal equipment will make a gravity discovery lesson the highlight of their day. Tools/resources required Drinking glass Access to a sink and/or water Small pieces of thick card (preferably coated/shiny) to cover the glass This activity could be used as a starter or main activity to introduce the effects of gravity and air pressure, or as one of several activities within a wider scheme of learning focusing on different types of forces. Use the content for gravity discovery and to think about why gravity is important, how gravity works and most importantly spark a life-long science interest with your class and children. Please share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation