The Great Science Share

Did you know Greater Manchester is the European City of Science for 2016? This is a unique opportunity to get young people excited about science and all the wonderful possibilities it offers. One way for you to get involved it to take part in the Great Science Share. If you're passionate about engaging young people in STEM this is a great opportunity to share your creativity and enthusiasm

The event will take place on the 6th July and the idea is that young people share their favourite STEM activities with their peers, families, other schools or the wider community. Shares can even be online.

If you need a bit of inspiration to get started, we've got some simple and fun ideas.

Can you fit inside a bubble?

Make your own bubble mix and use a hula hoop to see how many children you can fit inside a bubble. This bubble mixture from Red Ted Art has worked brilliantly for us and if you add a little cornflour it works even better.

Can you make a volcano without vinegar?

For this try using something as your volcano model that is already acidic, lemons and limes work well.

Can you build a launchpad for a bottle rocket?

Bottle rockets are great fun, but can you build a launchpad to launch one from?

How can you make a square bubble?

All you need for this is a square frame and some bubble mix.

Viscosity races - Which liquid will reach the bottom first?

Children predict and then test which liquid ( vegetable oil, treacle, syrup, ketchup etc ) will reach the bottom of a large ramp the fastest. Testing on mini ramps first could be a fun way to test initial predictions.

What materials are attracted to magnets?

This would be a fun investigation for younger children, you could fill a tuff spot tray with lots of different materials to test and children then sort the materials according to whether they are attracted to the magnet or not.

How can you burst a water balloon without touching it?

Can you build a catapult? Would a ping pong ball or a squash ball travel the furthest if the same force was applied?

There are some easy catapult ideas here.

How can you test to see if a substance is an acid?

Use red cabbage indicator and test vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and other substances to discover which are acids and which bases

How can you clean glittery water?

Filter with various items, stones, sand, paper towels.

Can you stop an egg breaking when dropped?

Drop boiled eggs in bags containing to different substances to discover which protects the egg the best. A twist on this idea would be to build a soft surface for the egg to land on, how about a mini trampoline?