Curious About our Planet
Explore our planet and the science of climate change through our collection of digital talks and tours, creative workshops and exhibitions, all without leaving the comfort of your home or school. Get behind the scenes with tours from Edinburgh Zoo, discover workshop activities with our #GSCAtHome videos, or find talks with climate scientists and wildlife conservationists. Get inspired and find out how you can contribute to a more sustainable future. Click here.
Age range: P5 - P7
K'Next Generation
from K'NEXT Generation Online Learning
All the challenge, learning and fun of K'NEXT Generation workshops, available on-demand and to download. Choose from Curriculum for Excellence-linked lessons, STEAM challenges and resources including “how-to” videos and jigsaw puzzles.
No K’NEX or KAPLA? No problem - alternatives are suggested. Click here.
Age range: EY - P7
Tricky Tracks
from Duthie Park Ranger Service
Is it a fox or is it a badger? The Duthie Park Rangers are sharing the tricks of the tracking trade with you! Find out why tracking is important, which animals walk on their nails, and go outside to investigate nature yourself! What signs can you find that the animals left behind? Click here to learn about tracking. Click here to download worksheet 1, here to download worksheet 2, and here to download worksheet 3.
Age range: P3 - P7
Spinning Water
from Skills Development Scotland
In this fun activity, you will learn about Newton’s Laws of Motion and learn about job roles that use this type of physics. You can find accompanying worksheets here.
Age range: P7 - S1
Invisibility
from Skills Development Scotland
In this activity you will learn about light, how it travels through different mediums and the science of light refraction. You will also learn how this science is being used in the world of work. You can find accompanying worksheets here.
Age range: P7 - S1
Cornflour Goo
from Skills Development Scotland
In this hands-on, messy experiment you will learn about non-Newtonian fluids, understand how and where they are used in everyday life and learn more about the job roles connected to them. You can find accompanying worksheets here, and a video guide to help you with this activity you can be viewed here.
Age range: P7 - S1
Code Breaker
from TechFest
Put your problem-solving skills to the test and see if you can crack the code! You’ll learn about different types of codes and ciphers as well as creating your own code to send your own secret messages. Will you be able to get a coded message to TechFest’s team of secret agents before it’s too late?! Click here to access.
Age range: P5 - P7
DNA Detectives
from TechFest
Dive into the wonderful world of genetics! Learn about DNA, the marvellous molecule that contains the instructions for all life on earth! You can even try your hand at translating some DNA sequences to find the hidden meaning. Find out what your DNA says about you! Click here to access.
Age range: P5 - P7
Wildlife Investigators
from TechFest
Growing tired of going on the same daily walk? Need to add in more excitement? Well, why not put on your investigators hat and find out how much biodiversity is just outside your door! Plus, take part in some fun DIY projects to make your outdoor area even more wildlife friendly! Click here to access.
Age range: P5 - P7
Space Junk
Click here to watch the video.
Age range: TBC
Classroom Chemistry
from Inversess Science Festival
Would you like to find out more about Chemistry? Join in with Inverness Science Festival's online chemistry experiments to find out about chromatography, magnification, acids and bases, and chemical reactions! The accompanying video and teacher resource are available from here.
Design Tasks for Kids
from Dinostar
A range of activities, crafts, games and videos on a dinosaur theme. Click here.
Age range: EY - P7
Destination Space: Beyond the Visible Universe
from Dynamic Earth
In October 2021, an exciting new space telescope will begin its four week journey to a special spot four times further from the Earth than the Moon is. This is the James Webb Space Telescope, known as Webb. Through these videos and activities you will find out more about what Webb is, how it works and what it is searching for. From Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, supported by the UK Space Agency. (1.5 to 3 hours total duration). Click here.
Age range: P5 - P7
Learning Pathways on Dynamic Earth Online
from Dynamic Earth
Dynamic Earth is the only UK science centre dedicated to the story of our planet. A visit to our centre is like nothing else, but for activities that can be done at home or in the classroom, DynamicEarthOnline.co.uk has got you covered! Not sure where to start? Our curriculum-linked Learning Pathways are designed to weave together a variety of videos, activities and resources to take learners on a journey of discovery! Click here.
Age range: P5 - P7
TechFest at Home
from various sources
Click here to check out our TechFest website for more exciting activities.
Bookbugs
from Scottish Book Trust and TechFest
Water activities. Click here to download the activity sheet.
Age range: EY
Activity Weekend
from TechFest
The Activity Weekend is many people's favourite part of TechFest so this year we have made it digital! Activities include Colour Detectives with Aberdeen Science Centre, Amazing Soap Bubbles with Philip Noble, Wobble NanoJelly Experiment with Really Small Science and much more. Click here to access.
Click here to see our top picks!
For the full programme of events visit https://www.science03.org for more info
In partnership with the British Science Association, TechFest is working with schools to run a Machines of the Future Discovery Day event. TechFest will provide online teacher training to ensure that the participating teachers have everything they require to run the event in school. In addition, participating schools can apply for up to £500 funding to cover overhead costs (printing, paper, pens, etc.) and, as the project is sponsored by the British Science Association, each students Discovery Day CREST award will be paid for.
The Discovery Day project is aimed towards pupils from P6 up to S2.
This is a great project to introduce pupils at an early age to machine learning which is used in everyday life. The 5 hour project is made up of 3 workshops and includes a challenge where students get the opportunity to work in a group together to design a household product which uses machine learning.
1) Would you trust a machine? - students will sort out different potential machine learning jobs based on their usefulness and how much they would trust a machine to do the job.
2) Machine Learning now - students will look at video case studies, investigating how machine learning works in a real-life context, how different data and sourced are used in AI systems, and illustrating how these tools use machine learning.
3) Teach a Machine - in groups students experiment with machine learning using a range of different AI powered tools.
Challenge - Students will work in groups to research and plan to design a household product with the opportunity to present their work at the end of the Discovery Day.
Watch below a video of Professor Brian Cox explaining why this a great opportunity for schools to get involved with and to get a real feel for the project.
Disclaimer: Limited number of places available, applications not guaranteed.
For enquiries and how to sign up please contact Kirsty Cranna on email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For more information visit the Machines of the Futures materials which are available on the CREST website.
TechFest's Interview With Eilidh McKay and Amy Barclay
Eilidh's TechFest's Take Away:
''I think you get out what you out in. So if you put in all the effort, all the extra, then you got so much rewards from it. If you go in with a very open attitude and willing to make friends, and willing to respect everyone, then you get respect in return. The people at Tendeka, I’ve made lifelong friend with; we can do stuff outside of the office, it’s very likeminded people and a lot of that is because you go in open, you go in wanting to learn and develop yourself''.
Amy’s TechFest's Take Away:
''Go back to your own timings to get to places. Don’t beat yourself because of everyone else…Graduate when it’s right for you to graduate. If you want to go on and do your masters and that’s a year later, do it. If you want to go and do your PHD and that’s even longer, do it. Don’t go with what your friends or anyone else is doing, do what you want''.
About Eilidh McKay
Eilidh McKay is Technical Support Manager at Tendeka, based in Aberdeen, and has been worked in the oil and gas industry for 9 years. Having started off her career at Tendeka based in the Zonal Isolation Laboratory developing the Tendeka swellable portfolio, Eilidh now manages a team of application engineers providing technical support globally across all Tendeka product lines.
Eilidh is also heavily involved in research and development within Tendeka, project managing technologies from a conceptual idea to the commercialisation to the market.
Eilidh holds a BSc in Sports Science, and recently achieved a Post Graduate diploma in Oil and Gas Engineering at Robert Gordon University and is currently working towards completion of the full MSc whilst working full time.
About Amy Barclay
Amy Barclay is a Global Applications Engineer at Tendeka. She started with Tendeka almost 3 years ago, and has worked her way up from an Applications technician based solely in the lab to now having more responsibility as an Engineer. She carries out day to day lab work as well as spending time on research and development projects.
A career highlight was co-authoring a scientific paper on one of Tendeka’s Emerging Technologies for the Society of Petroleum Engineers. She hopes this is the first of many papers she publishes.
Amy holds a HND in Applied Sciences from North East Scotland College, then went on to complete an Honours degree in Forensic and Analytical Science at Robert Gordon University.
TechFest's Interview With Claire Keenan
Claire's Take Away:
''Don’t be scared to try anything new, live life to the full. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and be grateful for everything that you have’’.
About Claire Keenan
As well as TechFest's board member, Claire is the company’s Collections Director, shareholder and fully qualified Transport manager, she joined the company when it was a small garden bark business in 2001. In 2003 the company diversified into organic waste recycling and Keenan Recycling was born.
In 2007 Claire took a break from Keenan Recycling to raise her two children who were young at the time. Not content with just being a stay at home mum, she started a fitness company called Oocha Mama Lifestyle. The business was aimed at mums in a similar position to Claire, who wanted to look good, feel good and most importantly have a healthy lifestyle. It was a subscription based model encompassing both cooking recipes and exercises with a big focus on lifestyle. Claire is a fully qualified Personal Trainer and was one of the first Zumba instructors in Scotland, she ran classes across the North East with around 90 people coming to every class.
In 2014 Claire took over the Transport and Logistics arm of the business, which specialises in food waste collections. After a private equity deal with BGF, Claire headed up the expansion of food waste collections into the central belt and in 2018 took the company into England. Now operating from 9 Depots across the UK, Claire oversees collections nationwide.
TechFest's Interview With Gillian King
Gillian's TechFest Take Away:
'It is recognizing that the energy industry is a super exciting place to work right now. The global population is increasing massively and with that there is more and more people who need access to international travel, cars, mobile phones, tables, heat, light, electricity, power. So the demand for energy is increasing. We need to meet that demand for energy, but at the same time we need to significantly reduce our carbon emissions. So it's a massive challenge to diversify our energy mix and reduce our dependency of fossil fuels. That can only be done by doing things differently, by getting fresh ideas, new people into the organization into the industry to develop the technologies that will be needed, to develop new business models that will be needed. What is required is completely different ways of working, completely new jobs that have not even been invented yet. So it is a really exciting time for any people people.[...] It's a massive task, but it's an exiting opportunity''.
About Gillian King
Gillian King is the Vice President of Europe, Russia, CIS & Sub-Sahara Africa for Tendeka and has worked in the oil and gas industry for 20 years. She returned to the UK in 2017 after undertaking several international positions within Tendeka, including Vice President Corporate Development & Marketing in the US, Vice President of Asia Pacific, and Area Manager of Southern Asia Pacific both in Malaysia.
Prior to joining Tendeka in 2007, Gillian held various technical positions within Weatherford Completion & Production Systems including Applications Engineer, Well Systems Engineer and Sand Control Product Line Champion.
She is passionate about new technology and has been involved in the commercialization of Expandable Sand Screens, Swellable Packers and Wireless Intelligent Completions.
Gillian is a biochemistry graduate from Aberdeen University and has a Masters in Oil and Gas (Offshore) Engineering from Robert Gordon University. She is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, is on the ICoTA (International Coiled Tubing Association) committee and is an active STEM Ambassador. She graduated from the Future Industry Leaders Program (FILP) in 2018.
TechFest's Interview With Jim McNab
Jim's TechFest Take Away:
''Don’t feel under pressure. Try to go with the things that you like. Whether it's writing songs, or whether it's looking at space things. I've been fascinated with Thunderbirds stuff, I've been fascinated with anything to do with space. But that's not for everybody. The best thing you can do is to try and concentrate, and try to realize that not everybody is really really smart. I am probably one of the dullest people you will ever get. I tried any quiz, and any of these quizzes show that I am terrible at every single quiz. And I really feel embarrassed with some of my kids being able to answer all the questions that I can't. But I've made a life and a good living of being passionate about something that I do like to do. When you find that thing that you really want to do, go after it - is the best thing I can say''.
About Jim McNab
Currently with the same organisation for the last 44 years in Non-Destructive Testing and welding inspection starting as a pipeline radiographer in 1974, then worked in conventional NDT related work offshore upstream, mid and downstream Oil and Gas, coal fired / nuclear power stations, railways, and shipyards. PCN Level 3 and familiar with most advanced NDT including PEC, ToFD, PA, CR/DR, EC, ACFM, Guided Wave and EMAT technology and more recently subsea ROV and diver deployable systems as well technical advisor for the company, especially on new products.
Career highlight as a professional consultant to NASA following publication of the Columbia Space Shuttle Accident Investigation Return To Flight activities in 2003, to develop NDT solutions for on-wing inspection of leading edge panels.
Awarded a Master of Science Degree in Technology and Management in the Oil and Gas Industry from Aberdeen University. Published three Radiography related technical papers in BINDT Journal, Technical article in Offshore Magazine, winner of the Ron Halmshaw award for best paper, and the Nemet award for "Outstanding contribution to the practice of NDT (by an individual)". Nominee of Hart E&P Magazine 2020 Energy Innovators of the Year; finalist - 2019 SPE Offshore Achievement Awards in the Innovation category; 2019 Energy Institute Innovation Awards; technical articles published in Offshore Engineer and presented at API, BINDT and BHGE conferences
Currently acting as NDE SME for Oceaneering developing and assessing various technology solutions for topsides and subsea NDT, integrity and inspection related issues including condition monitoring options.
TechFest's Interview With Victoria Allan
Victoria's TechFest Take Away:
‘’I would say just to use every opportunity regardless of if you think you’re going to hate it, or you think you’re going to love it. I think regardless of what the opportunity is, it will help develop you either in a professional or personal way. That will either allow you to say: I’ve tried that but I don’t really think that one is for me, or: this is the best thing I’ve ever done, and I can’t wait to get stuck in and do more things like this. I think that’s just something that everyone should live by regardless of what their job entitles[…]’’
About Victoria Allan
Victoria Allan is a Graduate Mechanical Engineer for CNOOC International and has just passed three years with the company. She has worked onshore in the Facilities Engineering Department, as the Hydrocarbon Release Prevention Focal Point and most recently within the Maintenance Delivery Team. She also worked offshore as the Offshore Operations Engineer on Golden Eagle and Buzzard. She graduated from Robert Gordon University in 2017 with a Masters in Mechanical and Offshore Engineering. Victoria is a keen STEM Ambassador working in the local area.
If you wish to learn more about the OOE role, click here.
And for those who are interested to see what a day offshore looks like, click here.
TechFest's and ASC Interview With Heather Paul
Heather's TechFest Take Away:
‘’[…] engineering is something that you can absolutely do if you have the desire to do it, if you really enjoy maths, science, your technology classes. If you really enjoy breaking stuff and then rebuilding stuff, or testing the parameters, or asking questions and see what you can do with different things then you might just be an engineer in training. I want to make sure that you [women] know that this is a field where both men and women can be very very successful. […] Throughout the years of experience I can see that we are getting a lot more [gender] equality and balance and gender is going into really all fields. There’s nothing to say that men can’t be good seamstresses and women can’t be good engineers. It’s all about what skills you have and what interests you the most. And then really the power is on you to figure out how to make it work.’’
About Heather Paul
Heather Paul is an engineer at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). She attended Auburn University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish. She continued her education at the University of Texas at Austin where she obtained a Master of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering. She also has a Master’s Degree in Fitness and Human Performance from the University of Houston Clear Lake. In June 2016, Ms. Paul was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.
At JSC she has worked in the areas of life sciences, propulsion, mission operations, communications, human research, and space suit and tool design and development. She spent a large part of her engineering career developing life support designs for next generation space suits that astronauts will wear as they explore places such as the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Ms. Paul currently works with the Orion Program as a Health and Medical Technical Authority for the Crew and Service Module, ensuring that design decisions for this exploration initiative keep the crew healthy and able to perform their mission duties successfully.
In her free time, Ms. Paul is a certified group fitness instructor, personal trainer, health coach, and fitness nutrition specialist. She teaches group exercise classes, she leads a women-focused exercise, health, and wellness program, and she works one-on-one with clients to help them achieve their health and wellness goals. She loves to travel and experience new cultures and places, and she continues to be a huge advocate of education and public outreach for NASA.
Interviews With NASA in Aberdeen Volunteers and Supporters
