Many of you were fascinated (and disgusted!) by the article about forensic entomology in our last issue. Paula Starbäck, the reviewer, suggested that it would be a fascinating activity for students, if only someone could find a way to avoid the terrible smell. We challenged you to come up with a…
Graham Gardner from the Inter-Community School in Zürich, Switzerland, describes how an attempt to interest his students in chemical separation techniques developed into a full-scale interdisciplinary detective mystery.
Dave Goulson and Ben Darvill from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust at the University of Stirling, UK, explain why these furry insects are under threat – and what schools can do to help.
Ages: <11, 11-14, 14-16, 16-19; Topics: Biology, General science
Emm Barnes from the British Society for the History of Science describes an initiative to develop exciting interdisciplinary activities. And gives the recipe for a delicious edible geology project!
Ages: 14-16; Topics: Biology, Earth science, Science and society, General science
One hour and 34 minutes after the bright tail of the Kosmos 3M rocket disappeared from view, more than one hundred students are checking their watches nervously. The first signal from their satellite should arrive any minute. Barbara Warmbein, from the European Space Agency in Noordwijk, the…
An ambitious Australian school project sent spiders into space to experience microgravity. 'Spiders in Space' will form the basis of a future project involving many more schools worldwide. Lachlan Thompson and Naomi Mathers, from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, explain how it all started.
Ages: 14-16; Topics: Biology, Astronomy / space, General science
Sometimes in the wealth of detail of modern science, we lose sight of the unifying factor: the scientific method. Alfredo Tifi, Natale Natale and Antonietta Lombardi explain how they encourage the skills of enquiry, hypothesis and testing.
Ages: <11, 11-14; Topics: Physics, General science
There is an increasing demand for an interdisciplinary approach to teaching, but providing inspiring and achievable lessons is no easy task. Chemistry teacher Gianluca Farusi explains how he used two Italian Renaissance paintings to delve into the chemistry of pigment extraction and the physics of…
Chinese dragons that predict earthquakes? Waves of glowing jelly babies? Earthquake-proof spaghetti? Physics teachers Tobias Kirschbaum and Ulrich Janzen explain how they teach geophysics.
