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:

To browse the briefs, click the buttons below or scroll down.

Bronze Silver Gold Partner resources

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Hydrology - Gold pack

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/).

Teacher guide SMART

Teacher guide SMART watering Climate change and food supply Conventional irrigation controllers operate according to preprogrammed timers. However, more and more farmers are turning to smart irrigation controllers which can monitor weather, soil conditions, evaporation and plant water use to automatically adjust watering to suit real-time conditions. In this project students will design, make and test their own smart irrigation controller which automatically adjusts watering based on at least one condition. Prompts • How does the farmer know when to water their crops? How do you know when a plant needs watering? • What variables might affect whether a plant needs water? • What is the optimal amount of water for a plant? Does it vary from species to species? Does it change based on other environmental factors? • What are the potential wider benefits of SMART irrigation? Encourage students to think beyond the farmer in the brief. Students could calculate how much water a farmer might save through SMART irrigation, and then use that to estimate how much water could potentially be saved across the UK if all farmers adopted it. 8

Student brief SMART watering Climate change and food supply (Engineering, biology, plants, water) Have you ever wondered when your plants really need watering? Imagine you are a farmer. Every year one of your biggest expenses is water. You would like to find out what the optimal amount of water is for the different crops you grow. You also spend a lot of time watering crops. You would like to have an irrigation system that can not only be controlled remotely, but that automatically waters your crops when they need watering. Design and make a prototype SMART irrigation system that adjusts watering based on at least one condition. Getting started Think about what variables affect whether or not a plant needs watering. You might need to do some research or conduct an experiment to find out how much water a particular crop needs. Start by reading up on different SMART irrigation systems and how they work. Maybe you can interview a local farmer about what technology they use on their farm. Things to think about • How does the farmer know when to water their crops? • How do you know when a plant needs watering? • What is the optimal amount of water for a plant? • Does the amount of water a plant needs vary from species to species? • Are there any environmental conditions which might affect how much water a plant needs? Useful resources • UKCEH Environmental Information Platform https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/ • Arduino Plant Watering System https://www.instructables.com/Arduino-Plant- Watering-System/ • What Is Smart Irrigation https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-howto/watering/what-is-smart-irrigation.htm • Crop Water Needs http://www.fao.org/3/s2022e/s2022e02.htm • Irrigation Best Practice: Water Management for Field Vegetable Crops, A Guide for Vegetable Growers https://www.ukia.org/docs/booklets/water%20man agement%20for%20field%20vegetable%20crops.pdf Health and safety To avoid any accidents, make sure you stick to the following health and safety guidelines before getting started: • Find out if any of the materials, equipment or methods are hazardous using http://science.cleapss.org.uk/Resources/Student- Safety-Sheets/ • Decide what you need to do to reduce any risks, such as wearing appropriate personal protective equipment. • Make sure there is plenty of space to work. • Clear up slip or trip hazards promptly. • Make sure your teacher agrees with your plan and risk assessment. 9