Science Oxford Recommends
Our Science Oxford team recommend and review online STEM resources for families and schools.
Check out the latest STEM activities and resources to use in school or at home with family. It could be a great activity guide, an interesting video, a science quiz, something new and fun to try, or a good book to inspire big thinking.
Choose from these great online resources:
Science Oxford shows - online!
Check out our online science shows for primary schools
National Insect Week
Insect Week runs from 24th to 30th June, when we focus attention on raising awareness and celebrating the importance of insects in our world, including the roles they play in pollination or breaking down organic materials. Join in the activities from home or school, and learn more about these important ‘minibeasts’.
The Conversation's Curious Kids
Kids ask the coolest questions! Sometimes their grown ups don’t have the best answers and need help. On The Conversation’s Curious Kids podcast, real experts answer them!
Kate Pankhurst - Fantastically Great Women
Unlock your inner astronaut with author and illustrator Kate Pankhurst’s Fantastically Great Women series and book ‘We Are All Astronauts’.
BBC micro:bit playground survey
With the help of their teachers, children aged 7 to 11 years old have an opportunity to use the BBC micro:bit in a unique data science project, to investigate and gather information about their playground.
Seed gathering season
Get involved in Seed Gathering Season, from 23 September to 23 October. You’ll find lots of practical information on how to identify, prepare and grow seeds into trees, shrubs and hedgerows of the future.
British Science Week 2024
Plan ahead for British Science Week 2024, which takes place from 8 to 17 March, with the theme of ‘Time’. They’ve made available great free activity packs for you to download and use in your classroom any time.
National Coding Week
National Coding Week takes place from the third Monday of September each year. Science Oxford’s Technology Projects Officer Sarah recommends participating in the Astro Pi Mission Zero.
World Bee Day
World Bee Day on 20 May is the opportunity to celebrate the wonderful world of bees! It is also a day to raise awareness of the importance of bees and other pollinators, which are crucial for our food production, and the health of the planet. Enjoy some learning activities from the British Beekeepers Association.
Wild Senses
These ‘Wild Senses!’ resources are about nocturnal animals and their ‘super senses’, and contain links to KS2 and KS3 curricula.
My Science Club
We love the simplicity of the quality material produced by My Science Club! If you’re keen on running a science club, then they can help with some great resources.
Make your own nest box
Finding more homes for birds in celebration of National Nest Box Week in February
Starters for Science
A series of five-minute videos created to support teachers to get started with practical science enquiry
Puzzle Day
Free puzzle activities from the Science Oxford Centre team and Primary Science Teaching Trust / Science Sparks.
NASA Space Place
Have a go at making your own spacecraft or a rocket you can actually launch
National Children's Gardening Week
Fun outdoor activities for families at home or children at school over summer
Sensory Science
Sensory Science is a series of short films, created by one of our Big Science Event at Home judges, Dr Sarah Bearchell.
Marble Roller Coaster
Build a Marble Roller Coaster and other great STEM Inventions.
Barclays Code Playground
If you enjoyed coding a micro:bit and are looking for more fun computing activities, check out Barclays Code Playground on YouTube…
Rube Goldberg Video Challenge
Enter the Rube Goldberg official challenge!
Animal Adaptations
Try these amazing Animal Adaptations at home or in school
Mary Anning - A fossil hunter's story
The award-winning short film, Sea Dragon, tells Mary Anning’s incredible story and sets the scene for a series of enquiry-based activities – for upper KS2 aged children.
Good reads for the bookworm in your family
Am I Made of Stardust?
Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock (MBE) is a space scientist, celebrated STEM educator and communicator, and presenter of the long-standing BBC’s The Sky at Night. She is passionate about encouraging young people to pursue their “big, crazy dreams” and to answer big questions. Her latest book Am I Made of Stardust? is full of amazing facts about the Universe to excite you about learning more and exploring Space.
The Truth Detective
Did you know Florence Nightingale was a ‘truth detective’? She looked at the data and used a pie chart to show why good hygiene and sanitation in medicine was so important to saving lives. You can read this interesting story and others in Tim Harford’s new book, The Truth Detective, in which he helps young people “make sense of a world that doesn’t add up”.
The Greatest Show on Earth
Mini Grey is an award-winning author and illustrator, and her book The Greatest Show on Earth will take you on a whistle-stop tour through the story of life on Earth, a story that covers 4.6 billion years!
Summer reading
A long summer holiday is the perfect time to open and dive into the pages of a good book, learn new things and let the imagination wonder. With Book Lover’s Day on 9 August, it’s also the perfect time to celebrate books and the way they enrich us. Our team has put forward some recommendations for summer science reading for various ages.