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Science articles

Children learning in the classroom
Sex and relationships education: what your child learns
Sex education teaching varies hugely from school to school. We explain what goes on in KS1 and KS2 SRE lessons and outline what has changed in sex and relationship education in primary school from September 2020.
Best chemistry sets for children
Best chemistry sets for children
Introduce your child to the world of chemical reactions, crystallisation and chromatography with the right chemistry set for every age and stage. From pre-schooler test tubes and safety goggles to pipettes of luminol and alcohol burners, we've picked great kids' chemistry sets for every budget and every budding chemist.
Best electronics sets for children
Best electronics sets for children
Learning how circuits work is an important part of Key Stage 2 science. Make the learning light up, buzz, ring and whizz up into the air with these brilliant electronics sets for children, designed to make exploring electricity creative and captivating. From sturdy sets suitable for small fingers to circuit-diagram projects, these sets offer a fantastic hands-on electrical education.
Primary-school cooking curriculum
Cooking and nutrition in primary schools
For the first time ever, practical cookery lessons are compulsory in primary schools. We explain what your budding MasterChef might learn.
Eureka! reviewed for parents
Museums reviewed by parents: Eureka!
One of the best children's museums in the world, Eureka! is packed with hundreds of hands-on exhibits designed to inspire children to learn through play. Our family testers were amazed at what's on offer and determined to be regular visitors in the future.
Manchester Museum reviewed for parents
Museums reviewed by parents: Manchester Museum
Travel back in time to Ancient Egypt, see reptiles and amphibians from Costa Rica, walk beneath a giant whale skeleton, come face-to-face with a tiger and meet a life-size Tyrannosaurus rex... just a few of the highlights of a visit to Manchester Museum. Our family testers report back.
Museum of Liverpool reviewed by parents
Museums reviewed by parents: Museum of Liverpool
Dress up as a dock master, play in a pint-sized port, explore first- and third-class travel in Victorian times and fall in love with the sounds of the 1960s... it's all waiting for you (and it's free!) at the Museum of Liverpool. Our parent review highlights the child-friendly activities on offer.
Look Out Discovery Centre
Museums reviewed by parents: Look Out Discovery Centre
Build a dam, tile a roof, shake your own hand (in an optical illusion) and build a 3D puzzle of the human body − there's all this (and more) to discover at the Look Out Discovery Centre in Bracknell. Read our parent review to find out more.
Game-based learning
Why games-based learning is great for your child
If you despair of the amount of time your child spends attached to their tablet, think again: games and apps are an important part of their learning journey, from pre-school to secondary school, and can help to improve problem-solving skills and communication, as well as boost motivation. Lucy Dimbylow finds out why gaming means learning in the twenty-first century.
Girl and daffodils - spring learning activities
6 learning activities for spring weather
Welcome the new season with these spring children's activity ideas from Juno Hollyhock from Learning through Landscapes. Wellies on, gloves off, coats fastened – time to run out into the spring sunshine!
Primary school gardening projects
Growing to achieve at school
Gardening is part of the National Curriculum framework, so it's vital children understand plants. They'll cover the science in the classroom, but we suggest some fun ways to see the theory in action and get them growing (no garden or green fingers required!).
Educational toys: Ubooly
100 of the best educational toys: EYFS
Learning toys that are packed with play value, too, our 100 best educational toy picks will help your child identify numbers and letters, learn their high frequency words, understand rhyming and even get to grips with primary-school programming and physics. Get great gift ideas with our recommendations for nursery and Reception children!
Educational toys: Moonscope
100 of the best educational toys: KS2
Your child will be having so much fun playing these games they won't even realise they're practising their times tables, improving their vocabulary, boosting mental maths skills and revising geography facts. Hands-on fun is guaranteed with every learning activity, from writing in hieroglyphics to dissecting a body and observing the night sky.
Girl with Christmas stocking
100 of the best educational toys: stocking fillers
Don't forget the stockings! These little toys and games are the perfect size to slip in, yet still offer plenty of educational opportunity. Encourage observation, curiosity, dexterity and creativity with these brilliant gifts, whatever age your child is.
Girl playing with building blocks
100 of the best educational toys: KS1
These games and toys consolidate early reading skills, help with simple maths calculations, boost strategic thinking and even introduce your KS1 child to engineering and geology! For literacy and numeracy fun in toy form, these are the games to try.
Engineering play
How to create a budding engineer
Engineering underpins almost every aspect of modern life. So what will your child learn about engineering and technology at school, and how can you encourage their enthusiasm? Lucy Dimbylow finds out.
What is success criteria?
What is a success criteria / WILF?
Find out what success criteria (also known as the 'WILF') are and how your child's teacher will use success criteria to boost learning focus.
What is a Learning Objective / WALT?
What is a Learning Objective / WALT?
Heard your child talk about their LO, or their WALT? Teachers use learning objectives to help children understand what is expected of them in the classroom. Find out what a learning objective (or WALT) is and how learning objectives are used in primary school.
What is a DUMTUM?
What is a DUMTUM?
Find out what a DUMTUM is and how this technique will help your child to set out their work correctly.
What are talk partners?
What are talk partners?
Find out what a talk partner is and why having a talk partner will benefit your child's learning in the classroom.
What is 'scaffolding' learning?
What is 'scaffolding' learning?
Find out what 'scaffolding' learning means and how teachers use this technique in the classroom to help children master different skills.
What are interactive whiteboards?
What are interactive whiteboards?
Find out what interactive whiteboards are and how they enhance learning in the classroom.
What are mini-whiteboards?
What are mini-whiteboards?
Find out what mini-whiteboards are and how they enhance learning in the classroom.
Cinderella spider diagram
What is a spider diagram?
Spider diagrams are common planning tools in the primary-school classroom, used in science as well as literacy. We explain what you need to know to help your child use a spider diagram when preparing a fiction or non-fiction piece of writing.
Robin at a bird feeder (image from the RSPB)
How to make your garden bird-friendly
Birdwatching is a brilliant learning activity to do at home that can also encourage your child to take an interest in the outdoors. We speak to the RSPB about how you can make your garden or balcony more appealing for birds, leading to better birdwatching!
Primary school students
11 things parents need to know about the National Curriculum
It’s the basis for what your child learns every day, but what exactly is the National Curriculum and what does it teach? Education writer and primary teacher Phoebe Doyle offers some clarity.
Students in Year 6 SATs
What your child learns in Year 6 maths, English and science
Year 6 means the next round of SATs exams! Start revising by knowing what the learning targets are for the new year, reviewing what was taught in Years 3, 4 and 5, and giving your child SATs practice papers and past exams.
Year 5 students and teacher
What your child learns in Year 5 maths, English and science
Understanding the new things your child will be learning in Year 5 can prepare both of you for the months ahead, and make homework sessions much easier. Read our quick guide to Year 5 maths, English and science to be ready for the new challenges.
Student in Year 4
What your child learns in Year 4 maths, English and science
Help your child prepare for the concepts and topics covered in Year 4 by knowing ahead of time what they’ll be learning in class.
Student in a Year 3 classroom
What your child learns in Year 3 maths, English and science
Starting Year 3 also means entering a new Key Stage. Read on to find out what your child’s maths, English and science lessons will be like, and how they can keep up their studies outside of school with free Year 3 worksheets.
Student in Year 2
What your child learns in Year 2 maths, English and science
Year 2 is when your child will take their Key Stage 1 SATs exams, but what does that mean? What will they learn? And how can you help? Find out in our parents’ guide.
Children in a year 1 classroom
What your child learns in Year 1 maths, English and science
Be prepared for what your child will learn in Year 1 with our quick reference guide to the key concepts and skills they’ll cover in class – find out how you can help them at home, too!
Optical illusions Royal Institution Christmas lectures
Illusions and mind tricks: are your eyes fooling you?
Are you seeing what's really there, or is your mind tricking you? Professor Bruce Hood has three amazing illusions experiments to try, and explains more about how the brain works in his Royal Institution Christmas lecture.
Girl and teacher using microscope
Simple science activities to try today
Science doesn't have to mean complicated experiments with chemicals and Bunsen burners. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage can get involved in science with these fun, fast-results experiments. Sarah Cruickshank reports.
School goldfish
Primary science: what you need to know
Not sure what your child is learning in science? Swot up with our two-minute parents' guide to primary-school science.
Child looking at mirrors
What your child will learn in Foundation Stage science
Science will be a key part of the curriculum for your child’s entire school career. So get them off to a flying start with this guide to what they’ll learn at Foundation Stage and how you can help.
Boy wearing goggles holding test tube
Simple experiments for KS2 scientists
Have you got a budding Galileo or Newton in the family? Help your child's developing scientific enquiries by finding out what they will be learning in science lessons and how to support their practice at home.
Girl painting hand
10 messy (but educational!) ideas for kids
Most kids love getting up to their elbows in stuff. Feeling, squidging, kneading, squeezing – it’s instinctive. What’s more, this sort of play is crucial for learning; it forms the building blocks of knowledge about the world, its materials and how they work. Whether they’re five or ten, watch them get really stuck in to these educational activities.
Boy using microscope
Supporting KS3 science at home
As KS3 science becomes more in-depth, your child will benefit from your support. Here’s what they’ll learn and how you can help.
Little girl looking at flower through microscope
What your child learns in Key Stage 1 science
You may well struggle to remember what you learned in Years 1 and 2 in science – and things have moved on a lot anyway. So swot up on what your child will be taught with this quick guide.