Schools, colleges and the public

We have a collection of online resources for learning science and engineering topics. See the full list at the resources page, or check out these highlights: 

Primary school (KS1/2) 

• Take a bite out of climate change at home: Videos, worksheets and games about the impact of different food choices on the environment (KS2/primary).
• Jodrell Bank’s science learning at home: Activities, worksheets and talks about space and astronomy from the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre.
• Make volcanoes in your kitchen with these activities from our Earth & Environmental Sciences department.
• Make a kazoo and learn about the science of sound with the Maths of waves and materials group.
• Watch video primary science lessons from the Great Science Share to learn how to make bubble mixture, a solar oven, or M&M art.
• Take a 360 degree tour of the FIRS Botanical Grounds and learn about the plants housed in the greenhouses.

Secondary school and college (KS3/4/5)

• Games and quizzes about nuclear energy developed by the Dalton Nuclear Institute.
• Use your code-breaking skills to solve a mystery, with the Alan Turing Cryptography Competition – the 2021 competition is open until March, or the archive has ten previous sets of puzzles to try. 
• Solve maths puzzles in the MathsBombe – this runs at the same time as the cryptography competition for older students (up to Y13), and also has an archive to work through. 
• Explore the maths of waves with curriculum-linked lessons for KS3-5 on the science of balloons and musical instruments.
• Try to complete a 20 minute challenge: physics and maths activities for KS3 developed by our PhD students who work with secondary schools.

Teachers’ mailing lists

You can sign up for a regular newsletter on new resources, events and CPD opportunities from the University. There are newsletters for primary teachers, secondary science teachers, and post-16 teachers and careers advisers. There’s also a newsletter on support for EPQs. Register for any of these newsletters.

Primary teacher CPD

Our Science and Engineering Education Research and Innovation Hub (SEERIH) delivers a science learning programme for primary teachers that “increases teachers’ access to knowledge, skills and like-minded professionals”. See the SEERIH webpage for more information.

Virtual open days

Our 2020 open days were run remotely, and you can watch recordings of the admissions talks from all nine departments in our Faculty.

How the University links with schools and colleges

Our publications page has the Schools and Colleges Liaison Guide on how we link with schools, our Access and Participation Plan on how we’ve committed to widening access into the University, and the widening participation annual report on how we’ve engaged schools and young people.

Our events on campus and visits to schools have had to pause for now, but we’re still engaging with schools online.

If you’re a teacher and interested in our events, get in touch or register for one of our newsletters. Unless otherwise noted on their pages, all events are free, although availability can sometimes be limited.

Academic guest lecture series

Your secondary school or college can request a live lecture delivered remotely from one of our academics. There are sixteen STEM lectures to choose from, covering physics, chemistry, computer science, earth science, materials, and engineering, and aimed at a range of audiences from Year 7 to Year 13. See the full list and request a lecture.

The Great Science Share for Schools

Each June, the Great Science Share invites young people aged 5-14 to share their scientific questions and investigations. With over 90,000 participants last year, this is a huge, worldwide event find out how your school can get involved.

Maths workshops for KS3

Discover the hidden mathematical research behind everyday things with the Great Maths Hunt workshop for KS3. See more information and how to request

ScienceX

Our in-person festival will return later in 2022, bursting with fun, exciting activities for families, and open to all.

See the highlights from the latest event.

If you want to find out more about the research going on in our Faculty:

Star lectures

Our annual lecture series for secondary schools – recorded talks include Professor Phil Manning on dinosaurs and Professor Brian Cox on GCSE science. Check out the full series. 

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 

Every Christmas since 1825, the Royal Institution in London has hosted a public lecture on science or engineering. These days they’re aimed at a family audience, broadcast on TV, and usually run over three hour-long talks.

Professor Danielle George from the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering gave the 2014 lectures, ‘Sparks Will Fly: How to Hack Your Home’. Watch the three talks online at the RI website. 

The 2020 lectures were ‘Planet Earth: a Users’ Guide’, on humans’ impact on the Earth, and the opening lecture was by Professor Chris Jackson from Earth & Environmental Sciences. Watch Engine Earth at the RI website. 

Talks from Bluedot festival

As well as the headline acts, the annual Bluedot festival at Jodrell Bank hosts a large number of talks on science and technology, including many from our staff. Watch the playlist on YouTube. 

Chemistry at Manchester videos

CAMERA – or, Chemistry At Manchester Explains Research Advances – is a channel of short videos and interviews about chemistry research. You can see the series on YouTube. 

Podcasts 

• The Buzz: interviews and news on the latest research from across science and engineering.
• The Jodcast: long-running monthly astronomy podcast from researchers at Jodrell Bank.
• The Cosmic Cast: planetary geoscience podcast (and YouTube channel) from Earth and Environmental Sciences.
• Tyndall Talks: researchers from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research discuss climate science and climate policies. 

Teachers or careers advisors can email the University’s central schools team at schoolsandcolleges@manchester.ac.uk

For details of upcoming schools events and new resources, follow @UoMSchools on Twitter.

For the latest news and events from the Faculty of Science and Engineering, follow @UoMSciEng 

Unfortunately we’re not able to offer work experience, but Y12 students should look at the Nuffield Foundation’s summer research placements. 

For any other outreach or engagement enquiries, the social responsibility team can direct you to the best contact: email us at fse-outreach@manchester.ac.uk.