Just My Cup of Tea

Just My Cup of Tea Organiser’s Card About the activity This activity is designed to get children thinking about design. The QUALITEA tea company have a new advertising slogan ‘Just my cup of tea’, the children have been asked to carry out investigations on teacups and mugs to help decide which cup to use to match their advertising slogan. Through this activity you will support your group to: • Think about properties of teacups • Match the different cups to different character profiles • Design an advert for the QUALITEA tea company Kit list • Water • Teaspoons • Kettle • Measuring jug • Thermometers / temperature sensors • Trays • Different types of cups, including disposable cups – look for different shapes, materials and sizes What to do 1. Introduce the activity, read through the different customer quotes, making sure that children understand all the vocabulary. 2. Give out activity cards and equipment to the children. 3. Explain that they will be using the equipment provided to test the best cup design for the needs of the different customers. 4. Encourage children to discuss their ideas and how to carry out their investigations. Prompt questions: • What makes a ‘good’ cup? What will they be testing for and how? • How will they make sure their test is fair? • How will they record their results? 5. Support children to conduct their tests and make their own records of their results. They could also take photographs or make drawings. Encourage children to do different investigations to help them decide which cup suits each of the characters. There may be other tests that they would like to add. 5. Ask the children to present their findings to the rest of the group, they can be as creative in their presentation as they want - the activity card suggests they could create an advert or design their own cup.

Things to think about The cups and mugs do not all need to be the same size, shape and material – in fact they should be as different as possible. If a cup has a lid, keep it on as this is part of the design. The results of this activity will differ, depending on the cups used. To decide which is the best cup for the commuter, children will need to think about insulation (stopping the outside getting too hot) and the ‘grippiness’ of the outside of the cup. Several disposable cups come with a sleeve that makes the cup ‘grippy’ and easier to hold when filled with very hot liquid. Even with warm water, children should be able to notice the difference in the outside temperature with and without the sleeve. Keywords • Insulation • Cooling • Materials • Grip • Surface Take it further An extension activity of designing their own cup based on their results is suggested on the activity card. Watch out! ! Make sure that children are not wandering around in the dark with sharp objects. Make sure that the area is cleared of obstacles and dangerous substances British Science Association Registered Charity No. 212479 and SC039236