Primary challenges (ages 3-11)


Typically completed by 3-11 year olds, CREST Star and SuperStar challenges relate to everyday experiences. Children complete eight activities to gain a CREST Award, with each activity taking between 45 minutes and one hour to complete.

The activities are designed to be easy-to-run and low-cost. You don’t need to be a teacher, have a science background or have access to specialist equipment to run them. The packs contain helpful hints and tips for you to use, explaining the scientific themes and offering guidance on conversation topics for your children.

There are more CREST approved resources that have been developed by our partners and providers specific to your region.


To browse the packs, click the buttons below or scroll down.

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5 years ago

All Star challenges

  • Text
  • Cosmic
  • Materials
  • Association
  • Registered
  • Stella
  • Plants
  • Encourage
  • Astro
  • Timers
  • Rainbow

Testing Timers TESTING

Testing Timers TESTING TIMERS It will soon be sports day and Cosmic and Gem are very excited. They have both been chosen to take part in the ‘ball in the bucket’ event. It’s their favourite game. They will have just one minute to throw as many balls as they can into a bucket. Activity Card “Let’s get practising,” says Cosmic. “Good idea, we can start straight away,” replies Gem. “I think there’s a bucket and some tennis balls in Uncle Astro’s shed, and we can use the clock on the kitchen wall to time ourselves.” TESTING TIMERS They were having a wonderful time until Uncle Astro comes into the kitchen to check how his cakes are getting on in the oven. “What are you two getting up to now?” he says with a smile, “Off you go into the garden before something gets broken.” TESTING TIMERS “But we won’t be able to see the clock from there,” cries Cosmic. TESTING TIMERS TESTING “And then TIMERS we can’t time one minute to see how many balls we get in the bucket,” adds Gem. “Why don’t you make a timer that you can take outside?” suggests Uncle Astro. “There’s some sand in the shed that might be useful.”

Your challenge Cosmic and Gem want to make a timer to take into the garden. Have you ever seen a sand timer? How do you think a sand timer works? Uncle Astro thinks you’ll need a lot of sand to measure one minute Gem thinks you only need a little bit of sand Cosmic thinks it might depend on the size of the hole in the timer What do you think? Make a sand timer that will run for one minute every time you use it. Discuss TESTING TIMERS Talk to your buddy about what you think might have happened. Getting started Make different size holes in the bottom of paper cups with the point of a pencil. (Safety – ask an adult for help). Explore what happens when you put sand in the cups. You can catch the sand in another cup. How do you think you can stop the sand getting out too soon? Choose one of the cups. See if you can make the sand run for exactly one minute. Try each of the cups. What makes a difference to how long it takes the sand to come out? How much sand takes one minute? Is it the same for each cup? Test your ideas Can you think of other ways to make a sand timer? Share your ideas Try out your timer by playing the ‘ball and bucket’ game with your friends. Draw some pictures or take photographs to show how to make a sand timer. Show how you can improve your timer. . Extra things to do Try putting more holes in your timer and see what happens. What else can you use to make a timer? Where do you find sand timers? What are they used for? British Science Association Registered Charity No. 212479 and SC039236

Star level

Collections of one hour challenges recommended for children aged 3-7 years that relate to children’s everyday experiences. Find out more about this level and how to gain a CREST Award on the CREST Star page.


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SuperStar level


Collections of one hour challenges recommended for children aged 7-11 years that relate to broader situations that children are likely to have come across. Find out more about this level and how to gain a CREST Award on the CREST SuperStar page.


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