Little Book of the Big Bang
From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this cartoon booklet introduces particle physics, particle accelerators and the Large Hadron Collider. This clear, concise and entertaining booklet explains what a particle accelerator such as the LHC is and the questions it is trying to answer, such as ‘why is…
3/5- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Textbook
Robotic Telescopes
From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this brochure describes the leading role played by UK scientists and engineers at universities, observatories and research council establishments in providing real-time astronomy for research and education. The work of the Liverpool and Faulkes telescopes is described.…
What Is Astrobiology?
From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this resource describes the new and exciting subject that brings together many different branches of science. Astrobiology is the study of how life formed and developed on the Earth, the conditions that made this possible and whether these conditions can exist elsewhere…
History, People and FAQs
This resource, from the Living in a Materials World CD-ROM produced by Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), describes the achievements of some of the physicists and chemists who have contributed to our scientific understanding of the structure and behaviour of atoms. Historical developments describes the work and…
Hands-on Universe
Produced by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Hands-on Universe is a space curriculum pack for students aged 7 to 11. The resource pack consists of six information and activity cards, each of which investigates a specific area of astronomy. The activities cover the Earth and solar system, telescopes, forces and…
- 4/5
- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Activity sheet
Saturn and the Scale of the Solar System
In this Teaching Astronomy and Space video, from the Institute of Physics (IOP), Teachers TV and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), planetary scientist Sheila Kanani shows us the stunning images of Saturn and its moons taken from the Cassini spacecraft. Sheila describes the Cassini-Huygens mission and how it…
Exoplanets
In this Teaching Astronomy and Space video, produced by the Institute of Physics (IOP), Teachers TV and Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Don Pollacco introduces us to SuperWASP, one of the most successful exoplanet finding instruments in the world. Don explains how we find planets orbiting other stars and how…
Invisible Wavelengths
This Teaching Astronomy and Space video clip, from the Institute of Physics (IOP), Teachers TV and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), shows a simple demonstration to illustrate wavelengths of radiation that are invisible to the human eye, but which can be detected using a camera phone or digital camera. The…
The Sun
In this Teaching Astronomy and Space video, from the Institute of Physics (IOP), Teachers TV and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), solar physicist Lucie Green reveals her lifelong fascination with our nearest star, the Sun. Lucie explains how space telescopes are allowing us to see the Sun in greater detail…
Particle Accelerators and the Accelerator Tour
This resource, from the Living in a Materials World CD-ROM produced by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), describes how particle accelerators are used to research matter at the atomic and sub-atomic level. The resource looks at the history of research into particles and describes each of the three main types of…
Elliptical Orbits
This Teaching Astronomy and Space video clip, from the Institute of Physics (IOP), Teachers TV and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), illustrates a simple demonstration showing how the orbits of the planets form an ellipse around the sun. It also enables students to see why comets have a much more eccentric eliptical…
Models of the Solar System
In this Teaching Astronomy and Space video, from the Institute of Physics (IOP), Teachers TV and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), physics teacher and astronomer Simon Foster explores how we developed our understanding of the universe. He shows how our changing models of the Solar System is an example of how science…
Cooking Up a Comet
This Teaching Astronomy and Space video clip, from the Institute of Physics (IOP), Teachers TV and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), shows how a range of ingredients can be used to make a material in the classroom that is the similar to the solid head of a comet. The clip shows how mixing water, silicates (sand)…
Key Stage Four: Infrared
This lesson, from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), looks in particular at how infrared data is collected and used to measure changes in global temperature. Infrared radiation is part of the electromagnetic spectrum of light which has uses in astronomy, communications, surveillance and medicine. What can…
Planck Surveyor: Echoes of the Early Universe
From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this poster describes the Planck mission that is enabling scientists to map ripples in the electromagnetic echo of the Big Bang, across the entire sky, to build up a picture of the early Universe in unprecedented detail. The resource looks at: • The afterglow of…
Solar Eclipses
From the Institute of Physics (IOP), Teachers TV and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this short video clip shows a simple method for helping students to understand the relative positions of the earth, sun and moon during a solar eclipse. The video demonstrates how the moon's orbit typically takes its…
Visit Guides
These two guides from Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) help teachers to plan and organise school visits to CERN in Geneva and the Isaac Newton group of telescopes on La Palma in the Canary Islands. The guides give great reasons to visit, explain what services and support would be offered to school groups and list…
Mars Express
Produced by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this wall chart describes the space mission to Mars, the experiments aboard, whether there is water on Mars, Britain's Beagle2 lander and the search for life on Mars. Mars Express was the European Space Agency’s first mission to Mars. Its role is to…
Key Stage Four: Climate Change
In this resource form the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), students are asked to evaluate the evidence about climate change and think about ways to manage the worst of its effects. Students learn about the ways of modelling the effects using computers using data and knowledge of physical processes to 'predict'…
A Century of Crystallography
This poster, from the Science and Technology Facilities Council, celebrates 100 years since two scientists in the UK pioneered a technique for crystallography. Crystallography uses x-rays to create a diffraction pattern to examine the atomic structure of crystals. The poster explains Bragg’s Law, which allows the calculation…
UK Goes to the Planets
From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this resource describes why we explore the solar system and space missions carried out in recent years. These include: • Rosetta mission to a comet • Mars Express • Venus Express • SMART-1 mission to the Moon • Cassini Huygens surveying •…
Cassini-Huygens
Produced by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this A4 colour brochure describes the leading role played by UK scientists and engineers at universities, observatories and Research Councils in the international mission to Saturn and Titan. The Cassini-Huygens mission set off from Earth on 15 October 1997 and…
The Search for Gravitational Waves
From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this resource explains the leading role played by UK scientists and engineers at universities, observatories and research council establishments in the search for gravitational waves. Gravitational wave detectors are expected to open up a new window on the cosmos, allowing…
Key Stage Three: Bright Light
In this Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Key Stage Three resource, students find out how scientists look at particles by inferring from evidence. Step-by-step instructions are given for making a simple 'particle camera' for students to make and use to describe how they can see what particles look like. This…
Venus Express
From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this wall chart describes the space mission to Venus, the UK experiments aboard, and the extreme conditions on the surface of Venus. In addition to mission details, the resource describes properties of Venus and the conditions found on the surface of the planet. STFC…
Cosmic Rays: Mysterious Extraterrestrial Visitors
Produced by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Cosmic Rays is a colour A5 leaflet that opens out into an A2 double-sided wallchart describing cosmic rays and where they come from, what effect they have on Earth and how they are used in scientific applications. Sections of the leaflet cover: • The discovery…
Herschel: Uncovering the Universe
Produced by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this colour leaflet describes the largest space telescope ever to be launched. The Herschel mission, launched in 2009, reveals how the first stars and galaxies formed. Herschel is observing some of the coldest objects in the Universe. It is the biggest space satellite…
Key Stage Three: Anthrax Lessons
In this resource from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)'s Seeing Science website, students use data and evidence to identify a mystery disease, watch a cartoon on the history of vaccination which will allow them to answer questions on Jenner's work and role play the outbreak of a 'new' disease.…
The D-Files
The D-Files, produced by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), have been written by science teachers and LEA science advisors, with help from staff, on topics chosen by themselves as being those most appropriate to the Key Stages Three and Four age level. They are intended as a fun activity which can be expanded as…
The Sun
From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this leaflet describes our Sun and its impact on Earth. It looks at the properties of the Sun and how current space missions and ground-based experiments are providing new understanding of our nearest star. STFC is a part of the Research Councils UK (RCUK) partnership…
The Search for WIMPs
From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this brochure describes the leading role played by UK scientists and engineers at universities, observatories and research council establishments in the search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). The UK's dark matter experiment, at Boulby Mine in North…
Key Stage Three: How Plants Guzzle
Two lessons from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)'s Seeing Science in which students look at how some plants absorb heavy metals. The lessons include an experiment to measure the amount of copper absorbed by lettuce and radish plants. In another activity, students use evidence cards and a map to solve a potential…