#CheltSciFest
FESTIVAL AT SCHOOL PRIMARY PACK
#CheltSciFest
Welcome to Cheltenham Science Festival for Schools 2021. We hope you and your pupils enjoy our first ever digital schools programme – all free! Create your own Festival week at school, or dip into your choice of events over the term – whatever works best for you. Please share the programme with your whole school community as this is the first year that children everywhere can access the Festival. Thank you so much for taking part. Elspeth Kenny (Education Manager) Marieke Navin (Head of Programming) How to take part In this pack there are some fun ideas to help you create a Festival in your school. Enjoy a show, take part in a workshop and explore the Digital Discover Zone at your leisure. Look out for the following... Shows are generally 25 minutes long and include a challenge set by the speaker. These challenges are optional, and the videos can be enjoyed with or without pupils doing this follow-up activity. You could respond as a class during a lesson, or set the challenge as a homework or an extension for your keen scientists. Workshops are generally lesson-length and are designed for pupils to do activities alongside the video. There are pause points marked in the video where the presenter invites you to pause, do the activity, then return to play the next section. Challenges and Activities Many of our scientists and presenters have set a challenge as part of their event. Explanations are addressed to pupils so that teachers can copy and paste onto the board or a worksheet. Teacher’s Notes The key ideas and themes of the show or workshop, and any required preparation or tips, are summarised in these boxes. The age recommendation is for guidance only. You know your pupils best, so feel free to explore the content and make the most of the programme. We have also included links to other activities suggested by Science Festival contributors to use at your own discretion. You’ll need We’ve included a list of anything pupils need to take part. Digital Discover Zone An online space with activities from our Festival partners. You may wish to do specific Discover Zone activities in lessons as a class, or let your pupils delve in and choose something they are interested in. All activities can be filtered by age suitability and subject. Find out more on page 20.
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How To View Visit our virtual Festival site science.cheltenhamfestivals.online and click on Schools and Families. Unless otherwise stated, all events will be available on the website from 13 May until 14 September 2021. You don’t need to register to watch and all events for schools are free to view. The events are on the Vimeo platform. You may need to ask your IT department to check that Vimeo isn’t blocked by your school’s firewall, and to unblock it temporarily if it is.
Share Your Festival We’d love to share in your school’s Science Festival. Please take pictures and tag us in on Twitter or Instagram @cheltfestivals using the hashtag #CheltSciFest. Remember to tag the scientists and presenters too – you might even get a response!
Let us know what you think! Send us your feedback here and be entered into a draw to win a voucher for your school
About Cheltenham Festivals Cheltenham Festivals is a charity creating experiences which bring joy, deepen curiosity, connect communities and inspire change. Cheltenham Science Festival champions the next generation of STEM professionals and encourages everyone to engage confidently in conversations about science and how it affects their everyday lives. You can support our work by buying books from our Waterstones Festival Bookshop Every purchase using this link generates a small contribution to our charity. Thank you!
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AGES 5+
KS1 SS02
The Spectacular Science Of The Very (Very) Small
Search for DZ30 and DZ50 in the Digital Discover Zone for more materials challenges
Age recommendation: 5+ Estimated duration: 25 minutes This is a show so tune in and enjoy. Everything is made from something – but the way we make things, from the materials we use to the science and technology involved, is changing fast. Jess Wade introduces budding young scientists and engineers to the fascinating, cutting-edge science of nanotechnology. @JessWade
Challenge Design a wonder material! If you could move atoms around to create a material with exactly the kind of properties needed to solve a global challenge, what problem would you solve and what would you create?
Teacher’s Notes Jess kicks off by describing the value of art and creativity to science, and vice versa. She asks pupils to think about different materials and their functions, and explains materials as solids, liquids or gases. Jess next explains the properties of materials (e.g. how they look, feel, smell, sound, or what they can do), and uses beads, a straw and a swimming pool to demonstrate how some materials behave very unexpectedly. Jess then takes us to the nano level, describing the properties of materials in terms of atoms and molecules, and tells us that her favourite atom is carbon because it can be arranged in many different ways to produce materials with very different properties. By studying how the arrangement of atoms changes the function of a material, we can start to build materials with the precise properties that we need. Jess showcases our creativity in designing and creating materials for solar panels, targeted medicines, cleaning polluted water and displays, and ends with a creative challenge for your pupils.
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AGES 5+
KS1 SS03
Challenge
An Engineer Like Me
Build a marble run that keeps a marble moving for 30 seconds! Think about using different materials to slow the marble down or speed it up as needed. How can you use height and angles to achieve your goal? Consider how you can keep the marble moving after the initial push. Measure the distance and time, and see if you can calculate the speed of your marble movement too!
Age recommendation: 5+ Estimated duration: 25+ minutes This is a show with a challenge, so tune in and enjoy and then get cracking! Zara is curious about everything! Travelling around the city with her gran, she sees all kinds of fascinating things. How do roller coasters do loop-the-loops? How do planes stay up? As she marvels about how they work, Zara learns about some of the brilliant engineers who have shaped the world around her. Explore the wonder and creativity of the world’s most exciting inventions with engineer, TV presenter and author of An Engineer Like Me, Shini Somara. @ShiniSomara
You’ll need • A marble or other small ball • Items from your recycling box, such as cardboard, cartons, newspaper, plastic bottles • Sellotape, bluetack or glue • A ruler or measuring tape • A stopwatch
Teacher’s Notes Like Zara in An Engineer Like Me, pupils are encouraged to look around their everyday lives and spot examples of engineering. Shini invites you to think through your day so far, about how you got up, had breakfast and got to school, and think of all the engineering along the way (e.g. using water from a tap, milk from a fridge, or a scooter to get to school etc). Shini gives examples of different forms of engineering, including chemical, mechanical, civil, software engineering and more, and explains that engineers work together to try to solve problems, learn from the mistakes they make, and test out their ideas. Shini suggests investigating friction, gravity, angles and momentum to complete her challenge.
Engineering company GE has an extra challenge for you: Design your own power station! What sources of energy will we use to power our homes in the future? Energy used to come almost entirely from burning fossil fuels, but over the Easter weekend this year, 80% of Britain’s power came from low-carbon energy sources. These include wind power, nuclear power and solar power. Where else could we get energy from? Think about different types of energy, such as kinetic, thermal or nuclear. Where does energy get wasted that we could ‘harvest’? Use your imagination and creativity to invent a power station for the future! Share your designs with @GEAviation.
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AGES 5+
KS1 SS01
Stella and the Seagull: Being The Change
Activity
Age recommendation: 5+ Estimated duration: 50 minutes This is a workshop, so assemble the necessary materials and prepare to get hands-on.
Become a changemaker yourself! Think about what change you would like to see in the world. Perhaps you would like more trees in your streets, or wish your favourite snack used recyclable packaging? Next, think about how you could make this happen. Perhaps you would like to write a poem to share, or draw a comic, or write a letter to someone in charge? Include lots of information to encourage them to create change, then pop it in the post! Or choose from a range of artistic and scientific activities here.
When Stella’s little seagull friend gets poorly from the plastic stuck in its tummy, Stella wants to do anything she can to try and help. From beach clean ups to banning plastic straws, her ideas spread around the community and make a huge impact. Thanks to Stella, the little seagull and all its animal friends can live in a better environment. Join author Georgina Stevens to explore how you too can use your courage and creativity to make positive change by inspiring others to make change too. @GeorginaStevens @OxfordChildrens
You’ll need • Paper and pencil
Teacher’s Notes Georgina explains what inspired her to write this book and about showing that every small thing we do can make a difference. She tells us about some very young changemakers from around the world who wrote letters, drew comics and started petitions to raise awareness of environmental issues, and asks your pupils to do the same. Next, Georgina asks your pupils to find out what your local council recycles, and demonstrates how much can be recycled from her own household rubbish bin. Georgina explains the refuse, reduce, recycle, recover waste hierarchy as a simple way to see where you can take action. Find your nearest terracycle drop off point here. Find many more suggested activities here. Stella and the Seagull is available from 3 June, so you may wish to read this book with your class before or after doing this workshop.
Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc has an extra challenge for you: Re-purposing! Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc contributes to a greener world by identifying where energy is wasted and finding ways to use this energy i.e. giving something previously considered to be waste a new life! Being responsible with the items around your home is another way you can contribute to a more sustainable Earth. What do you think are the benefits of re-purposing? Think of an item that has a single purpose and a short life cycle. Can you think of ways to extend the lifecycle of the item by finding other uses for it? Or re-designing it for another purpose? For example, you could transform a milk carton into a watering can! Share your designs with @Spirax_Sarco_UK.
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AGES 5+
KS1 SS04
Amazing Illusions
Age recommendation: 5+ Estimated duration: 50 minutes This is a workshop, so assemble the necessary materials and prepare to get hands-on. Can you really believe your eyes? In this fun workshop all about visual illusions, you’ll find out why what we see isn’t always what’s really there. Ginny Smith from Braintastic! Science will show you how to make your own illusions to try out on your friends and family. Along the way you’ll also discover how important your brain is to see the world around you and how illusions can help us understand how it works. @GinnyFBSmith @BraintasticSci #CuriosityCorner
Activity 1
Activity 2
Make a thaumatrope! Carefully cut out a pair of pictures and colour them in. Glue the two circles together with a straw in the middle, so it looks like a lollipop (just like Ginny’s in the video). Make sure the pictures are lined up! When the glue is dry, hold the bottom of the straw between your palms and rub it backwards and forwards so that it spins. What happens to the pictures? Now try drawing your own design on the blank circles. What kinds of colours and pictures work best? Play the video to remind yourself what is happening in your brain as you watch it spin.
Make a Benham’s top! Carefully cut out one of the disks. Make your disk a bit stronger by gluing your disk onto thin card and cutting round it again. Ask an adult to make a small hole in the centre of the circle with a pin, and poke a wooden toothpick through the hole so that about 1/3 is below the disk and 2/3 is sticking out the top. Be careful, the ends of the toothpick can be sharp! Use blobs of bluetack above and below the hole to hold the toothpick in place. Hold the toothpick at the top and give your spinner a twirl! What do you see? Can you see any colours appearing? Ask someone else what colours they see – are they the same as yours? Play the video to find out what is happening in your brain as you watch it spin.
Search for DZ27 in the Digital Discover Zone for another illusion challenge
You’ll need for activity 1 • Printed templates on page 24 • Coloured pens or pencils • Scissors • Glue stick • Straws
You’ll need for activity 2 • Printed templates on page 25 • Card • Scissors • Glue stick • A sharp pin or needle • Wooden toothpick • Blu Tack
Teacher’s Notes Ginny introduces the nerves cells in the brain and describes how information is sent from the eyes to a different part of the brain to be processed. She shares some of her favourite visual illusions and explains how the brain can be tricked, before inviting your pupils to create two illusions themselves. Ginny explains the science behind the sense of vision, and how visual illusions can tell us how the brain works. Tweet Ginny with any questions from your class @BraintasticSci or email ginny@braintasticscience.com, and check out other Braintastic activities at www.braintasticscience.com
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AGES 5+
Activity 1 Find some moss! Following Jules’ instructions, head out your nearest wall or tree to collect some moss and pop it in your cup or beaker. (Your teacher might have done this for you already!) Play the video to find out what to do next.
Activity 2
KS1 SS05
Find and draw a mysterious moss beast! Gently tear apart the moss on your white paper. Can you see any tiny mysterious beasts moving around? Take a closer look with a magnifying glass if you have one, and use the template to draw what you find. How many legs does it have? How fast does it move? What shape is the body? What else do you notice about it? Label your drawing with as much detail as you can. When you’re done, remember to wash your hands, then play the video to join Jules exploring moss under a high-power microscope to see the even tinier animals that live there. Who will be the first to spot a waterbear?
We’re Going On A Waterbear Hunt
Age recommendation: 5+ Estimated duration: 50 minutes This is a workshop, so assemble the necessary materials and prepare to get hands-on. Would you like to discover the secrets of living forever? Or timetravel into the future? Could you imagine being invincible? Or producing clones of yourself that go onto conquer the world? These superhero-like skills are common in the animals that live in one of the smallest habitats on Earth – one right outside your back door… Join Jules Howard investigating the miniature microcosm that exists in moss. Uncover mites, tiny worms and mini-monsters like rotifers, whilst searching for the most elusive and mighty beast of all – the water bear! @JulesLHoward
You’ll need • • • • •
Some moss (a palm-sized amount) A cup or beaker A sheet of white A4 paper A magnifier ‘Mysterious moss beast’ template on page 26 (optional)
Search for DZ06 and DZ07 in the Digital Discover Zone to meet people working in environmental jobs
Teacher’s Notes In this session, pupils explore one of the most mysterious habitats on Earth – moss! As well as seeing some tiny moss animals, pupils will also be introduced to habitats and simple adaptations. Here are some of Jules’ top tips: • You may need or choose to collect some moss on behalf of your class in preparation for this workshop. Look for old stones, walls or trees facing the sun - each pupil (or pair of pupils) needs enough to cover the palm of their hand (about a golf-ball sized amount). • Tearing (not squashing) the moss is important, and the white paper makes it easier to see anything inside. As the moss becomes finer, your pupils will have a higher chance of seeing something tiny moving around on the white paper. • Magnifying glasses will help them to see any creatures better, and if you have access to a visualiser or USB microscope then it would be great to use it here. • When pupils have finished examining their moss, it should be returned to where it was found and pupils should wash their hands. We suggest you set aside at least 10 minutes to finish watching the video where Jules takes a tour of moss under a high-power microscope to explore the even tinier animals that live there, including rotifers, roundworms and… could it be? …Is that a…?… Yes, a waterbear.
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AGES 7+
See this show in real life in Cheltenham Town Hall on Saturday 12 June - see website for tickets and details
KS2 SS06
Weirdology
Challenge Make a vegetable instrument! Ask an adult with a drill to carefully drill a wide hole in the top of a carrot, and a narrower hole from the bottom of the carrot (or other root vegetable). Make a reed by cutting a plastic straw in half, then trimming and flattening the end into a v shape. Put the straw into the hole of the vegetable, and give it a go. Can you perform a tune, or create a vegetable orchestra?
Age recommendation: 7+ Estimated duration: 40 minutes This is a show so tune in and enjoy. Join TV Gastronaut Stefan Gates as he presents an explosive – and often thoroughly disgusting – show. He’ll unpick the weird science behind our everyday lives and tell you everything you ever (or never?) wanted to know about fart acoustics, food hacking, edible rockets and motorbike explosions. Prepare to be disgusted and amazed in equal measure! @StefanGates
You’ll need • An adult with a drill • A carrot or other root vegetable • A plastic straw • Scissors
Teacher’s Notes Stefan and Poppy share a series of energetic demonstrations. They explain the science of zits, the ‘Coanda effect’ which helps aeroplanes to stay up in the air, and how acid in your stomach ‘cooks’ food after eating to help kill dangerous bacteria and get nutrients. Next they create instruments from vegetables, and bouncy eggs by dissolving the hard shell with vinegar. Their demos ramp up with a Ruben’s tube displaying soundwaves with fire, sublimating dry ice, and an enormous exploding balloon. Check out more Gastronaut TV resources here.
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AGES 7+
Search for DZ50 and DZ51 in the Digital Discover Zone for a materials scavenger hunt challenge
KS2 SS08
Plastic Fantastic? Age recommendation: 7+ Estimated duration: 25+ minutes This is a show so tune in and enjoy.
What can have any shape, colour or use imaginable and will last 500 years? Plastic! Despite the damage plastic does to the environment, demand has never been higher. Join materials scientist Jamie Gallagher as he uncovers the amazing properties that led to the plastic boom and how to tackle the plastic problem effectively. @JamieBGall
Teacher’s Notes Jamie explains that materials are chosen for particular purposes due to their specific properties. He introduces plastics as polymers, and describes how certain chemicals with specific properties are carefully selected to create different types of plastic. With the help of some Lego, he moves on to discuss how understanding the chemistry of plastics helps us understand how it can be destroyed or recycled into something new, and how scientists are now working to replicate the useful properties of plastics with more easily-degradable products.
Challenge Can you think of two properties and two uses of stone, glass, metal and plastic?
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AGES 7+
Activity 1 Create a plastic timeline! Have a look at the plastic items on the timeline. How long do you think these items take to decompose? Which do you think is the slowest to break down? Which is the quickest? Imagine plastics were invented waaay back in history – how many years ago do you think these plastics should been created for these items to have decomposed by 2021? Discuss with your classmates, and draw a line between each plastic item and the dots on the timeline. Think about how much the world has changed during this time… and how much the world will change in the future… but the plastics we use today will still be around. Then play the video to find out the answers.
Activity 2 KS2 SS09
Recycle Styrofoam! Help your teacher break up the Styrofoam into small pieces and pop them in the bowl. Watch as your teacher carefully pours some nail varnish remover onto the Styrofoam. What do you notice? What can you see, smell and hear? Can you explain what is happening?
A Sea Of Plastic
Age recommendation: 7+ Estimated duration: 50 minutes This is a workshop, so assemble the necessary materials and prepare to get hands-on.
You’ll need for activity 1
Unless you’ve been hiding under a single-use bottle, you’ll know that our use of plastic is a BIG issue. Marine biologists Russell Arnott and FameLab alumna Elizabeth Mills will showcase some fun, hands-on experiments that introduce you to the problems around ocean plastic, before empowering you with simple solutions that can make a real difference in saving the planet. @Russell_Arnott @MarineMumbles
• Plastic timeline on page 27
You’ll need for activity 2 • Styrofoam packaging • Nail varnish remover (acetone) • A bowl • Gloves
Search for DZ33 and DZ34 in the Digital Discover Zone to help conserve fish in the River Severn!
Teacher’s Notes Elizabeth explains how much plastic there is in the sea and why microplastics are such a problem, before introducing the first activity. You could print out the template on page 27 or discuss it as a class. Russell demonstrates how Styrofoam can be recycled (turned back into its original liquid form) using nail varnish remover, and compares this to bioplastic (cornstarch). If you wish to do the Styrofoam demonstration too, detailed instructions and a risk assessment can be found here. Finally, Russell and Elizabeth discuss simple ways to reduce the amount of plastic we use. Further resources: More plastic activities for the classroom. Video from Incredible Oceans on how can we reduce our plastic waste. Video from Fuse School about plastics in our ocean. The Incredible Oceans YouTube channel. Marine Mumbles website.
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AGES 7+
KS2 SS10
Drip Drop Tick Tock Challenge
Age recommendation: 7+ Estimated duration: 40+ minutes This is a workshop, so assemble the necessary materials and prepare to get hands-on. Have you ever wondered about the science of measuring time? Plunge back to Ancient Egypt to discover how the first clocks were created and submerge yourself in the incredible watery inventions used to keep time. Soak up some ancient knowledge with STEMworks and use it to design your own water clock! How accurate is your timekeeping? @STEMworksUK #DripDropTickTock
Activity Create a water clock! Aim to time 1 minute using 200ml of water… you may wish to begin by copying Claire’s design using an empty plastic bottle. How long does it take for all the water to leave the bottle? What could you do to make this faster, or slower? Try increasing or decreasing the number of holes – does this help? What else could you try to make your water clock as accurate as possible? When you’ve achieved timing 1 minute with 200ml water, use your imagination and other containers to try making a more complex and/or beautiful water clock, keeping the same time.
You’ll need • An empty plastic bottle • Containers (e.g. from the recycling such as plastic bottles, yogurt pots, cartons) • Something to make holes in the containers, such as a compass or drawing pins • Measuring jug and/or scales • Bluetack or plasticine • Sellotape • Scissors • Stopwatch • Water You could also use construction kits such as Lego or Meccano, and straws or string.
Search for DZ28 and DZ53 in the Digital Discover Zone for more building challenges
Teacher’s Notes This session kicks off with a whistle-stop history of timekeeping, including obelisks, sundials and different types of water clock. Claire explains how the water flow rate, and therefore the accuracy of the clock, is affected by pressure and temperature. Claire demonstrates how to make a simple water clock using a plastic bottle, and suggests increasing the number or size of holes to affect flow rate. This could be an opportunity for careful scientific enquiry and a chance to practise plotting graphs, before moving on to more complex and creative designs. Pupils could even modify their clock so it makes a sound or alarm at a precise time!
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AGES 7+
Activity Design and create a safety device to stop an egg breaking when dropped from 2 metres! Just like crash-helmets, your device should be as light as possible and easy to remove from the egg, but should not be a parachute-type design. Think about the properties of the different materials in a crash helmet – how can you use this information in your design? When you have discussed with your team and drawn your design on the template, move onto the build phase. (Remember to weigh your egg before you start building, so you can calculate the mass of your Egg Safety Device to find out who has the lightest design.) Now test your design by dropping it from 2 metres onto a hard surface. How can you make this a fair test? Will your egg survive? What could you do to improve your design?
KS2 SS11
Saving Humpty Dumpty
Age recommendation: 7+ Estimated duration: 50 minutes This is a workshop, so assemble the necessary materials and prepare to get hands-on.
You’ll need
Search for DZ60 in the Digital Discover Zone to design your own material
• A sponge • 10cm x 10cm bubble wrap • 10 x Styrofoam chips (or equivalent) • 60cm parcel tape • Scissors • Worksheet on page 28 and 29 • Weighing scales • An egg (hardboiled if you want to reduce potential mess!) • Tape measure (to measure a 2 metre drop) • Outside space for testing • Dustpan and/or mop for clean up
Become a materials scientist by creating and testing a crash helmet… for an egg! Dive head-first into the world of crash helmet design with Discover Materials as you learn the science behind the materials and engineering of protective headgear, and create your own device to keep your egg intact. @DiscovMaterials
Teacher’s Notes Pupils are invited to work in teams to design a solution to the problem, build their design with limited materials, test their design fairly as a class and evaluate its effectiveness. You may choose to run this as a competition, with you as the ‘Eggsaminer’ judging the most protective design, the lightest design and the best team name. Ensure each team has (eggsactly?) the same amount of materials so, just like Materials Engineers, they are encouraged to plan well and not waste materials. Pupils may need to weigh their egg before and after the Egg Safety Device has been put on it to calculate the mass of the Egg Safety Devices. Modern crash helmets are made from materials that make them fit comfortably and securely on your head, to absorb the energy of a collision, to deflect small stones and protect the other layers, and a chinstrap so that they are easy to remove. Download more detailed teacher notes, certificates for pupils and additional information from here. Share your designs on padlet here or email: info@discovermaterials.uk
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AGES 9+
KS2 SS07
Snowballs In Space Age recommendation: 9+ Estimated duration: 25 minutes This is a show so tune in and enjoy.
Teacher’s Notes Affelia and Choong Ling explain what comets are made of, why they are important, where they can be found in space, and how they orbit the sun. They demonstrate how to make a comet using water, sand, ammonia (window cleaner), alcohol, Worcester sauce to represent organics, and dry ice. If you wish to create a comet live in front of your class alongside Choong Ling, these instructions may be helpful.Alternatively, you could make a comet on a stick using these instructions. When explaining how comets have been studied with the RosettaPhilae mission, you are invited to pause the video to see if your class can spot the spacecraft on the comet, or ‘pin the Philae on the comet’. Affelia and Choong Ling introduce two other scientists currently working on a unique space mission, before hosting a short quiz to see what your students have learned. For the challenge, select one volunteer to stand in the middle of the open space – they will be the Sun. Ask at least one student to be a planet and to orbit the Sun in a circular anti-clockwise path. Ask another volunteer to be a comet by orbiting the Sun in an elliptical path. At one end of their orbit, they will get very close to the Sun and at the other end, they will be very far away from the Sun. They can move in an anticlockwise or clockwise direction. You could ask another student to be a comet coming from a different direction to the first comet, or demonstrate that comets can go above and below the planetary plane by crouching or stretching as they move.
Join astronomers Affelia Wibisono and Choong Ling Liew-Cain on a journey back in time to learn how the smallest components of the Solar System became the building blocks of the planets we know today. Explore our cosmic neighbourhood filled with icy comets and discover how scientists will soon attempt to ‘catch’ one! @AffeliaW @ChoongLingAstro @MSSLSpaceLab
Challenge Demonstrate comet orbits! In groups, choose one of you to be the Sun, one to be a planet and one to be a comet. Can you demonstrate how the planet and comet would orbit the Sun? Which direction should you move in? What’s different about your movements?
You’ll need • An open space • Some volunteers
Search for DZ13 in the Digital Discover Zone to meet a rocket scientist
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AGES 7+
SS13
Maths Mayhem 2: Paper Folding And Rice Counting When you double numbers they get big, fast!
Activity 1 Fold your piece of paper in half. Keep folding your paper in half as many times as you can. How many times can you fold it in half? Why do you think this is?
Activity 2 How many grains of rice fit in a two-finger pinch? How many pinches make a teaspoon? How many teaspoons fill a bag? Each time, take the closest number to doubling numbers (4, 8, 16, 32 etc). Which square on the chessboard corresponds to a 16kg sack of rice? How many 16kg sacks would fill a classroom? Which square would represent every classroom in your school? Or in your country?
KS2
Maths Mayhem You’ll need for activity 1
Age recommendation: 7+ Estimated duration of each activity: 10-20 minutes This is a series of five short maths activities so assemble the necessary materials and prepare to get hands-on.
• A piece of scrap A4 paper
You’ll need for activity 2 • A chess board, or grid resembling a chess board • A calculator • Rice (optional)
Do you know how you can count to infinity using rice and a chess board? Mathematician and FameLab alumnus Kyle Evans doesn’t just have a talent for crunching numbers, he is also an occasional poet and comedian! Sharing his love of maths with you, he’ll explore some truly curious mathematical problems, from Fibonacci based rhyme to tips on how to win the paper folding world championships! @KyleDEvans
Search for DZ38 and DZ55 in the Digital Discover Zone for more maths challenges
SS14
Maths Mayhem 3: Penny In A Well
Here’s a neat trick for working out how tall something is, just by dropping a ball or coin from the top.
SS12
Maths Mayhem 1: HOTPO Numbers
Activity Work out how the height of something without a measuring tape! Drop something from as high as safely possible and use your stopwatch to time how many seconds it takes to hit the floor. To calculate the height in metres, multiply the time by itself, then multiply that by 5. Look around you – what heights would you like to measure this way? When you’re done, play the last bit of the video to hear a poem about this activity!
An arithmetic workout to get you warmed up. It’s easier for some people than others – depends how old you are!
Activity Start with your age. If your age is even, halve it. If your age is odd, triple it and add 1. Now you have a new number. Again, if that number is even, halve it, and if it’s odd, triple it and add 1. Keep going! What do you notice?
You’ll need • Something to drop from a height e.g. a tennis ball or soft toy • Stopwatch • Tape measure (optional)
You’ll need • Paper and a pencil
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AGES 7+
Teacher’s Notes
SS15
Maths Mayhem 4: Breeding Rabbits
HOTPO numbers: Also known as Collatz chains, here they are for pupils aged 7 to 11 (bold numbers show where the ages are in the other chains):
If you thought doubling numbers got big quick, wait until you learn about factorials!
Age 7➔ 22, 11, 34, 17, 52, 26, 13, 40, 20, 10, 5, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 Age 8➔ 4, 2, 1
Activity 1
Age 9➔ 28, 14, 7, 22, 11, 34, 17, 52, 26, 13, 40, 20, 10, 5, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1
Everyone knows the 2 rules about rabbits: baby rabbits become adult rabbits, and adult rabbits have baby rabbits. Count along the rabbit generations with Kyle, and then continue the sequence. Can you spot anything interesting about the sequence? Play the video to find out if you’re right.
Age 10➔ 5, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 Age 11➔ 34, 17, 52, 26, 13, 40, 20, 10, 5, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 For an extension, pupils could try starting from 27 (perhaps you can say your own age is 27!) – this chain has over 100 steps and some huge numbers, but eventually settles at 4, 2, 1. More information here.
Activity 2 Using your A, B, and C objects only, how many different orders can you place them in? Next, add in your object beginning with D – how many different orders can you place these 4 objects in? Can you work this out systematically? Play the video to find out more, and how this relates to the whole population of the world!
Paper folding: For an extension, pupils could consider whether it would matter if the paper was bigger or smaller – if the paper was twice as long or wide you could manage one more fold, but only if the paper stayed the same thickness (and usually larger paper is a bit thicker so 8 folds remains the limit). Pupils may also enjoy this article and video on the Guinness world record for paper folding.
You’ll need for activity 1
Rice Counting: you may wish to bring in (a lot of) rice, but this is optional! These are all fun questions to investigate and discuss, but remember, there isn’t enough rice on earth to fill the chessboard, so don’t worry if you run out early! Here’s Kyle’s TED talk with more material on rice and exponentials (probably best suited to the older end of KS2).
• Objects to represent baby and adult rabbits (e.g. playdoh, multilink etc)
You’ll need for activity 2 • 4 objects beginning with A, B, C and D (optional)
Penny In A Well: You may wish to encourage your pupils to drop their items five times and calculate the average before converting the time into distance. If the distance is relatively short (e.g. dropping a tennis ball from the ceiling to the floor) the distance calculated can be checked with a tape measure. Kyle says: Some schools have chosen to drop a ball out of an upstairs window and had people outside timing the fall, which is good fun if it can be done safely. Alternatively, you could show pupils this video of a man setting a world record jumping from a helicopter – pupils could time his fall in real-time and then turn this time into a distance and compare against the actual distance (42m).
SS16
Maths Mayhem 5: Number Trick
Learn a truly amazing trick, for which you’ll just need a pen and paper.
Activity Choose a three-digit number. Reverse the digits and subtract one number from the other, and then reverse the digits on this new number and add these two numbers together… what do you get?
Breeding Rabbits: Pupils can take this as far as they like, and may no longer need the physical rabbit models. Here’s some information about the Fibonacci sequence in nature. For a further activity, take a run of three numbers in the sequence, such as 2,3,5, or 5,8,13. Multiply the two outside numbers together, then multiply the inside number by itself. What do they notice? (For example, 2x5=10 and 3x3=9, or 5x13=65 and 8x8=64 i.e. they are always 1 apart). In the second half of the video, Kyle introduces factorials.
You’ll need • Paper and a pencil
Search for DZ15 in the Digital Discover Zone to see where studying maths can take you
Number Trick: Kyle says: You might like to pause the video when I reveal my ‘6801’ t-shirt and really push the class on what I’ve done wrong. They should all have answers of 1089 by this stage, and when the first one realises it’s on my shirt but upside down it’s a lovely moment.
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#CheltSciFest
AGES 8+
LOOK OUT FOR SS20
Everyday Plastic: The Impact
Age recommendation: 8+ Estimated duration: 15 minutes To be revealed during the Science Festival This is a show so tune in and enjoy. We partnered with Everyday Plastic to launch a pilot survey of plastic waste. This was a first-of-its-kind campaign that offered school pupils the chance to get to grips with the global plastic problem through their own consumption. Find out the impact of this citizen science project! Founder of Everyday Plastic, Daniel Webb, will reveal the analysis of the collective data of hundreds of school pupils, and show that quick, simple and cheap changes taken together can make an enormous difference. @PlasticEveryday
FAMILY PROGRAMME Your pupils may also enjoy our events for families below. See our main website cheltenhamfestivals.com for more information and tickets.
SF08
Zap, Crackle And Pop With Marty Jopson
Age recommendation: 7+ and all the family Saturday 12 June, 9:30-10:25 Watch live in Cheltenham Town Hall, or live-streamed for free and available on-demand via the CheltSciFest Player Cheltenham Town Hall (and live streamed) £7 Expect a hair-raising performance in this electrifying demonstration from BBC One Show’s resident scientist, Marty Jopson, including plucked chickens, explosions and more. From the Ancient Greeks to Faraday’s genius, you’ll journey through the exciting history of electricity and discover the unimaginable.
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#CheltSciFest
FAMILY PROGRAMME
These are physical events only. Visit cheltenhamfestivals.com to book free tickets, but please note there is limited availability.
SF08
Bubble Superstars!
Age recommendation: 3+ and all the family Saturday 12 June, 11:00-11:25 Apollo Free event, ticket required Dr Sarah is bringing her bubble kit to Cheltenham! We’ll be making big bubbles, small bubbles, and exploring shapes and colours. The show becomes interactive through the power of Makaton signing and a bubbly party bag to take home. Especially designed for preschoolers and SEN audiences.
SF04
The Science Of Harry Potter
Age recommendation: 6+ and all the family Saturday 12 June, 12:30-12:55pm Apollo Free event, ticket required Will we ever see an invisibility cloak? And will Muggle scientists ever be able to let things float just like ‘Wingardium Leviosa’? Find out about the scientific principles behind some of fiction’s bestknown characters, spells, objects and even games like Quidditch, as educational entertainer Jon Chase takes you on a bewitching journey through the magical world of Harry Potter.
SF05
Ridiculous Diversity Of Life On Earth Age recommendation: 6+ and all the family Saturday 12 June, 2-2:25pm Apollo Free event, ticket required
It’s estimated that there are an unimaginable 10 million different species on Earth. What are they all? Why are there so many? And how do we know what exists (and what doesn’t)? Through discussion, games and live drawing, biologists Adam Hart, Simon Watt and Hana Ayoob explore this daunting diversity of life, and inspire with some arty science.
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#CheltSciFest
FAMILY PROGRAMME
These are physical events only. Visit cheltenhamfestivals.com to book free tickets, but please note there is limited availability.
SF10
A Scientist Like Me
Age recommendation: 6+ and all the family Sunday 13 June, 12:30-12:55pm Apollo Free event, ticket required There’s nothing that Ruben doesn’t find fascinating. Why do leaves change colour? What makes ice cream melt? On a trip to the beach with his mum, Ruben discovers how the world works and the brilliant scientists who have helped us understand it. Maybe he can try out some awesome experiments and become a scientist too? TV presenter and scientist Shini Somara unlocks a love of science, observation and problem-solving in her latest book, A Scientist Like Me.
SF11
Diary Of A Young Naturalist
Age recommendation: 8+ and all the family Sunday 13 June, 2-2:25pm Apollo Free event, ticket required A chance to hear two of our Young Activists in conversation. Daze Aghaji talks to 2020 Wainwright Prize winner Dara McAnulty about his book Diary of a Young Naturalist. This is an evocative and powerfully-written book which explores the natural world from the perspective of an autistic teenager juggling homework, exams and friendships alongside his life as a conservationist and environmental activist.
SF09
Diatom Dave
Age recommendation: 4+ and all the family Sunday 13 June, 11-11:25am Apollo Free event, ticket required Whizz. Bang. Boom! Diatom Dave needs your help to set the record for the world’s biggest slime! From air-powered rockets to lemonade cannons and bubble fires, this explosive demonstration from local mad scientists Fun Science Cheltenham is guaranteed to leave you on the edge of your seat.
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DigitAl DISCOVER ZONE Go to science.cheltenhamfestivals.online and click on Digital Discover Zone for lots of activities from our festival partners. You may wish to do these in lessons as a class, or let your pupils delve in and choose something they are interested in. All activities can be filtered by age suitability and subject. Like all the schools events, the Digital Discover Zone will be available here from 13 May until 14 September 2021.
Get Creative
DZ30
Age recommendation: 5+ Get creative and discover the different industries that use some of our favourite products with a fun colouring activity. Then, use this as inspiration to design your own amazing product.
Build Your Own Bridge
DZ53
Age recommendation: 5+
Spaghetti DZ52 and Jelly Baby Towers: Building Challenge
CGI challenges you to work in groups to build a bridge that sits between two chairs, can hold 0.5kg and is at least one-metre-long! How will you design your bridge to be as strong as possible?
Age recommendation: 5+
Materials DZ50 Scavenger Hunt
CGI challenges you to work in groups to build the tallest free-standing tower that you can, using nothing but spaghetti and jelly babies. Our record is 143cm! Can you beat it?
Age recommendation: 5+ Materials are everywhere, but have you ever wondered what they are for? Take part in Discover Material’s scavenger hunt to uncover the different types of materials in your home or in your garden.
Get Thinking
DZ31
Age recommendation: 7+ Discover more about steam as a powerful heating method through a ‘steam trap maze’ and a ‘heating element challenge’.
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Make Your DZ27 Own Coloured Spinner Age recommendation: 7+ Learn about light and colour as you make your own coloured spinner with engineer Caroline Alliston.
DigitAl DISCOVER ZONE
Make Your Own Balloon Buggy
DZ28
Age recommendation: 7+ Design, make and test your own balloon buggy while learning about forces, motion and energy storage with engineer Caroline Alliston.
DZ34 Epic Engineering: Saving Our Fish
Age recommendation: 7+ Become an epic engineer and help save the endangered twaite shad! Use your engineering and design skills to help fish get past obstacles in the river and continue on their way.
Citizen DZ33 Science: Counting Rare Fish Age recommendation: 7+ Help count shad and become a citizen science hero! Monitor the migration of these endangered fish along the River Severn and contribute to cutting edge conservation research. Can you get onto the leaderboard?
Make Your Own Brush Monster
DZ29
Age recommendation: 7+ Test your knowledge of electrical circuits as you design and make a vibrating monster with engineer Caroline Alliston.
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Spy Murder Mystery
DZ38
Age recommendation: 7+ A body has been discovered surrounded by mathematical objects and only the hardworking maths teachers were in school... GCHQ challenges you to use your super maths logic to catch the murderer before it’s too late!
DZ54 The Phisherman
Age recommendation: 7+ Cyber crime is growing every day. Phishing is a way that criminals trick you into giving away sensitive information like usernames or passwords. In a series of mini-games, help protect the residents of our underwater village from The Phisherman’s attacks and learn about the importance of online safety.
DigitAl DISCOVER ZONE
DZ55 Code Cracking
Age recommendation: 7+
Code Breakers
DZ57
Age recommendation: 7+ Use the key to crack the codes! Can you solve them all?
GE’s Virtual Pavilion
Calling all special agents! In this interactive game you’ll learn about the exciting work of the code breaking team at Bletchley Park and discover how the Enigma machine turned messages into secret code. You can also try your hand at breaking and creating your own cipher codes!
DZ59
Age recommendation: 7+ GE’s Pavilion is a series of games and puzzles based on our technology, from cockpit controls and jet engines to wind farms and computer code.
GE’s Virtual Site Tours
DZ58
Age recommendation: 7+
DZ56 STEM Activity Booklet
From wind farms to turbines for nuclear power stations, discover how GE is helping to build a world that works.
Age recommendation: 7+
The Future Of Stuff
DZ60
Age recommendation: 7+
Colour in aircrafts, locate the cyber hacker and look for all the different jobs you could have at Northrop Grumman in the word search!
Get your thinking caps on as researchers from The Royal Society need your help to think about what these materials can do next.
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#CheltSciFest
SO YOU WANT TO BE A…? We have curated a series of 26 short videos introducing the talented minds working in science, engineering and maths. While these are aimed at secondary school-aged pupils considering their careers, you may feel that these would be a useful conversation-starter in your younger classes. Select the ‘Careers’ filter at the top of the Digital Discover Zone page to meet them all.
Wildlife
Technology Climate change
Maths
Gaming Computers
Aeroplanes
Medicine
Electricity
...and many more 23
AMAZING ILLUSIONS THAUMATROPE WORKSHEET PRINT ME
24
AMAZING ILLUSIONS BENHAM’S TOP WORKSHEET PRINT ME
25
WE’RE GOING ON A WATERBEAR HUNT
My Mysterious Moss Beast
26
A Sea of Plastic Workshop 2021
YEARS
6-PACK RINGS
YEARS
PLASTIC BAGS
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SHAKESPEARE WAS A TODDLER
START OF THE LITTLE ICE AGE AND THE RIVER THAMES IN LONDON FREEZES OVER IN WINTER
COFFEE CUP
THE LIGHTBULB WAS INVENTED
YEARS
200
STRAWS
PLASTIC BOTTLES
PLASTIC TOOTHBRUSH
THE FILM HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE WAS RELEASED
YEARS YEARS
30 20
COFFEE PODS
THE INTERNET WAS INVENTED
1907 Plastics were first invented
Final Thought: Think about how much the world has changed over this time, and how much the world will change over the next 500 years…but plastic we use today will still be around.
KING HENRY VIII WAS RULING BRITAIN
YEARS
500 450 400
PLASTIC CUPS
Plastics take a long time to decompose once they are made. To help understand just how long it takes, we want you to imagine how far in the past different plastics would have to be made to decompose by the year 2021! Draw lines to match the plastics up with circles on the timeline.
Activity Worksheet
PLASTIC TIMELINE WORKSHEET
SAVING HUMPTY DUMPTY WORKSHEET
Saving SavingHumpty HumptyDumpty Dumpty Our Team name is:is: OurMaterials MaterialsEngineering EngineeringDesign Design Team name Your YourDesign Design • Use the space below to draw your Egg Safety Device • Use the space below to draw your Egg Safety Device design and describe the materials you are going to use and design and describe the materials you are going to use and why you have chosen them. why you have chosen them. • Remember you do not need to use all of the materials • Remember do not to use all of the materials provided but youyou cannot get need any more materials (so do not provided but you cannot get any more materials (so do not start popping the bubble wrap!) start popping the bubble wrap!)
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Your Build • Weigh your egg and write it in the space below • Now you will need to get an egg and build the design.
Calculate how heavy your Egg Safety Device is: Mass of egg:
grams
Mass of egg + Egg Safety Device:
grams
You now have the information to calculate how heavy your Egg Safety Device is (please ask your teacher if you do not know how to work it out) Mass of our Egg Safety Device is:
grams
Evaluation Did your egg survive? After the Eggsaminer has tested your egg it is important to evaluate your design. How do you think you could have improved your design? How easy it was to inspect the egg after it was dropped? Did you need more material? Do you think other materials could have worked better and, if so, which ones?
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#CheltSciFest
YEAR-ROUND OPPORTUNITIES AT CHELTENHAM FESTIVALS As well as budding scientists, we inspire future readers, writers, musicians and music-lovers throughout the year. Look out for:
Concert for Schools No need to travel! This year’s concert, presented by the brilliant YolanDa Brown, will bring an exhilarating, inspirational and engaging experience of music right into classrooms all over the country.
Musicate Supported by
In partnership with
The Reed Foundation
As well as pairing your school with a young musician from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for an academic year this programme offers training and professional development for two teachers in order to enrich the curriculum and enhance learning.
Literature for Schools Join us at The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival for a full schools’ programme of author and illustrator events from 8 – 15 October 2021, including our first ever Reading Teachers = Reading Pupils Conference. Then hold your own festival event in school from October – December with our digital pack of pre-recorded and live filmed events.
Reading Teachers = Reading Pupils A network of book groups for key stage 2 and key stage 3 teachers which provides the ideas and inspiration to ignite children’s reading for pleasure. Booking opens in June for groups across the country.
Beyond Words The creative writing programme for young people in Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service which gives young people a voice at a challenging time in their lives.
For further information on our programmes, visit www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/education/ or contact education@cheltenhamfestivals.com Charity No. 251765
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