Science

Science

The teaching and learning of science can take many forms due to the large number of branches of the discipline, but all of them involve a large element of  doing things, of experimenting, of making and breaking, of trying out new ideas, whether at primary or secondary level. This has been appreciated by museums and visitors centres, so that we now have a plethora of possibilities.

The Association for Science Education is the lead body helping schools to develop their teaching and learning. It offers support for primary and secondary science subject leaders, teachers and schools, and keeps schools abreast of curriculum and assessment changes and reforms. The Association aims to enrich science teaching and learning with free resources, which can be found at: www.schoolscience.co.uk

Some venues are obviously specifically suitable for science groups, but others, which are more cross-curricular, are less obvious. Below we give staff a pointer to these as well as making it easy to access the websites of the well known attractions.

CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, has long been popular with British school groups. It is celebrating 60 years this year and is encouraging teachers to look at its Cern Education website.

CAT, the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, is also celebrating a major birthday this year – its 40th. It is a very different experience from CERN, but fascinating nonetheless.

We should draw your attention to the fact that farm visits are popular with primary schools and there is a growing number of farms offering excellent opportunities – from feeding animals to driving tanks. But there are some stringent health and safety rules to be observed. For advice and guidance please contact Handsam by calling 0844 335 1737 or emailing info@schooltripsadvisor.org.uk.

 

Main organisations:

British Science Association

Association for Science Education

CLEAPSS

Membership through Handsam

Radiation Protection Officer services through Handsam

Science Learning Centres

National STEM Centre

Inclusion: NASEN

 

Thought of visiting?

The Science Museum

Natural History Museum

National Space Museum

Centre for Alternative Technology

Cern Education website

ThinkTank, Birmingham

Michael Faraday Museum, London

National Conservation Centre, Liverpool

Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester

Techniquest (various locations in Wales including Cardiff, Wrexham and Pembrokeshire)

The Wellcome Collection, London

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Earth Centres

 

For a complete list of venues and providers who deliver specialist courses and activities for this subject see below

World Primate Centre
Venue Type: 
Zoos / Wildlife Parks
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Twycross Zoo has been providing the exciting opportunity to get close to wildlife for over 50 years and has achieved well-respected status as one of Britain's major zoos, attracting half a million visitors each year.

Animals come in all shapes and sizes, from leopards to lemurs, parrots to prairie dogs and tortoises to tarantulas. Twycross Zoo cares for around 500 animals of almost 150 species of bigger animals, including many endangered species, plus hundreds of creepy crawlies too.

Venue Type: 
Science & Technology
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Our Dynamic Earth is a science centre in 

Venue Type: 
Zoos / Wildlife Parks
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Belfast Zoo is home to more than 1,000 animals and 150 species. Many of our animals are under threat in their natural habitat.

Some of the animals you can see include:

  • Barbary lions
  • red kangaroos
  • spider monkeys
  • Moloch gibbons
  • Rothchild's giraffes
  • Asian elephants
  • Malayan sun bears.

Other highlights include:

Bird Park

The Famous Dartmoor Waterfall
Venue Type: 
Wildlife and Nature
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No visit to Devon would be complete without a visit to Dartmoor's famous Becky Falls, where we've been welcoming visitors since 1903. The falls are an iconic Dartmoor landmark, and a day out here can be as gentle or as adventurous as you wish. All of our activities and shows are included in the entry price, so there are no extras to pay once you're inside. 

So come breathe some of the purest air in England, see the most beautiful place in Devon and enjoy a very, very warm welcome!

* All activities included in the price

Far-reaching views of rolling valleys and hills
Venue Type: 
Wildlife and Nature
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Cherhill Down is well known for its White Horse and views of the Lansdowne Monument, which can be seen for miles around.

Walk to the top of the Down and be rewarded with great views. In the summer enjoy carpets of chalk grassland flowers and the sound of skylarks.

Delightful medieval manor house, set in woodland and meadows
Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
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Unspoilt and fascinating medieval manor house, still a relaxed family home. Wander through rooms untouched by time, warm yourself by the open fire, and unwind in the tranquil garden.

Located in a green haven of riverside meadows and woodland hidden away in the heart of the town.

There are no toilets or refreshments at Bradley, but we are only five minutes from the centre of Newton Abbot.

Towering above the sea, this historic headland offers dramatic, panoramic views
Venue Type: 
Wildlife and Nature
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The Dodman is the highest headland on the south Cornish coast. Offering spectacular views, this area is also of great archaeological interest.

A massive Iron Age earthwork, nearly 666m long and over 6m high, encloses the headland. Over 2,000 years ago, this earthwork could have housed a series of dwellings, known collectively as a promontory fort or cliff castle.

A world famous museum telling the story of the people of North East England during the Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian periods.
Venue Type: 
Museums
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The story of Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian life is told by our costumed staff and volunteers in a unique living and working museum which hosts over 300,000 objects.

Nestling in 300 acres of countryside, Beamish boasts a railway station, a farm, a mill, a colliery village and police and fire stations.

Most of the houses, shops and other buildings have been dismantled, brought to Beamish and rebuilt here. We also own a collection of vehicles and modes of transport, such as trams, trains, trolleybuses, horsedrawn carriages and waggons.

Venue Type: 
Museums
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Stoke-on-Trent is world famous for its pottery and no visit to the city would be complete without experiencing this unique Museum.

Discover how bone china tableware was made in the original workshops and giant bottle kilns of the former Gladstone China Works, now preserved as the last complete Victorian Pottery factory in the country.

At Gladstone Pottery Museum you can see and speak to skilled craftspeople as they work transforming clay into pots, flowers, animals and much more.

Venue Type: 
Castles
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Broughton Castle is a moated and fortified manor house near Banbury in North Oxfordshire. Set in parkland and built of the rich local Hornton ironstone, it was selected by Simon Jenkins as one of only twenty to be awarded five stars in his book England’s Thousand Best Houses.

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