Why do we experience day and night and different seasons on Earth? How are these different on other planets in the Solar System? This workshop allows pupils to investigate these questions through demonstrations and practical activities, using modelling and active participation to understand the Earth’s place in the Solar System. The workshop can be adapted for different age groups. It can last from 1.5 to 3 hours according to time available.

Suitable for school years 1-6.

Take a trip to the stars in our inflatable planetarium and find out more about the huge expanse of space around us!

The workshop can be adapted for different age groups. It lasts around 1 hour, according to time available.

Suitable for school years 1-6.

Investigate the force of gravity, find out what it’s like to be weightless and launch your own indoor rocket. This workshop can be tailored appropriately for the age group and can last from 1.5 to 3 hours depending on the time available. The workshop includes practical skills, numeracy tasks such as graph plotting, team working, design and evaluation all in a fun and interesting context.

Suitable for school years 3-6.

Why do some objects float and some objects sink? Experience and measure the forces involved and apply the ideas learnt to the design and testing of model boats. This workshop will develop a better understanding of the scientific concepts of density, buoyancy and stability as well as developing problem-solving, design, evaluation and team-working skills. It can be adapted to run from 1.5 to 3 hours as required and can be tailored to cross-curricular themes you may be covering such as ‘Vikings’ or other topics involving ships and boats.

Suitable for school years 3-4.

Build simple electric circuits and begin to understand current, voltage and resistance through practical activities and problem-solving challenges. The workshop is designed to cover electricity concepts in the Key Stage 2 curriculum and will be delivered by an experienced, specialist physics teacher who will be able to address misconceptions pupils may have and help them develop a problem-solving approach to this topic. For a longer workshop, lasting up to 3 hours, the fundamental concepts of charge and static electricity can also be covered with exciting, but safe, high-voltage demonstrations.

Suitable for school years 3-6.

Using laboratory apparatus and measuring equipment, including Bunsen burners and thermometers, your pupils will investigate questions such as what happens when materials change from solid to liquid to gas and what does temperature really mean? They will develop a better understanding of particle models of matter through practical activities, graph plotting and discussion of models of the processes. The workshop can be extended and developed into a cross-curricular theme by applying the ideas to the problem of melting ice sheets and the effects on global sea level rise.

Suitable for school years 3 and 4.

The workshop starts with investigating shadows, eclipses and phases of the moon, then students will take part in a carousel of different investigations into solar radiation, reflections and colour mixing. Finally, we’ll end with some fun and surprising demos – pupils might even get to fly the Abingdon Science Partnership broomstick!

Suitable for school years 3-6.

This is a practical workshop where pupils will get hands on experience of making measurements and finding patterns in lever and pulley systems before investigating various devices that use gears to give a mechanical advantage. Every pupil will take away a workbook full of results and explanations to keep with their other science work at school.

Most suitable for school years 5 and 6

The Lab Skills workshop focuses on giving older primary pupils a chance to experience a secondary school science lab and to practise some of the skills they will need to learn practical science confidently from Key Stage 3 onwards. The workshop can be adapted in various ways, to include activities relevant to safe working in any of the main science subjects, including microscopy and electric circuits as well as Bunsen burners and glassware.

Suitable for school years 5 and 6.

This workshop covers aspects of the National Curriculum Science Rocks and Soils topic through lab based investigations.  These include observations of a wide variety of rock samples; separation and filtration of soils and discussion of the process of fossilisation by comparing modern and fossilised sea shells. There are also dinosaurs!

Suitable for school years 3 and 4.