With more and more of us reassessing our ‘plastic consumption’ and with young people setting up environmental clubs and beach clean projects around the world, we thought it was time to release our ‘pick ‘n’ mix’ Plastic=Not Fantastic! resources and ideas into the wild! (NOTE: If the PowerPoint presentation doesn’t download automatically, drop us a line: aloha [AT] saipathmanathan.com or download from here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6va19na8s14ku8v/Plastic is Not Fantastic_Presentation.pptx?dl=0). These materials, resources and activity ideas are a result of Sai’s (www.saipathmanathan.com) post-Fellowship funding from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (http://www.wcmt.org.uk). Several events and workshops were run (school assemblies, science weeks, afterschool family sessions, in-school workshops, community events: Fun Palaces, The Big Draw, Biology Week) around the topics of plastic pollution, reusing and recycling, eco-materials and alternatives. Many thanks to the Galapagos Conservation Trust (https://galapagosconservation.org.uk) and the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for supporting this project. (P.S. Why not use the opportunity of Christmas/seasonal festivities and our plastic packaging addiction during this season to teach young people about repurposing and recycling natural decorations… making them glitter and tinsel-free!)

This is a simple, safe hands-on activity for any age, but particularly useful for Key Stage 2 (Living things and their habitats) to explain what malaria is and how infection can spread easily.

A set of activities on eating, digestion and sleep. Funded by The Physiological Society.

A fun introductory lesson on Sound for Key Stage 2. The information is slightly detailed (e.g. anatomy of the ear, information on pitch, frequency, echolocation and longitudinal waves), however the young people (Years 4-6) that we’ve worked with have enjoyed this thoroughly. Especially the bit of cartoon science, and making their own noises!

This resource is based on an activity run in October 2019 during the Fun Palaces weekend, supported by the British Society for the History of Science. It contains stories of food scientists who have made contributions to what we think of as ‘the balanced diet’. While the format of the activity is for a public engagement event, it could be adapted for use within the classroom or for open days/transition days.