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Schools 'should inspire young scientists with hands-on lab fun' experiments
Miranda Bryant29 Sep 2009
A leading London scientist today criticised the way the subject is taught in schools.
David Porter, managing director of the Royal Institution's new Young Scientist Centre, which opens today, said science lessons were not "hands on" enough.
The centre, free for state schools to use and funded by L'Oreal and a pool of companies, lets pupils do "lab-style" experiments such as designing car parts, make their own shampoo and extract their DNA.
A One Poll survey, commissioned by L'Oreal and the research body, today showed nearly 60 per cent of science pupils carry out experiments once a fortnight or less - Key Stage Three pupils on average have six hours of science lessons every two weeks. It found they want lessons to be "relevant to real life".
Mr Porter said: "Without practical experience, science doesn't stick. Even schools with good practice are constrained by the curriculum." Royal Institution director Baroness Greenfield said: "We want students to enjoy a different approach."
A Department for Children, Schools and Families spokesman said: "The secondary curriculum, far from being constraining, makes it clear practical skills are something that pupils need."
Reader views (2)
Do they not make electronics kits for kids any more? We used to have a 150 in 1 which was 150 electronic projects in one box, although most of the time we spent trying to work out better ways to electrocute each other rather than making burglar alarms, etc.
- Bob, Cheam, 30/09/2009 09:31
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Absolutely! My 6 year old is going to be a Scientist - IS a scientist - being more of an 'artiste' myself, having to answer incessant 'why' questions has been a bit of a nightmare but has led me out into the world to look for fun experiments: compared to the unbelievably dry theory I mostly doodled through as a child, the science experiments for children are now fantastic, so I can't think why they're not used in school. If you have a budding scientist I'd recommend 'Pop Bottle Science', imaginative use of You Tube (try entering 'Japanese Mouse Trap') and there is no better place to take a 6 year old boy than the free-to-the-world Science Museum (expect perhaps The Science Museum Shop!).
- Roz, France, 29/09/2009 13:55
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