Centre for Inflammation Research

STEM Clubs Online

In collaboration with staff and students across the BioQuarter, CIR has produced a series of instruction videos to accompany activities from our online STEM Club series.

The following videos and activities were designed to be used by children aged 7-11 as part of the CREST SuperStar Award. You can find links to the activities, including lists of items needed, below each video.

Learn more about the CREST Awards 

Terrific Teeth: Making Toothpaste!

Video: STEM Club Terrific Teeth
This instruction video shows how to do the main activity for 'Terrific Teeth: Making Toothpaste!' (Part 1) from the CREST Award SuperStar activity series.

Make some different types of toothpaste and test them on a model tooth - what do you find? What makes a good toothpaste and why is it important to brush our teeth? Download the activity catalogue below and turn to page 120-121 to find this activity.

Download the activity pack (p120)

Peas in a pod

Video: STEM Club Peas in a Pod
This instruction video shows how to do the main activity for 'Peas in a pod' from the CREST Award SuperStar activity series.

Grow cress in different places to see how it reacts. What happens to cress kept in the dark or in full sun? Does touch make a difference? What other experiment conditions could you try? Download the activity catalogue below and turn to page 28-29 to find this activity.

Download the activity pack (p28)

Racing rockets

Video: STEM Club Racing Rockets
This instruction video shows how to do the main activity for 'Racing Rockets' from the CREST Award SuperStar activity series.

Blast off! Make paper rockets and add fins and other parts to test the best design. Who can launch their rocket the furthest? Download the activity catalogue below and turn to page 142-143 to find this activity.

Download the activity pack (p142)

Telescopes and aliens

Video: STEM Club Telescopes and Aliens
This instruction video shows how to do the main activity for 'Telescopes & Aliens', a primary school STEM engagement activity developed by the School of Physics and Astronomy.

How else can we explore space? Make a working telescope in this activity - just be careful not to look directly at bright objects like the sun! This activity requires a paper telescope kit.

Order a telescope kit

Contamination detectives

Video: STEM Club Contamination Detectives
This instruction video shows how to do the main activity for 'Contamination Detectives' from the CREST Award SuperStar activity series.

What are microbes? What's the best way to wash our hands to stop us getting infected? What is a 'fair test' and what equipment do we need to design one? Download the activity catalogue below and turn to page p8-11 to find this activity.

Download the activity pack (p8)

Forensic footprints

Video: STEM Club Forensic Footprints
This instruction video shows how to do the main activity for 'Forensic footprints' from the CREST Award SuperStar activity series.

Can maths and graphs help us solve the mystery of the lab thief? What other scientific methods could we use to test our theory? Download the activity catalogue below and turn to page 18-21

 to find this activity.

Download the activity pack (p18)

Christmas chromatography

Video: STEM Club Christmas Chromatography
This instruction video shows how to do the main activity for 'Christmas Chromatography', a primary school STEM engagement activity developed by the School of Physics and Astronomy.

Use the power of physics to create some colourful paper decorations! We made this video as a festive special but you can use it at any time of year. Watch the video to find out what items you will need - kitchen paper works well if you can't find coffee filters.

Want to learn more?

STEM Clubs Online is part of the BioQuarter Community Engagement Programme. You can find out more on the Edinburgh BioQuarter website.

Visit the Edinburgh BioQuarter website