The ongoing COVID-19 situation has resulted in many families working from home, meaning parents are having to juggle new ways of working while engaging children throughout the day. CREST Awards are a fantastic opportunity to showcase ways your children can be engaged in science-based activities with very few resources.
Everything regarding the CREST Awards scheme remains unchanged, with a wealth of Awards-qualifying activities free and available on the CREST website. Teachers and parents are also still able to apply for CREST certificates online for students who have fulfilled the Awards criteria. You can read more of our response in the CREST Help Centre.
The activities we have selected below are a great opportunity to introduce students to science from the convenience of their homes, and help them work towards CREST Awards.
Click here for CREST STAR resources
There are a number of options that use very few resources in our CREST Star Awards section which are perfect for children between the ages of five and seven. The activities include:
Rainbow colour collectors (page 40): This is an opportunity for students to find all the colours of the rainbow in the world around them. This activity is perfect for the home and could lead nicely into an art project.
Be seen be safe (page 8): This activity only requires different materials such as paper and foil to see what reflects light better. A torch and a room or area that can be made dark to test reflections is also handy.
Click here for CREST SuperStar activities
For slightly older children (between 7 and 11), the SuperStar challenges are an opportunity to test upper level primary school children. This is a great opportunity to make the most of the extra time at home. Among the activities are:
A hole in my bucket (page 6): For this activity, all students need are plastic cups, blue tac, cellotape, a straw, and other things that can help them solve the problem of a hole in the bucket.
A sticky problem (page 14): Encourage children to design and test their own glue.
Cheesy challenge (page 52): Using just milk and lemon juice, students can make their own cheese. Naturally, we encourage basic food hygiene rules if they intend to eat the cheese afterwards.
CREST Awards Bronze is the perfect kickstart into longer term activities for students 11 and older. The activities are separated, rather than combined into one, making it easy to find the instructions for each of the projects. Some of the activities the children can get up to at home are:
Devise an experiment into making the perfect cup of tea
Investigate different bread recipes before designing the perfect bread rise
Learn about energy transfer and the insulation properties within different clothes
There are so many more fun-filled activities for students to learn while at home, so make sure to visit the CREST Bronze Resource Library for more!
Top tips for parents and carers facilitating CREST at home
1. There isn't a 'right answer'- so don’t worry about what you do/don't know.
2. Encourage, and model curiosity- be interested in you child’s questions and let them try out their ideas (safely!)
3. Go with the flow. If children are tired/hungry/need to run/cry/zone out, stop, and come back to it. There are no time limits on CREST- you could spend a whole day diving into a project, or just do 30 min at a time.
4. Lots of children may be feeling anxious at the moment. Try and find project ideas that either distract them, or give them as sense of control and understanding of the spread of disease. We have a wide variety available, including projects around handwashing and catching sneezes!
5. Take photos/video as the project and idea progresses. It’s a great way to look back on the learning, share with teachers and peers and also capture good memories. If students submit for Silver/Gold then they can include these pictures in their uploaded evidence.