A Hands-On STEM Play & Engineering Kit

Created by Scientific Sue, whose interactive science shows inspire thousands of young scientists every year.

What happens when storytelling meets structural engineering?

In this interactive STEM theatre experience, children don’t just hear the story… they build it, test it, and engineer their way through it!

Inspired by Sue Carvell’s (Scientific Sue’s) live performances, The 3 Ingenious Pigs & Gale Force the Wolf transforms a familiar tale into a powerful exploration of forces, materials, design, and problem-solving.

Exclusive Access: The Ingenious Engineers Resource Hub

When you purchase this kit, you’re not just receiving materials — you’re unlocking a complete teaching experience.

You will be sent a secure password granting access to The Ingenious Engineers Resource Hub, your dedicated online support space for delivering the full STEM theatre experience with confidence.

Inside the Hub you’ll find:

• Full narrated script for easy classroom delivery
• Clear explanations of forces, materials and structures
• Step-by-step engineering challenge guidance
• Drama direction tips to engage every child
• Real-world housing comparison visuals
• Extension and differentiation ideas
• Curriculum mapping (UK & Ireland)
• Question prompts to deepen scientific thinking

Everything is designed to help you lead meaningful investigations — not just activities.

Full of experiments, facts, and fun ways to bring Science2Life!

What Children Will Do

• Act out the story using pig and wolf masks
• Test houses against “Gale Force” wind power
• Build and compare straw, stick, and brick structures
• Explore stability, strength, and structural design
• Create and use a working balloon pulley system to solve a dramatic rescue challenge
• Predict, test, improve, and redesign their builds

This is engineering thinking in action.

STEM Concepts Explored

• Pushes and pulls
• Effects of forces (starting, stopping, changing direction)
• Strong vs weak structures
• Materials and their properties
• Stability and foundations
• Simple machines (pulleys)
• Real-world housing comparisons

Perfect for linking to Forces & Energy, World Around Us, and cross-curricular drama and literacy objectives.

What’s Included

• Character masks (pigs and wolf)
• Story script for teacher-led narration
• House-building materials (straw, sticks, template guidance)
• Guidance for brick builds (LEGO® or similar)
• Pulley system activity instructions
• Teacher guide with STEM explanations and discussion prompts
• Real-world housing comparison notes
• Extension ideas for literacy, numeracy, and drama

Everything you need to bring the classroom story to life.

Designed for Teachers. Loved by Children.

Created by Sue Carvell — founder of Science2Life and former Guinness World Record holder for the Largest Practical Science Lesson — this kit blends:

Practical engineering
Creative drama
Scientific investigation
Cross-curricular learning

Full of experiments, facts, and fun ways to bring Science2Life!

The post STEM STORY: 3 Ingenious Pigs Engineering Kit appeared first on Science2Life.

Bring Science2Life at home or in the classroom with this bright, child-friendly test tube

Mix, measure and explore — real science play with child-friendly test tubes and droppers.

set, designed to turn everyday curiosity into real scientific exploration.

Turn Your Kitchen into a Mini Science Lab!

Ready to become a home scientist?

This fun Junior Lab Test Tube Set lets curious kids explore colourful chemistry, fizzing reactions, and exciting discoveries using simple ingredients from around the house.

Inspired by the hands-on demonstrations used in Scientific Sue’s live science shows, this set gives young experimenters the tools they need to mix, observe, and investigate like real scientists.

Perfect for curious minds who love asking
“What will happen if…?”

Includes a Free Experiment Activity Sheet

When you purchase this Junior Lab Test Tube Set, you’ll receive a free downloadable experiment sheet by email, created by Scientific Sue.

The activity sheet includes easy science experiments using simple kitchen ingredients, helping children explore fizzing reactions, colourful chemistry, and fascinating liquid experiments.

Each activity encourages children to:

• Predict what might happen
• Observe the reaction carefully
• Record their discoveries like real scientists

It’s a fun way to extend the play and turn your test tubes into a real home science laboratory.

What’s Inside the Set

This child-friendly science kit includes everything needed to start experimenting:

• Test tubes for mixing and observing reactions
• A sturdy test tube stand
• Pipette dropper for measuring liquids
• Measuring scoop
• Stirring stick

The equipment is designed for small hands and big discoveries!

Experiments You Can Try

Using everyday household ingredients, children can explore exciting science investigations such as:

Fizzing Reactions
Mix baking soda and vinegar to create bubbling chemical reactions.

Colour Mixing Chemistry
Add food colouring to create vibrant liquid layers.

Oil and Water Investigation
Discover why some liquids mix and others don’t.

Density Discoveries
Layer liquids and watch them form colourful science towers.

These simple experiments encourage children to observe, predict, and investigate like real scientists.

What Children Will Learn

While having fun experimenting, children also develop important STEM skills:

• Scientific curiosity
• Observation and prediction
• Measuring and mixing
• Understanding reactions and liquids
• Problem-solving and investigation skills

It’s a wonderful way to introduce real science thinking through play.

Perfect For

Curious kids who love experimenting
Family science time at home
Mini scientists aged approx. 6+
STEM learning through play
Gifts for budding inventors

Safety First

Always carry out experiments with adult supervision and use simple household ingredients such as baking soda, vinegar, water, and food colouring.

Add this Junior Lab Test Tube Set to your science kit and start experimenting today — all you need is curiosity and a few simple kitchen ingredients to bring Science2Life!

Bring Science2Life!

With just a few simple ingredients and a sense of curiosity, children can transform their kitchen into a mini laboratory full of fizzing reactions, colourful chemistry, and exciting discoveries.

Put on your explorer hat and get ready to experiment, discover, and bring Science2Life!

The post Junior Lab Test Tube Science Set – Blue appeared first on Science2Life.

Bring Science2Life at home or in the classroom with this bright, child-friendly test tube

Mix, measure and explore — real science play with child-friendly test tubes and droppers.

set, designed to turn everyday curiosity into real scientific exploration.

Turn Your Kitchen into a Mini Science Lab!

Ready to become a home scientist?

This fun Junior Lab Test Tube Set lets curious kids explore colourful chemistry, fizzing reactions, and exciting discoveries using simple ingredients from around the house.

Inspired by the hands-on demonstrations used in Scientific Sue’s live science shows, this set gives young experimenters the tools they need to mix, observe, and investigate like real scientists.

Perfect for curious minds who love asking
“What will happen if…?”

Includes a Free Experiment Activity Sheet

When you purchase this Junior Lab Test Tube Set, you’ll receive a free downloadable experiment sheet by email, created by Scientific Sue.

The activity sheet includes easy science experiments using simple kitchen ingredients, helping children explore fizzing reactions, colourful chemistry, and fascinating liquid experiments.

Each activity encourages children to:

• Predict what might happen
• Observe the reaction carefully
• Record their discoveries like real scientists

It’s a fun way to extend the play and turn your test tubes into a real home science laboratory.

What’s Inside the Set

This child-friendly science kit includes everything needed to start experimenting:

• Test tubes for mixing and observing reactions
• A sturdy test tube stand
• Pipette dropper for measuring liquids
• Measuring scoop
• Stirring stick

The equipment is designed for small hands and big discoveries!

Experiments You Can Try

Using everyday household ingredients, children can explore exciting science investigations such as:

Fizzing Reactions
Mix baking soda and vinegar to create bubbling chemical reactions.

Colour Mixing Chemistry
Add food colouring to create vibrant liquid layers.

Oil and Water Investigation
Discover why some liquids mix and others don’t.

Density Discoveries
Layer liquids and watch them form colourful science towers.

These simple experiments encourage children to observe, predict, and investigate like real scientists.

What Children Will Learn

While having fun experimenting, children also develop important STEM skills:

• Scientific curiosity
• Observation and prediction
• Measuring and mixing
• Understanding reactions and liquids
• Problem-solving and investigation skills

It’s a wonderful way to introduce real science thinking through play.

Perfect For

Curious kids who love experimenting
Family science time at home
Mini scientists aged approx. 6+
STEM learning through play
Gifts for budding inventors

Safety First

Always carry out experiments with adult supervision and use simple household ingredients such as baking soda, vinegar, water, and food colouring.

Add this Junior Lab Test Tube Set to your science kit and start experimenting today — all you need is curiosity and a few simple kitchen ingredients to bring Science2Life!

Bring Science2Life!

With just a few simple ingredients and a sense of curiosity, children can transform their kitchen into a mini laboratory full of fizzing reactions, colourful chemistry, and exciting discoveries.

Put on your explorer hat and get ready to experiment, discover, and bring Science2Life!

The post Junior Lab Test Tube Science Set – Purple appeared first on Science2Life.

This Stirrup Pump with gauge is perfect for schools and teams to inflate numerous ball efficiently – but is also a great aid in the classroom.

Scientific Sue uses this pump for her Cloud in a Bottle Demonstration and her water rocket demonstrations.

Features an air pressure tank. spring clip valve lock, reinforced air hose and a fold down footplate.

• Quick and easy to use
• Standard size needle ( included)

In the Cloud in a Bottle demonstration, the students directly observe a cloud from right before their eyes – and when the bottle is connected back to the pump and the air pressure is increased they will see the cloud disappear!

Cloud formation is part of the water cycle, but one we usually cannot see up close.

A cloud is a large collection of very tiny water droplets or ice crystals. The droplets are so small and light that they can float in the air. When warm air rises carrying with it evaporated water, it expands and cools. Cool air cannot hold as much water vapour as warm air, so some of the vapour condenses onto tiny pieces of dust that are floating in the air and forms a tiny droplet around each dust particle. When billions of these droplets come together they become a visible cloud.

This demonstration shows how water in the atmosphere can be made visible by changes in pressure and temperature.

Objectives

• Describe and illustrate the water cycle and associate parts of the cycle with weather conditions.
• Observe and describe changes to the properties of water when it is heated or cooled and associate these changes with weather conditions.

Materials

• Clean 2 L plastic bottle
• Cork with inflating needle 
• Stirrup or bicycle pump
• rubbing alcohol
• Safety Goggles

The post Stirrup Pump with Gauge appeared first on Science2Life.

When the bottle is pressurised by pumping air into it, the air molecules collide with each other and warm the bottle and its contents. Releasing the pressure causes the water vapour to condense quickly, forming a cloud.

What’s in the kit?

• Cork stopper with inflation needle
• 70% Rubbing Alcohol

What you need:

• 1-2 L, PET bottle
• Stirrup pump
• Safety Glasses

Secrets for Success

• Using the atomiser bottle pump 5 squirts of rubbing alcohol into your PET bottle (label removed).
• Push in the cork stopper – the further it is pushed in the more air will be needed to be pumped in to build up a high enough pressure to push it out.
• Attach the pump to the inflation needle.
• Hold the bottle with the cork facing away from you. Make sure you have a clear space of at least 1 m in front of you – the cork will leave the bottle at a very high speed.
• Get your volunteer to stand beside you with one foot on the stirrup pump base. They then have to pull the handle to its maximum height and then push down as fast as they can until the bottle and cork separate.
• You will end up with a fantastic cloud in the bottle.

Science in a Nutshell

In this experiment we are mimicking the part of the Earth’s water cycle in which evaporated water (water vapour) cools and condenses, forming cloud as they connect with dust. In this demonstration the alcohol acts as the dust, providing something cool for water droplets to attach to.

When the bottle is pressurised by pumping air into it, the air molecules collide with each other and warm the bottle and its contents. Releasing the pressure causes the water vapour to condense quickly, forming a cloud.

Bonus: Reverse the experiment!

Before the cloud disappears, put the cork back in and pump a couple more times. The cloud will disappear as quickly as it came. Release the pressure, and the cloud will form again.

How do real clouds form?

Clouds require three things to form:

• Water molecules
• Cloud condensation nuclei – dust or air pollution
• Temperature or pressure changes

Water molecules are in the air all around us, even though we can’t normally see them. Normally, these water molecules bounce around.

Real clouds form when warm air rises in the atmosphere and cools down. Cloud condensation nuclei, such as small particles of dust and pollution, enable water molecules to stick together and stop bouncing around. The water molecules condense around the nuclei to form clouds. Clouds are just groups of tiny water droplets that stick together around cloud condensation nuclei when temperatures are low.

High- and low-pressure systems cause day-to-day changes in our weather.

Ascending and descending air

Areas of high and low pressure are caused by ascending and descending air. As air warms it ascends, leading to low pressure at the surface. As air cools it descends, leading to high pressure at the surface.

In general, low pressure leads to unsettled weather conditions and high pressure leads to settled weather conditions.

Anticyclone (high pressure)

In an anticyclone (high pressure) the winds tend to be light and blow in a clockwise direction (in the northern hemisphere). Also, the air is descending, which reduces the formation of cloud and leads to light winds and settled weather conditions.

Depression (low pressure)

In a depression (low pressure), air is rising and blows in an anticlockwise direction around the low (in the northern hemisphere). As it rises and cools, water vapour condenses to form clouds and perhaps precipitation. This is why the weather in a depression is often unsettled, there are usually weather fronts associated with depressions.

The post CLOUD IN A BOTTLE KIT appeared first on Science2Life.

What’s in the kit

Balloon Pulley System

• 4 doughnut balloons
• 6 long double-sided stickers
• 10 modelling balloons
• 4 small (5″) balloons
• 10 Water balloons
• 10 Small double-side stickers
• Small water pistol

What you need:

Example of show tray for the virtual experience

• Balloon pump
• Air zooka**
• Safety glasses
• Permanent pen
• 2 x trays for the water balloon parcels
• 6 paper/plastic cups

Secrets for Success

• Blow up the 4 doughnut balloons – These will make the two pulleys. The two balloons of the same colour are joined together by the double-sided stickers (3 stickers per set. Have spare sticky dots, stickers to hand).
• Blow up the four 5” balloons to a size that the children will be able to hold comfortably.
• Tie two of the model balloons to two of the 5” balloons. Thread the model balloons down the middle of the pair of doughnut balloons. If the model balloon isn’t long enough, add another – this one has to be removed before you tie the other 5” balloons to the model balloons to complete the 2 pulley units.
• When the small balloons are pulled apart the doughnut ‘pulley’ should spin on the stretched (uninflated) model balloon, when you give a downward tap.
• Depending on the size of your room, inflate 6 or 8 modelling balloons and join them together to form a loop – this will be the rope that goes over the 2 ‘pulleys’.
• Inflate 6 of the water balloons.
• You may want to write on each of them: food, water, medicine, etc.
• Put one small sticky tab on the bottom of the balloons – make sure the protective cover is removed on both ends of the tab – otherwise the balloons won’t stick to the balloon rope.
• To prevent them from sticking together and blowing away put them into the 6 paper cups – if the workshop option was purchased used the cups provided.

You will be guided on how to construct the pulley system by me in the video.

Fill your water pistol – if the one in the box isn’t big enough by all means add your own!

In the video I suggest that you the teacher use the water pistol, you will be the rain in the storm.

If you have an airzooka I will also guide you to choose a 5^th volunteer who will be the wind in the storm. Have them stand between 1-2 m away from the other volunteers. Guidance must be given not to release air into anyone’s eyes – safety googles are recommended.

Science in a Nutshell

A pulley is simply a collection of one or more wheels over which you loop a rope to make it easier to lift and/or move things.

ONE PULLEY SYSTEM

Pulleys are examples of what scientists call simple machine. That doesn’t mean they’re packed with engines and gears; it just means they help to make work easier for us and can even help us multiply forces. If you want to lift a really heavy weight, there is only so much force ore muscles can supply, even if you are extremely strong. However, by using a simple machine such as a pulley you can change the direction of the pulling force (and use gravity to help with the lift) and with increasing numbers of pulley wheels can effectively multiply the force your produces.

The more wheels you have, and the more times your loop the rope around them, the more you can lift.

One Wheel

If you have a single wheel and a rope, a pulley helps you reverse the direction of your lifting force.

So, as in the picture below, you pull the rope down to lift the weight up. If you want to lift something that weighs 100kg, you have to pull down with a force equivalent to 100kg, which is 1000N (newtons). If you want to raise the weight 1m into the air, you have to pull the loose end of the rope a total distance of 1m at the other end.

Two Wheels

Now if you add more wheels, and loop the rope around them, you can reduce the effort you need to lift the weight. Suppose you have two wheels and a rope looped around them, as

TWO WHEEL PULLEY SYSTEM

in the figure below. The 100kg mass (1000 newton weight) is now effectively supported by two sections of the same rope (the two strands on the left) instead of just one (ignoring the loose end of the rope you’re pulling with), and this means you can lift it by pulling with a force of just 500 newtons—half as much! That’s why we say a pulley with two wheels, and the rope wrapped around it this way, gives a mechanical advantage (ME) of two.

Mechanical advantage is a measurement of how much a simple-machine multiples a force. The bigger the mechanical advantage, the less force you need, but the greater the distance you have to use that force. The weight rises 1m, but now we have to pull the loose end of the rope twice as far (2m). How come? To make the weight rise 1m, you have to make the two sections of rope supporting it rise by 1m each. To do that, you have to pull the loose end of the rope 2m. Notice that we can also figure out the mechanical advantage by dividing the distance we have to pull the rope by the distance the weight moves.

A block and tackle is a cable system primarily found on cranes and boats that involves two pulleys and a cable or rope. The mechanism consists of one fixed pulley and one movable, usually hanging, pulley. A single rope is fixed to on or near the carriage of the fixed pulley, loops down and around the movable pulley, then back up and around the fixed pulley. A hook is attached to the underside of the movable pulley, and by tugging on the rope, the hook will lift or lower.

BLOCK AND TACKLE

The post BALLOON PULLEY KIT appeared first on Science2Life.

• Suitable for indoor and outdoor fun
• The Air Zooka operates by pulling and releasing the built-in elastic launcher
• The column of air can travel over 4 m!
• Use it to knock down paper cups
• Or remove Grandad’s toupee

The Air Zooka is a wind tunnel in miniature, trapping air in its conical rear quadrant and firing it forward with elastic speed for maximum disruption.

Ruffle someone’s hair or cloths, push papers off tables, spook someone as the turn the corner – the possibilities are endless.

Paired with a smoke machine, this air cannon will fire beautiful smoke rings!

The proper name for this concept is the vortex generator, because the rings that are being shot out of the Air Zooka are actually flat vortices of air.

How the air moves when leaving the Air Zooka

The circle shape is created because the air in the centre of the air zoom is exiting faster than the air around the rim of the air zooka – hence this toy can be used to illuminate Bernoulli’s principle which states: The faster the flow of air becomes, the lower the pressure air becomes.

Safety: Never fire the Air Zooka in anyone’s face (people or animals)

The post AIR ZOOKA appeared first on Science2Life.

Click on and expand the video to see an alternative use for this snow grow powder!

Amazing Magic Snow granules that magically expand into white fluffy snow, a fantastic material for sensory play.

• Add water and the powder turns into fake snow
• Expands to 100 times its original volume
• Spray with water to keep for several months
• Leave to dry and reuse
• 1 x Magic Snow DIY Slushy Snowman
• Ideal fun seasonal crafting for children!
• Lovely stocking or party bag filler

Enjoy creating your very own Frosty The Snowman with this Magic Snow DIY Slushy Snowman Kit. Complete with magic white snow, stick arms, a bright orange carrot nose, eyes, mouth, buttons and black hat; this slushy snowman can be assembled in the comfort of your own home away from the cold.

Click on this link above for the full version of this and other spells: Potions and Explosions Spell Book 

SAFETY:

• Not suitable for children under 4.
• Children should always be supervised.
• Magic Snow is very slippery when wet, so make sure any spillages are cleaned up immediately to prevent slipping accidents.
• Do not dispose of down the sink; it may clog up the drain.

HOW DOES MAGIC SNOW WORK?

1. Add a small amount of Magic Snow on to the palm of your hand. Using the pipette squirt water onto the powder. Watch it magically grow in your hand!
2. Add 1 teaspoon (about 3 g) of Magic Snow powder into an empty clear beaker. Measure 30 ml of room temperature water into a second beaker. Quickly pour all of the water into the cup with the Magic Snow and watch the powder erupt into white fluffy snow!

Want coloured snow? Just add a few drops of food colouring to the water before pouring in onto the Magic Snow granules.

Want to build a snowman? Form the snow into snow balls or use the plastic ‘snowman shaped’ packaging.

Build a snowman with this amazing water absorbing polymer!

Place in the freezer on a tray for an hour or more. You can now stack your snowballs on top of each other and then decorate them!

Want to make a snow fort? Create enough snow to fill an ice tray. Place in the freezer for an hour and you will have building blocks to make a frozen fort! If the blocks are stuck in the tray just run some warm water on the back of the tray to loosen them.

Science in a Nutshell

Magic Snow is an erupting polymer! Magic Snow is actually derived from the superabsorbent polymer, sodium polyacrylate, found in baby nappies. The only difference (and it’s a big one) is that the Magic Snow polymer not only absorbs water but the long chains of molecules swell to an enormous size.

The polymer soaks up water using the process of osmosis (water molecules pass through a barrier from one side to the other). When water comes in contact with the polymer, it moves from outside the polymer to the inside and causes it to swell. The polymer chains have an elastic quality however, they can only stretch only so far and hold just so much water.

The Magic Snow reaction is a great example of a physical reaction – a reaction where the substance itself does not change. When an ice cube melts, a physical reaction takes place where the solid ice turns into a liquid, but the substance (water) never changes – it’s still water! However, in a chemical reaction, a new substance is formed and energy is either given off or absorbed.

If you think of the Magic Snow powder as millions of tiny sponges, it’s easy to see that neither the Magic Snow powder or the water was changed. If you allow the water to evaporate, the Magic Snow powder dries out and returns to its previous state, ready to be used again.

Also, because of water’s unique shape, it is capable of associating with two polymer chains. For this reason, two polymer chains surround each layer of water molecules, with each row of water molecules forming a bridge between the two chains. Imagine the polymer–water
complex as something of a molecular sandwich, where the polymer chains are the “bread” and the water molecules are the “jam.” This ability of water to link between chains is called cross-linking, and it is what allows the polymer to absorb so much water.

What happens when you put some table salt on top of the snow?

Salt causes water to leak out of the sodium polyacrylate because it disrupts the attraction between water and the polymer chain. When salt is added, it breaks up into negative and positive ions, which are also attracted to the water molecules. In fact, each ion attracts several water molecules to it. Eventually, when enough salt is added, the water molecules become more attracted to the ions than the polymer chains, and water leaks out of the mixture.

This product is used in Scientific Sue’s Magical Science and Engineering Show

The post AMAZING MAGIC SNOW SNOWMAN appeared first on Science2Life.