Some lovely activities to help children develop their science, technology, engineering and maths skills!

As much use as a chocolate teapot!

Think up some silly products, such as a chocolate teapot.
It would melt as soon as you added hot water. Draw pictures of your ideas.

Water Music

Arrange some drinking glasses on a table. If you hit them with a pencil what sound do they make? Is each different? Now add different amounts of water to each glass. How has the sound changed? Can you compose a song to play on your water xylo- phone?

Ice hunt

Freeze some treasures in a block of ice in the freezer. Now can you rescue them? What is the best way of getting your treasures back?

One cup of Lego

What can you build with just one cup of Lego?

Heavier than a potato

Hold a potato in one hand. What can you find in your house that is heavier than your potato?

What is lighter?

Can you find something that weighs the same?

Expanding gummy bears

You will need a selection of gummy bears. Measure their length.

Now put a gummy bear in water and leave it for a few hours. Take the bear out of the water. What has happened to it?

What other liquids could you test your gummy bear in?

Silly shapes

Find or make some playdough. How many dif- ferent shapes can you make by squashing, bend- ing, twisting and stretching your dough? ( 8 tbsp plain flour, 2 tbsp table salt, 60ml warm water, food colouring and 1 tbsp vegetable oil will make a small ball of play dough)

What the Ladybird Heard

In the storybook ‘What the Ladybird Heard’, the Lady- bird helped the farm ani- mals by carefully listening to the sounds she heard in the farmyard. In the story the two thieves have a map of the farm with all the animals on it and they work out where they are by listening to the sounds the animals make.

Can you make a map of your house or garden and add all the sounds you hear? If you had to direct someone round your map what sounds would you tell them to listen out for?