Analog Computing

 Computing in the Holidays: Taking some time out to discover analogue computers, from The Analog Thing to mechanical computers like the Planimeter, for measuring areas of irregular shapes on a map.

Whoosh Bottle

Chemistry in the Holidays: The Chemistry of Explosions. We investigated the whoosh bottle experiment, fine powders exploding, and the chemistry of fireworks—making different coloured red sparklers. It was a lot of fun, and we learned even more about safety.
 

Smartcart Vectors

 Physics in the Holidays: Vectors are always a mystery to students. Coping with straight lines is okay, but with a motion sensor mounted on a @pascoscientific Smartcart, we can measure both the resultant and the vectors at the same time and visualise them.

Logarithms

 A-Level Maths in the Holidays. When I went to school in BC ( Before Calculators), we used these log tables. Explaining how these work and their use helps the Math students understand why they are so useful and how they form the basis of Math.

Waves

Physics in the Holidays. Students are having lots of fun measuring the wavelength and frequency of waves in a ripple tank using the slo-mo feature on their phones and then moving on to look at interference patterns produced.

 

Biodiversity

 Biology in the Holidays. Looking at Park management, we have moved from freshly mown fields with little or no insects to vast areas left to wildflowers in an effort to maintain the insect population—but is it too little, too late?

Old Maths Papers

 I had not realised that back in 1983, for example, different Maths Syllabi shared the same papers—this is for the London Board—i.e., Pure Maths 3 was the same as Further Maths Syllabus B, and most A-level Maths students these days would struggle to pass this.