A free scientific toolkit for the classroom, already used by hundreds of children in Scotland, is available for download. Image Pupils were ready to present their worm experiments Easter Bush Campus - home to the Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies - is taking part in a national campaign to raise awareness of the mammals’ plight and help safeguard their future. More than 600 children in the Midlothian region in Scotland have taken part in an international campaign that inspires young people to develop their own science learning. Primary school children were given toolkits developed by the Easter Bush Science Outreach Centre (EBSOC) as part of the UK-wide Great Science Share for Schools. Teachers helped pupils to create their own scientific questions and use the scientific method, just as professional scientists do, to investigate their ideas. The pupils shared their findings with their peers, families, wider school community and visiting scientists from the Roslin Institute and the wider Easter Bush Campus. A free resource for the classroom The schools were given two toolkits, developed by EBSOC, that allowed pupils to carry out investigations into microbiology and animal behaviour. The EBSOC Animal Behaviour Toolkit is available for teachers to download for free (see link below). Researchers from the Roslin Institute, Roslin Technologies and Scotland’s Rural College visited children at three local primary schools – Cuiken, Mauricewood and Strathesk, where the pupils shared the results of their investigation. Thank you so much for your visit. The children really enjoyed sharing their science experiments with you and hearing from your scientists. Lesley Mason, Teacher, Cuiken Primary School We were very excited to be part of an international project that places children’s own questions and investigations at the centre of the event. It was very impressive to see the standard of science and the way the scientific method was used. Jayne Quoiani, Easter Bush Science Outreach Centre Officer Pupil-driven science lessons The Great Science Share campaign focuses on child-led learning and experimentation. The event takes place annually to encourage young people into science and engineering and has reached hundreds of thousands of young people since its launch in 2016. Founded by SEERIH at The University of Manchester, the Great Science Share for Schools provides a range of resources to support teachers and colleagues interested in developing Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Education. ** The Roslin Institute receives strategic investment funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and it is part of the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. ** Related links Animal behaviour toolkit for the classroom Great Science Share Easter Bush Science Outreach Centre
