AZTEC POO - British Science Week Activity packs review 2

PRIMARY PACK

This pack has 14 different activities in three categories plus ideas for the poster competition and links to the citizen science project for this year.
The three categories are: Exploring our Home; Exploring the Outdoors and Exploring the World.
There are acivities which are very practical and some which are more research based.
Some of the activities are also eligible for CREST awards.
It is hard to pick a favourite from this pack but we especially like:
AZTEC POO
what could be more appealing to a primary class that to make their own ancient poo. Using a salt dough and brown colouring ( although I think I would use paint rather than the suggested beef stock cube - not sure my senses need that much stimulation) and then adding  " dietary evidence" - what a great phrase - you create a coprolite from history.
You can tailor this activity to your history theme by researching the diet of your chosen time period/geographical location and adding the suitable elements such as corn and seeds for the Aztecs. Once allowed to set the coprolite is examined!

SQUASHED TOMATOES
This is a great project from the ever popular Practical Action team based on a real life problem faced by the tomato growers in Nepal who need to transport their produce down the mountain side.

This engineering activity challenges your pupils to devise and make  some way of transporting cherry tomatoes ( or you could use play dough versions) down a slope without touching them, throwing them or making them "fly".
I like the way that this activity can be accessed at different levels by a range of age groups and the support material is extremely comprehensive.

You could make this into a whole day event for your upper KS2 and earn a CREST Discovery Award.


AUGMENTED REALITY MINIBEASTS
If you have access to the right technology in your classroom you might like to try using augmented reality - where images "come to life" on screen - as part of a  minibeast  ID and hunt.
I downloaded the app to my phone and didn't even print out the silhouettes of the ant and the spider
(although that is really what you should do). I opened the app and pointed my phone at the silhuette on my laptop screen and a giant ant came to life! Not for the arachnophobe but the spider is quite incredible - holding your phone with an apparently larger than life spider about to pounce is slightly unnerving. I can imagine if you linked your device to your whiteboard it could be quite an experience!!
I think as an activity this is really a bit of a gimmick to add something new to a minibeast identification game but well worth a try for the novelty even if you just do it yourself.

Download the activity packs here:

https://www.britishscienceweek.org/plan-your-activities/activity-packs/

Download the augmented reality app using either the i-store or app player suitable for your device.