What do I need for science?

Well the last term for the year and time to start budgeting for the next! I often get asked what equipment do we need and I tend to be a bit vague: I don't really know what science you'll be doing! From working in schools and seeing what's around I have a few ideas and thought I'd share. This is not complete and it's a list that I imagine could continue to be added to.

In fact I so like the idea of everyone sharing, I've made a public google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q140qUcKC-xo3RMJd6msUDqubXW6qZ0FmQvfF4pCfvA/edit?usp=sharing. Feel free to have a look and add ideas! It would be great to have a joint list with practical things teachers are using.

With my lessons I tend to use consumables: plastic shot glasses for beakers, plastic cups and spoons and paper towels etc. I use plastic spoons for stirring and keep all my baking soda, etc containers so then I can share them out with the whole class. Having a stock of these is a good idea but I do know that some teachers don't really get the idea of replenishing supplies and leave it for the next person to do that -I've worked in schools and know this!

I like the kitchen science side: oil, vinegar, salt, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, etc are great. I also use butcher trays for the children to experiment in so there's less mess. I tend to like capacity but just use cups "get half a cup of water...". Having some jugs to measure capacity would be worthwhile as would some scales.

I would like to see in every classroom a set of magnifying glasses. Perhaps there could be four or five very good ones and then lots of the smaller ones -I guess you could share with another class but having some on the science table is important! Don't buy the plastic ones -they don't really work as well as the glass varieties. A USB microscope can be handy too, perhaps one per room. There are quite cheap ones out there that really just magnify well rather than get as fine as a microscope but I think they're fine for most science work. Having one really good microscope is useful too, particularly for the older children. I worked in country schools and used to get donated lovely microscopes from farmers -I don't know if that still happens though! Asking around can find good stuff -perhaps a local business or the vets have an older microscope they don't want?

Safety glasses can be helpful -I've used them a little bit and probably should use them more just to make sure eyes are protected. It's a good habit to get into!

I love ice cream containers too -mind you, I also love ice cream! There are lots of uses for these and I always have one in the car in case I go wandering and find something interesting. Start building up a collection for the school... If I look on my shelves, I have containers with marbles, kinetic sand, cornflour, toy cars, feathers, seed pods, shells, rocks, party poppers, exuvia, as well as a pile of objects I find at the $2 shop!

What else can I find on my shelves that might be useful... food colouring (the little squeezy bottles which are easier for children to use), a funnel, different size sealable plastic bags, PET bottles, magnets (these need to be checked regularly as they can lose their magnetic field), paper clips, and far too many rocks!

I'd love to hear more of your own ideas -feel free to add to the google doc or below and I'll add them...
And now I'm thinking about rulers and tweezers too!

Keep sciencing...
Oh, almost forgot... thanks to those of you who have asked for the weekly lessons -I hope they're useful! Do check out my facebook page too: science happening NZ!

have a great term!