Education resources

Algae: a practical resource for secondary schools

January 2012

This resource has been developed to provide a series of well-tested practical activities for use in schools. The practical activities all focus on the micro-organisms known as algae.

Antibiotic resistance: a challenge for the 21st century

January 2017

A KS4 and post-16 resource (12 page booklet) The World Health Organization describes antibiotic resistance as “one of the three greatest threats to human health”. This booklet explains what antibiotics are and the history of their discovery.

Basic Practical Microbiology: A Manual

January 2016

This manual, which explains the basic techniques necessary to carry out microbiology experiments safely and effectively, is intended as a guide for teachers and technicians.

Cholera: Death by diarrhoea

January 2016

A KS4 & post-16 resource (12 page booklet). This resource charts the history of the disease and investigates the causes, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the disease, as well as vaccine development and community education strategies.

Cold Wars

January 2009

A KS3 & KS4 resource (4 page booklet). Information about the common cold, including a practical activity to model the spread of this viral infection.

Couch potato or elite athlete? Finding the happy medium

January 2012

Exercise can have both a positive and negative effect on immune function and can influence an individual’s vulnerability to infection. This resource gives an overview of role of the immune system and how it is affected by training intensity.

HIV & AIDS

January 2016

A KS4 & post-16 resource (12 page booklet). The resource clarifies the difference between HIV and AIDS, describes the virus, how it replicates and how it causes the disease.

Influenza: A seasonal disease

January 2017

A KS4 & post-16 resource (8 page booklet). This resource gives an overview of the disease, how the infection is transmitted and how vaccines are developed. It also explores the nature of flu epidemics and pandemics.

Malaria – A Global Challenge

January 2012

A KS4 & post-16 resource (12 page booklet). This resource takes a look at the history of the disease along with its causes, diagnosis, treatment and the prevention strategies employed to tackle this global problem.

Marvellous Microbes: Baking Bread (Issue 1)

January 2016

A KS2 and KS3 resource (4 page booklet with double sided experiment insert page). Marvellous Microbes: Baking Bread is the first ever microbiology comic strip to be produced by the Microbiology Society.

Marvellous Microbes: Brushing Teeth (Issue 3)

January 2016

A KS2 and KS3 resource (4 page booklet). In this issue of Marvellous Microbes, a boy, curious to know why he needs to brush and floss his teeth twice a day, takes a trip to the dentist who introduces him to the plaque acid producing bacteria that live on our teeth.

Marvellous Microbes: Using Antibiotics (Issue 4)

January 2016

A KS2 and KS3 resource (4 page booklet). This is the fourth edition of Marvellous Microbes, and is all about antibiotic resistance.

Marvellous Microbes: Washing Hands (Issue 2)

January 2016

A KS2 and KS3 resource (4 page booklet with experiment page). Marvellous Microbes: Washing Hands is the second in the series of microbiology comic strips produced by the Microbiology Society.

Microbe Passports

January 2020

Microbes are everywhere, but we can’t see them. These mysterious microscopic organisms play a very important role in our lives. Some make us sick but many more are helpful. Take a peek down the microscope and explore the secret world of microbes.

Microbes and Climate Change

January 2008

A KS4 & post-16 resource (8 page booklet) Climate change is a hot topic and this 8 page booklet highlights the fundamental importance of micro-organisms as climate engineers.

Pandemic H1N1 'Swine flu'

January 2016

A KS4 & post-16 resource (8 page booklet) This booklet gives an overview of the swine flu story so far.

Practical Microbiology for Secondary Schools

January 2016

Free. 21 safe practical investigations suitable for KS3 & 4/GCSE and equivalent Scottish qualifications. Many of the experiments also meet the needs of the AS/A2 specifications and can be adapted for project work.

Schoolzone & Outreach special: Small World Initiative

May 2015

On European Antibiotic Awareness Day, 18 November 2014, we launched the Small World Initiative, giving the general public, students and educators in the UK and Ireland the opportunity to work with scientists as part of a global initiative to discover new antibiotics from soil bacteria.

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Schoolzone: A taste of honey

November 2012

A student at Rydal-Penrhos School took part in a project involving the antimicrobial properties of honey.

Schoolzone: Antibiotics in action

November 2012

Virtually everybody at some point in their life has been prescribed antibiotics by their doctor. These drugs form one of our mainstays in health care against infectious diseases along with vaccination. Interestingly, almost all of these drugs are natural products made by micro-organisms to help them compete in the natural environment. Here, we try to answer some of the most common questions regarding antibiotics.

Schoolzone: Antibiotics Unearthed: teacher experiences

November 2017

Antibiotics Unearthed has been running successfully for over two years as part of an initiative to crowdsource antibiotic discovery from soil and inspire the next generation of students to consider microbiology or other STEM subjects. One part of the project that has been particularly successful is the Schools Partnership Programme. This programme has schools partner with local universities, allowing groups of students to do a real research project and inspire them to have a career in science.

Schoolzone: Bacteriophage practical

February 2013

A school-friendly assay using T4 bacteriophage and its host, Escherichia coli.

Schoolzone: Biofuels school engagement

May 2012

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has recently launched a series of practical biofuel activities for school engagement and outreach. The collection is part of an online toolkit to enable researchers to engage with the public with the issues surrounding bioenergy and biofuel.

Schoolzone: Bioluminescence

November 2014

Centuries ago, in a time of myths of dragons and gods, seafarers and beach dwellers were baffled by the flashes of light and glowing lights seen in oceans all over the world. Today, we now know this is caused by bioluminescence, a chemical emission of light seen across the tree of life, in fish, invertebrates, annelids, arthropods and, most interestingly for us, micro-organisms.

Schoolzone: Blast a Biofilm – a hands-on activity

May 2013

Blast a Biofilm is an activity developed by Microbiology Society members Victoria Marlow and 2011 Microbiology Outreach Prize Winner Nicola Stanley-Wall (based on an idea by Taryn Kiley) as part of Magnificent Microbes, an event held at Dundee Science Centre in 2010. This hands-on activity was adopted and adapted by the Society’s Education and Outreach Officer for this year’s Big Bang Fair. Here, we explain how it’s done and invite you to have a go!

Schoolzone: Cholera – an epidemic in Haiti

February 2011

On 12 January 2010 Haiti was shaken by an earthquake of 7.0 Mw, with the epicentre located 16 miles west of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince. More than 3 million people were estimated to be affected by the quake with half a million dead or injured.

Schoolzone: e-Bug – making hygiene child's play

May 2011

e-Bug is an exciting, fun and free microbiology, hygiene and health educational resource for junior (9–11 yrs) and senior (12–15 yrs) school students across Europe. Designed by health professionals, with input from schools and young people, and endorsed by the Department of Education, the e-Bug resource consists of a teacher pack, containing detailed lesson plans, and an accompanying fun, interactive website for students.

Schoolzone: Florence Nightingale – the life and times of the first advocate for good hygiene

August 2011

"It may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first requirement in a hospital that it should do the sick no harm." - Florence Nightingale

Schoolzone: Fungi in schools – a neglected potential

February 2016

Ten years ago, Moore et al. (2005) concluded that the most likely answer to the question “how much are your children taught about fungi in schools?” was “very little or nothing at all”. They remarked that the word ‘fungus’ did not appear in the then current National Curriculum for England Programme of Study for Science, and although fungi tended to be treated reasonably in the specifications for the GCSE Biology examinations, the references were largely along with bacteria as decomposers without reference to the basic distinction between the two groups.

Schoolzone: Good bugs, bad bugs

February 2013

A series about microbiology for the UK's only children’s radio station.

Schoolzone: International travel and the spread of disease

November 2016

In recent history, diseases have spread across the globe and had drastic effects on human and animal populations’ health. Before colonisation and the arrival of European settlers to countries across the world, indigenous people were only exposed to certain diseases that were present in their own country. The arrival of settlers meant the introduction of new pathogens that the indigenous people did not have natural immunities to.

Schoolzone: Life finds a way

May 2016

Concepts around when life evolved, and how life is formed, can be complex for students to understand. These examples of practical activities can be done with students to demonstrate how long microbes have been in existence, and also show how cells assemble, giving both large-scale and small-scale demonstrations of where life comes from.

Schoolzone: Meet the Microbes

August 2017

Society member, Naomi Chant, has written an e-Book to introduce the public to the world of microbiology and the microbes that surround us. In this article, in her words, she tells us about the book and how she came to develop such an interesting resource.

Schoolzone: Microbiology in Schools Fund

February 2015

One of the many grants the Society offers is the Microbiology in Schools Fund. Launched in 2014, the grant offers school members up to £1,000 for any microbiology-based activity for their pupils. The scope is very broad, anything related to microbiology is considered. So with this much choice, how do you choose what to do?

Schoolzone: Microscopes – peering into an invisible world

August 2018

In February, a team of volunteers from the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology (SWDSP), University of Oxford spent a day with year 5 children at Pegasus Primary School, Oxford. The theme of the event was ‘Microscopes’ and how they enable us to better understand the world around us.

Schoolzone: Old School New School

August 2016

Bioinformatics is the method of using computer programming to interpret biological data. The teaching of bioinformatics in schools is becoming an integral part of the curriculum and understanding the evolutionary relationships between species at the genomic level is an important skill. However, the basic process of how these relationships are determined is fundamental in understanding all of these relationships.

Schoolzone: Playing with light

August 2015

Light can have a dramatic effect on the growth and activity of microbes, through both direct and indirect influences. In this edition of Schoolzone, we suggest three ways in which the influence of light on the growth and activity of microbes can be investigated.

Schoolzone: Practical microbiology in schools

August 2013

The importance of practical work in science is widely accepted, and it is acknowledged that quality practical work motivates students and promotes engagement (SCORE). It enables students to acquire skills from both laboratory and field-based work, it supports the learning of scientific knowledge and promotes an understanding of the key concepts that underpins learning. I listen – I forget, I look – I remember, I do – I understand (Hodson).

Schoolzone: Predator–prey relationships

February 2014

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (plants, animals and micro-organisms), and the physical and chemical factors that make up its non-living or abiotic environment. Organisms within an ecosystem are connected and interact both with other organisms and their surroundings; these interactions are a vital part of how organisms develop overtime. A change in the size of one population affects all other organisms within the ecosystem and this is demonstrated most clearly by the predator–prey relationship where the predator (the hunter) feeds on its prey (the hunted).

Schoolzone: Reaching out... Microbiologists make a difference

November 2013

As a Society, one of our main aims is to promote high-quality microbiological science to a diverse range of people. This includes, not only researchers, academics, hospital and industry staff, but also the wider public, teachers and school students.

Our outreach activities aim to inspire and create interest in microbiology as well as encourage learning and even engage those interested in pursuing a career in microbiology. These events would not have been so successful or, in many cases, even be possible without the support from our member volunteers.

Schoolzone: Science, art and writing in schools

February 2018

Our members regularly engage with local schools or school-age groups, introducing them to the world of microbiology through many creative channels. The following is an example of a large consortium of mainly Microbiology Society members engaging children with the ideas of antibiotic resistance and hands-on science through the SAW Trust.

Schoolzone: Standing up for Science

February 2013

Young scientists often forget how uniquely qualified they are to comment and offer their opinions on poorly performed research and suspicious scientific claims. The Standing up for Science workshop for early career researchers, held on November 16th at the University of Glasgow, sought to remedy that situation.

Schoolzone: Teaching antimicrobial resistance in schools

February 2017

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest global health concerns and is an important issue facing everyone today. AMR has received considerable media coverage and world leaders are acknowledging the importance of this threat, but the message still needs to get across. There are many ways to educate and inform people about AMR.

Schoolzone: Teaching the human microbiome in schools

May 2017

Every surface of the human body, inside and out, is covered in billions of different species of micro-organisms. These micro-organisms are mainly bacteria, but also include viruses and fungi, and are collectively known as the ‘human microbiome’. The bacteria that make up the human microbiome live together in a close relationship with us and some even help the body perform vital functions.

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Schoolzone: Teaching zoonoses in schools

November 2015

Zoonoses are a fascinating topic for school students; the spread of diseases that can pass between animals and humans holds a gruesome appeal. But how can we teach about zoonoses in schools in an engaging way, when, for obvious reasons, we cannot carry out wet laboratory experiments using any of these pathogens? In this article we explore student activities covering various aspects of the subject, including emerging zoonotic diseases, biosecurity and the spread of infection.

Schoolzone: The Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa

May 2012

Would you like to see glow-in-the-dark algae? Would you like to see green, tailed cells swimming in spirals through still water? How about growing these micro-organisms yourselves?

Schoolzone: The nitrogen cycle

May 2012

Various processes are responsible for recycling the chemicals necessary for life on Earth. The nitrogen cycle is the most complex of these. Carbon, sulfur and phosphorus are the other main cycles.

Schoolzone: The Super Cells

May 2018

The immune system protects us from pathogens and works together with our commensals to keep us healthy. To understand immunology is to understand infectious disease and how vaccines work. There has been a steady decline in childhood vaccinations in recent years, so I wanted to create a new resource to educate children about how pathogens infect us and how our commensals work with our immune system to keep us healthy, to help encourage young children (and their parents!) to keep up-to-date with their vaccines!

Schoolzone: Tuberculosis remains a global challenge – can its spread be halted?

August 2014

Worldwide, infectious diseases are the leading cause of death of children and adolescents, and one of the leading causes in adults. Three of the top ten causes of death (2012 data) are from infectious diseases: lower respiratory infections (3.1 million), HIV/AIDS (1.5 million) and diarrhoeal diseases (1.5 million).