Secondary project briefs (ages 11+)

Bronze Awards are typically completed by students aged 11+. They complete a ten-hour project which is a perfect introduction to STEM project work. Over the course of the project, teams of students design their own investigation, record their findings, and reflect on their learnings. This process gives students a taste of what it is like to be a scientist or engineer in the real-world.

Silver Awards are typically completed by students aged 14+ over thirty hours. Project work at Silver level is designed to stretch your students and enrich their STEM studies. Students direct the project, determining the project’s aim and how they will achieve it. They carry out the project, record and analyse their results and reflect on the project and their learnings. All Silver projects are assessed by CREST assessors via our online platform.

Gold Awards are typically completed by students aged 16+ over seventy hours. Students’ projects are self-directed, longer term and immerse them in real research. At this level, we recommend students work with a mentor from their chosen STEM field of study. All Gold projects are assessed by CREST assessors via our online platform. There are more CREST approved resources that have been developed by our partners and providers specific to your region.

There are more CREST approved resources that have been developed by our partners and providers specific to your region.

Find out how to build practical CREST projects into secondary science lessons using our free teacher guidance pack. Supporting this guidance are easy-to-use, free-to-download mapping workbooks, which match individual Bronze, Silver and Gold CREST Award projects with each area of the secondary science curricula for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. You can download and save your own copy of the relevant mapping workbook via the following links:

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Bronze Silver Gold Partner resources

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All SuperStar challenges

The activities in this pack have been selected from our library of CREST SuperStar challenges. Children need to complete eight challenges to achieve a CREST SuperStar Award. If you want, you can mix and match challenges from different packs, as long as children complete eight SuperStar challenges. This resource is published under an Attribution - non-commercial - no derivatives 4.0 International creative commons licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Making Toothpaste/

Making Toothpaste/ Terrific Teeth Part 1 MAKING TOOTHPASTE MAKING TOOTHPASTE MAKING TOOTHPASTE Organiser’s Card About the activity This activity has been designed to get children thinking about the various properties of toothpaste. The children have been sent a letter from the Bright Smile Toothpaste Company. MAKING They want TOOTHPASTE the investigators to help test out their latest recipe. The task asks them to: Talk about toothpaste ingredients. Make and test toothpaste. Write a letter (optional). Through this activity you will support your group to: • Think about what makes good toothpaste • Make their own toothpaste and test it to see how well it works • Record and present their results and share them with the group Kit list To make the toothpaste they will need: • Food grade baking soda (sodium bicarbonate NOT baking powder), cornflour, salt, glycerine, peppermint flavouring, food colouring, water, teaspoons, yoghurt pots or plastic beakers • Additional flavourings, colourings and spare ingredients so they can change their recipes • To avoid getting too messy they may need plastic aprons and gloves. To do the tests they will need: • Clean toothbrushes (not for teeth cleaning) • White tiles or old plates • Permanent markers or shoe polish • Extra plastic pots and/or plates • Covering for the tables

What to do MAKING TOOTHPASTE 1. Read the ACTIVITY CARD to familiarise yourself with the activity. 2. Check the Kit list and ensure you have the correct resources. 3. Set the scene by discussing the letter with the children. 4. Help children gather the equipment. 5. Encourage children to talk together about their ideas and their investigations 6. Encourage the children to experiment with different recipes for the toothpaste. 7. Encourage the children to make their own records. Things to think about The more you give children the more they will use! Regulate the quantity of the ingredients available at any one time. They may need to make more than one batch. Let the children make the toothpaste themselves. It doesn’t matter if they do not follow the recipe precisely. The best way to test the toothpaste is by using it to clean marks off a white plate or tile. They can use a marker pen or shoe polish. Keywords • Toothpaste • Cleaning • Chemistry • Taste • Smell Watch out! All ingredients must be new and equipment clean. Despite warning the children not to taste the toothpaste, some might do so! It MAKING should TOOTHPASTE only be tasted if you are certain it has been prepared hygienically. British Science Association Registered Charity No. 212479 and SC039236