Learning outside the classroom is an objective in primary education in the UK and an ideal way to introduce science. School grounds, allotments, community farms and sports areas, parks, nature reserves and community woodlands can be accessed in both urban and rural areas. These provide accessible spaces that can be used inexpensively throughout…

A review of research on outdoor learning by Rickinson "et al." (2004) highlights the demonstrable educational benefits and provides a source of support, justification and an evidence base for educators looking to undertake more learning outside the classroom. Bird (2004) also reviewed the widely reported health benefits of outdoor…

The recent explosive growth of the Wild Network, which exists to champion and support connection with nature and wildness in children and young people, suggests that there is a groundswell of support for getting young people outdoors. Hannah Rose and Anneke Kempton of the Field Studies Council (FSC) explain why the outdoors is such an important…

Over a quarter of British households now own at least one tablet device, an increase of 63% in the 12 months from February 2013 (Internet Advertising Bureau UK, 2014). This trend has expanded into the classroom, with more schools either providing their pupils with an individual tablet device or encouraging parents to purchase them outright or via…

A keen personal interest in natural history, involvement in environmental organisations, and experience, first as a secondary biology teacher and later as a field teacher, means that this author has spent many years working outdoors. Any part of the curriculum involving ecological concepts would lead her to open the door and go outside. She…

Teachers learn a lot about learning and teaching from dialogue with each other. Association for Science Education (ASE) meetings and other science conferences are ideal ways of coming into contact with other professionals to engage in dialogue. One special dimension of that contact is encountering overseas colleagues. Authors Brenda Keogh and…

The Met Office has a long history of weather forecasting, creating tailored weather forecasts for customers across the world. Based in Exeter, the Met Office is also home to the Met Office Hadley Centre, a world-leading centre for the study of climate change and its potential impacts. Climate information from the Met Office Hadley Centre is used…

It started with a letter home. Over one week, each class in turn would have a morning devoted to science, and children were invited to bring one adult to share practical activities with them. The author, a granddad, got the job. In this article, granddad reflects on that morning's primary school science activity topic--camping. Granddad shares…

Popular myth has it that visiting a farm can be dangerous, but there are only a few occasions when children have become ill during a school visit to a farm. Simple, sensible precautions, including wearing appropriate clothing, such as trousers and wellington boots (if wet) or sensible shoes, and careful hand-washing, are all that is required. The…

It may be quite daunting to put together a proposal for an award, especially something as prestigious as the Rolls-Royce Science Prize! But this is exactly what the author did as soon as she was appointed head of juniors at La Sagesse School in Newcastle upon Tyne. After a consultation with staff, governors, the school council and the…

The Association for Science Education's "schoolscience.co.uk" and Martin Rapley, presenter of "The Big Bug Experience," are again running the Great Bug Hunt in 2012. Simply identify a habitat, explore and discover the bugs that live there, photograph or draw them and record findings--it's that simple. The winner will be the submission with the…

Children really look forward to out-of-school visits and they usually involve a good deal of preparation and expense. It is therefore a great shame that children often do not get as much out of them as they could. This may relate to how much classroom-based work is carried out before and after the visit to add value. But it could also relate to…

There have been many years of innovation in primary science education. Surprisingly, however, most of this has taken place within the confines of the classroom. What primary science has not yet done with universal success is step outside the classroom boundaries to use the school grounds for teaching and learning across all aspects of the science…

Taking children out of the classroom to learn in a totally different environment can be very rewarding for both the children and the teacher. Part of the excitement is the unfamiliarity of the place, which has its positive sides but can lead to a lack of focus. As part of the Darwin 200 celebrations in 2009, the Charles Darwin Trust and…

The Association For Science Education's "schoolscience.co.uk Great Bug Hunt 2011," in association with Martin Rapley and Gatekeeper Educational, has been a resounding success--not only because it fits into the science curriculum so neatly, but also because of the passion it evoked in the children who took part. This year's entries were truly…