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

Venue Type: 
Zoos / Wildlife Parks
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Golders Hill Park’s landscaped grounds contain beautiful plant displays including the peaceful Mediterranean and water gardens, a popular café and a bandstand.

Zoo

Golders Hill Park is home to a free zoo, with a growing collection of rare and exotic birds and mammals such as laughing kookaburras, ring-tailed lemurs and ring-tailed coatis.

It is one of only two free zoos in London registered with BIAZA, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Venue Type: 
Parks and Gardens
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This hidden treasure is a walled garden surrounded by woodland, found just outside Balerno, a suburb of Edinburgh.

The garden is a haven for plant lovers thanks to its large variety of colourful and fragrant flowers, plants and trees.

For school visits please phone or email in advance to arrange.

Venue Type: 
Museums
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Techniquest gives visitors a hands-on approach to science and includes a science theatre, a planetarium, and a discovery centre.

Venue Type: 
Factory Visits & Industry
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The Victorian sewers beneath Brighton comprise an extensive network of brick-lined tunnels. They are open to the public on pre-booked guided tours and have become a popular tourist attraction.

Our famous sewer tours have been revealing their Victorian secrets to visitors for more than 50 years. The award-winning tours run from May until September and are a popular attraction with visitors from across the world.

Europe's Largest Naval Aviation Collection
Venue Type: 
Transport
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The Museum comprises four large halls. Each hall has ground floor and upper levels telling the stories of naval aviation from the first manned kites towed behind naval vessels, to helium filled airships, seaplanes, bi-planes and the carrier borne aircraft of WW2 and modern Sea Harriers and helicopters. We also have an original Concorde 002.

Get up close and personal with the giants of aviation history. Witness the Battle of the Atlantic, the Falklands Conflict and Aviation in World War I. You can view the airfield and see a nuclear bomb!

Fully restored 18th-century working watermill
Venue Type: 
Factory Visits & Industry
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Visit this impressive restored 18th-century watermill built on the site of a mill mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086. The mill currently produces stoneground wholemeal flour from organic wheat. The team also pack porridge oats and jumbo oats, and mix and pack their own museli. All are available to buy onsite.

The mill is set in peaceful surroundings alongside the River Avill and at the entrance to Dunster Castle River Gardens. The Watermill tea-room is situated 50 yards from the watermill and serves a tasty range of seasonal treats.

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
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Discover over 750 years of history, including Britain's tallest spire, the world's best preserved original Magna Carta (1215) and Europe's oldest working clock, on a tour with one of our volunteer guides. Built between 1220 and 1258, in one architectural style, Salisbury is Britain's finest 13th century Gothic Cathedral.

Country house with monastic roots, once home to William Henry Fox Talbot
Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
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Set in rural Wiltshire, Lacock village is famous for its picturesque streets, historic buildings and more recently as a TV and film location.

The Abbey, located at the heart of the village within its own woodland grounds, is a quirky country house of various architectural styles, built upon the foundations of a former nunnery. Visitors can experience the atmosphere of the medieval rooms and cloister court, giving a sense of the Abbey's monastic past.

Venue Type: 
Museums
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Tavistock Museum is a town museum which has permanent exhibitions relating to its monastic, market, and mining past. It is also a community museum and each year has new exhibitions relating to different community interests and organisations.

The Museum is run entirely by volunteers, many of whom give up a day each week of their time to steward. We welcome school parties but would ask teachers to contact us beforehand.

Thorington Photographic Collection

Extraordinary Victorian house, gardens and woodland - the wonder of its age
Venue Type: 
Science & Technology
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Enter the world of Lord Armstrong - Victorian inventor, innovator and landscape genius. Cragside house was truly a wonder of its age.

Discover the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity. It is crammed full of ingenious gadgets – most of them still working. The gardens are incredible. One of the largest rock gardens in Europe leads down to the Iron Bridge, which in turn leads to the formal garden. Children will love our adventure play area and exploring Nelly's Labyrinth, a network of paths and tunnels cut out of a vast area of rhododendron forest.

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