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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Eurotunnel Journeys Challenge Pack

This resource is published under an Attribution - non-commercial - no derivatives 4.0 International creative commons licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

A Hole in my Bucket

A Hole in my Bucket Activity Card Do you know the tune to this well-known song? If not, see if you can find out about it. There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, a hole. Then mend it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry Then mend it dear Henry, dear Henry mend it. With what shall I mend it, dear Liza? . . . With a straw, dear Henry . . . The straw is too long . . . Then cut it . . . With what shall I cut it? . . . With a knife . . . The knife is too blunt . . . Then sharpen it . . . With what shall I sharpen it? . . . With a stone . . . The stone is too dry . . . Then wet it . . . With what shall I wet it? . . . With some water . . . With what shall I fetch it? . . . With a bucket . . . BUT THERE’S A HOLE IN MY BUCKET! Your challenge Liza and Henry need your help. Can you find something that will stop Henry’s bucket from leaking? Liza suggests using straw to fix the hole. Do you think that would work well? What about sticky materials? Would any of them be better for mending the hole in Henry’s bucket? Do some tests to find out the best method of fixing a leak! Discuss • Which materials will you test? • How many different materials will you compare? • Does it matter how you use your material to fill the hole? • What will you need to observe or measure in your tests?

Getting started 2/2 We are going to use clean plastic drinking cups, with the same sized holes cut in the bottom of each, then try out our ideas. Some of your fellow investigators have some ideas! “I think we should try to fix the hole, then put water in and just watch what happens.” “We could do some timing to find out how long it is before the water starts to leak out.” “Let’s measure how much water leaks out in 2 minutes. We could put marks up the side of the ‘buckets’ to help us.” What do you think? Do you have another idea? Test your ideas You could use a table like this to record your findings: Material How much water leaked through? Blu-Tack Sticky tape Glue Chewing gum Straw Share your ideas Were there any problems with your tests? How could you improve them? How easy did you think it was to keep your tests fair? Why? Which material should Liza and Henry use to fix a hole in their bucket? On which side of the hole should they stick it? Why have you chosen this material? Why not re-write the words to the song to include what you have found out?

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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