Secret Science Detectives

• To make visible where science is in the world around us
• To involve parents in sharing their perceptions of science
• To extend children’s awareness of how science is used in everyday life and work

Lit – children choose a photo that surprises them and explains why (speaking & listening)
 

A great kickstart activity for a science event – showing real life applications of science in a range of diverse workplaces – everyone can be involved!

1. Communicate with home to explain the ‘Secret Science Detectives’, e.g by letter or school website.
2. Offer an example – e.g. ask the head teacher to have done this activity, or the class teacher.
3. Give instructions and examples of how and what to Tweet if using Twitter. Otherwise establish how photos will be shared.
4. Set a Secret Science Detective ‘Tweeting day’ and use a specific hashtag e.g. #secretsci that all parents should use along with your school Twitter handle (e.g. @school)
5. On the designated day, run an afternoon assembly and showcase the tweets that have been shared so the children can see photos that have arrived.

• Extend the task: encourage staff to discuss how science is being used in the different photos – sort and group them.
• Where children are particularly interested in a photo, family members could be invited into relevant classes to discuss their jobs in greater detail
• Some family members will be hesitant to share photos of themselves, so sharing examples with and without people in the photo could help.
• Set clear deadlines