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

Salop Drive Market Garden

Venue Type: 
Parks and Gardens
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Salop Drive Market Garden is a three-acre working market garden run by Tim Botfield, a horticultural therapist, and his colleague.

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Hickling Broad

Venue Type: 
Wildlife and Nature
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NWT Hickling Broad offers groups an expansive landscape with wide skies, open spaces and plenty of wild places to explore. Large groups can spread out by having sessions in different habitats around the site, including boat trips on the largest expanse of open water in the Broads system. Look out for wildlife including, swallowtail butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies, common lizards, marsh harriers and our konik ponies

Activity examples (not all may be available):

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Greenfield Valley Museum

Venue Type: 
Museums
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The Greenfield Valley Trust Collection developed around the agricultural buildings rescued from around Flintshire and rebuilt at Greenfield Valley.

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Cholderton Charlie's Farm

Prepare for a rare experience!
Venue Type: 
Farms
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Cholderton Charlie’s Farm is a unique activity centre on the border of Wiltshire and Hampshire, and an absolute must for animal lovers.

Its Rare Breeds Farm and Education Centre makes it a fantastic place for young people to learn about endangered species and the environment.

Nestled in 28 acres of stunning countryside, Cholderton Charlie’s Farm has excellent facilities that encourage exploration and learning, including:

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Malthouse Garden

Venue Type: 
Parks and Gardens
Overall Rating: 
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The Hall has small, but charming, walled gardens running down to the moat.

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Cley Marshes

Venue Type: 
Wildlife and Nature
Overall Rating: 
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NWT Cley Marshes, only 6km from Holt, provides groups with great opportunities to explore both coastal and wetland habitats. Include a visit to our award winning eco-friendly visitor centre. Your group can find out about its green sedum roof and innovative green technologies including wind turbine and rain water harvesting systems. The panoramic view across the Marshes is stunning.

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Falls of Clyde

Venue Type: 
Wildlife and Nature
Overall Rating: 
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The Scottish Wildlife Trust’s, Falls of Clyde Wildlife Reserve (part of the Clyde Valley Woodlands National Nature Reserve) is bursting with wildlife. Famous for its spectacular waterfalls and scenic woodland walks. In spring the woodland floor us abound with colourful wildflowers. Alive with bird song; over 100 species having made this reserve their home. In the summer, daubentons bats are seen hawking across the river and badgers forage amongst the undergrowth. Autumn sees the woodland leaves turn shades of orange, brown and red and fungi appears in abundance.

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East Pool Mine

Impressive Cornish beam engines and industrial heritage discovery centre
Venue Type: 
Science & Technology
Overall Rating: 
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At the very heart of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site sit these two great beam engines, originally powered by high-pressure steam boilers introduced by local hero Richard Trevithick.

Preserved in their towering engine houses, they are a reminder of Cornwall's days as a world-famous centre of industry, engineering and innovation.

Our pumping engine is one of the largest surviving Cornish beam engines in the world, and our restored winding engine can be seen in action daily.

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Study@BWFC

Venue Type: 
Indoor Activity Centres
Overall Rating: 
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Come and study at Bolton Wanderers!

Activities are varied and include a choice of: digital media and design, robot building, music creation, computer game design and animation, to name just a few! There is an emphasis on team-building and leadership skills development too.

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Sarehole Mill

Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
Overall Rating: 
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Sarehole Mill is one of only two surviving working watermills in Birmingham. The existing building was constructed around 1750, although there was known to be a mill here as early as the Tudor period. Today the mill is best know for its association with the author JRR Tolkien who spent part of his childhood nearby and who used the site and its surroundings as the inspiration for the Shire in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

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