Schoolzone: Reaching out

SGM produces a comprehensive range of microbiology teaching resources for all age groups from primary to post-16. These are free to all SGM members involved in outreach work. The material is carefully targeted to meet curriculum requirements and fit with the science/biology specifications. These resources can be used to support public engagement activities as they cover a variety of microbiological subject areas and are published in various formats.

Short comic-style resources for primary age school children include The Why, When & How of Handwashing and Marvellous Microbes: The Pasteurs.

Cold Wars is a resource for age 11+ which describes the common cold and includes an activity to illustrate the spread of cold viruses in a population.

Our posters can be used to brighten up your exhibition stand, or indeed your lab, and include Microbiology, Classifying Microbes, and Effective handwashing.

Practical manuals (Basic Practical Microbiology and Practical Microbiology for Secondary Schools) provide introductions to practical microbiology techniques and a range of microbiological investigations which may be of interest to members who are looking to put on workshops in schools or take part in school visits. These manuals are supported by short films on www.microbiologyonline.org.

A range of fact files deliver overviews of Microbes and Climate Change, HIV & AIDS, Cholera, Tuberculosis, Influenza and Swine Flu. These resources are aimed at post-16 students and their teachers and could be used to introduce your subject area to science festival attendees or to support a specific outreach event. New for 2011, The Secret World of Microbes is a hardback book suitable for pupils from age 9, although it would serve as a basic introduction to the world of microbes up to early secondary school. Further publications such as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – Microbes and Microbiology A Resource for Key Stage 5 are fantastic, comprehensive sources of ideas for talks and workshops which would be well received in secondary schools or at public events. A CD-ROM accompanies all three books, providing comprehensive, full-colour PowerPoint™ presentations and a range of student activities.

On the SGM educational website, there are videos of SGM public events, monthly podcasts, an STI quiz, and microbe passports which introduce some of the microbes we all know and love, or indeed hate! Other resources include Down the Plughole – a short booklet introducing biofilms, Travellers' Diarrhoea – a 2-page article describing the most common illness that affects international travellers, and Superbugs – a brief fact file explaining about the different types of superbugs and how they are treated. 

If you would like copies of any of our publications for your science outreach activities, please email [email protected] or visit the Microbiology Online resources pages for more information – www.microbiologyonline.org/teachers/resources.

If you have any ideas for future resources or have any questions about getting involved with science outreach, please do not hesitate to get in touch at [email protected].