Science school trip ideas for primary schools

Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. (Yes! And it should be exciting, stimulating and fun.)

They should be taught to understand how science can explain what’s happening, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.

Key Stage 1 – Pupils should be taught about

Plants

• Identify some common wild and garden plants

• Describe the basic structure of a variety of flowering plants

• Observe and describe how seeds and bulbs grow 

• Describe what plants need to grow

Animals, including humans

• Identify common animals including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals

• Distinguish between carnivores, herbivores and omnivores

• Name and draw the basic parts of the human body

• Describe basic survival needs 

• Describe the importance of exercise and healthy eating

Everyday materials

• Distinguish between an object and the material it is made from

• Name a variety of everyday materials

• Describe the simple physical properties of everyday materials

• Compare and group everyday materials based on their simple physical properties

Seasonal changes

• Observe changes across the four seasons

• Describe weather associated with the seasons

Living things and their habitats

• Compare the differences between things that are living, dead, and have never been alive

• Describe how different habitats provide the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants

• Name a variety of plants and animals in their habitats

• Describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals

Uses of everyday materials

• Identify and compare the suitability of everyday materials

• Understand how the shapes of solid objects can be changed

Key Stage 2 – Pupils should be taught about

Plants

• Identify the functions of different parts of flowering plants

• Explore the requirements of plants for life and growth

• Investigate how water is transported within plants

• Explore the part that flowers play in the life cycle of flowering plants

Animals, including humans

• Identify that animals need the right types and amount of nutrition

• Understand that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles

• Describe the simple functions of the digestive system in humans

• Describe the changes as humans develop to old age

• Recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way our bodies work

Rocks

• Compare and group together different kinds of rocks 

• Describe how fossils are formed 

• Recognise that soils are made from rocks and organic matter

Light

• Recognise that they need light in order to see things and that dark is the absence of light

• Notice that light is reflected from surfaces

• Understand that sunlight can be dangerous 

• Know that shadows form when light is blocked 

• Recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines

Forces and magnets

• Compare how things move on different surfaces

• Observe how magnets attract or repel each other 

• Compare everyday materials based on whether they are attracted to a magnet

• Describe magnets as having two poles

• Explain that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of gravity

Living things and their habitats

• Recognise that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways

• Recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers

• Describe the differences in the life cycles of mammals, amphibians, insects and birds

• Describe how living things are classified into broad groups

States of matter

• Compare and group solids, liquids and gases

• Observe that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled

• Identify the part played by evaporation and condensation in the water cycle

Sound

• Identify how sounds are made

• Recognise that sound vibrations travel through a medium to the ear

• Find patterns in the pitch of a sound and the object that produced it

• Find patterns in the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibrations that produced it

• Recognise that sounds get fainter as distance increases

Electricity

• Identify common appliances that run on electricity

• Construct a simple series electrical circuit

• Recognise that a switch opens and closes a circuit 

• Recognise some common conductors and insulators

• Compare how components function

Properties and changes of materials

• Group everyday materials based on their properties

• Know that some materials will dissolve in liquid to form a solution

• Give reasons for the particular uses of everyday materials

• Demonstrate that dissolving, mixing and changes of state are reversible changes

• Explain that some changes result in the formation of new materials

Earth and space

• Describe the movement of the earth, and other planets, relative to the sun 

• Describe the movement of the moon relative to the earth

• Describe the sun, earth and moon as approximately spherical bodies

• Explain day and night and the apparent movement of the sun across the sky

Evolution and inheritance

• Understand that living things have changed over time 

• Recognise that living things produce offspring of the same kind

• Identify how animals and plants adapt to their environment in different ways