EuroStemCell and its partners have run lots of events to help get stem cell scientists and the public talking to each other. We've collected some examples here, along with all the information you need to run the activities yourself.
Stem cell activity | Suitablefor... | Description | Downloads(Files open in a new window) |
Stem cells in the news
| Two versions: 11-14 year olds 16+ year olds | A short activity using a real newspaper article to consolidate learning about stem cells and their potential therapeutic value. The news article focuses on stem cell research relating to Parkinson's Disease. | Reading the newspapers 11-14 WORD Reading the newspapers 11-14 PDF Stem cells: Therapeutic value 16+ WORD Stem cells: Therapeutic value 16+ PDF
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Stem cell puzzles
| Two puzzles: 11-14 year olds 16+ year olds
| 10-minute puzzles to consolidate learning on stem cells. | |
What's missing?
| Two versions: 11-14 year olds 16+ year olds | A 10-minute fill-the-gaps exercise to consolidate key ideas and facts about what stem cells are, what kinds of stem cell exist and why our bodies need them. | |
Points of view | Two versions: 11-14 year olds 14-16 year olds | A ready-to-use classroom activity for discussion of the ethical issues around stem cell research. Students examine the opinions of up to 6 characters and use these to inform and develop their own views. Includes a short teachers' guide to help with lesson plans. | Points of view 14-16 PDF |
Introducing stem cells: A flexible presentation | 16+ year olds;
| Easy-to-use slides, packed with useful diagrams and accompanied by jargon-free explanations of key concepts for the presenter. The presentation covers:
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A Stem Cell Story: Quick Quiz | 14-16 year olds | A multiple-choice quiz intended for use in conjunction with the short film A Stem Cell Story available in the Films section of our website. The quiz could also work well after a talk from a scientist, or at the end of a school lesson on stem cells. It's a great way to check how much students have understood, reinforce key ideas and have a bit of fun too! | Quick Quiz Worksheet - Word document Quick Quiz Answers - Word document Quick Quiz Answers - PDF |
Strawberry DNA Experiment | 10-12 year olds | This fun, simple experiment can be carried out at home, in the classroom or at a science festival. It uses household products and utensils to extract DNA from strawberries. Children can do the experiment themselves with a little supervision from an adult. The experiment infosheet contains step-by-step instructions, explanations and 'Did you know...?' facts about DNA. |
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Other useful resources
We have put together a list of classroom activities, reference materials, images sources and films on the web that you might find useful when discussing stem cells. This is not an exhaustive list, but we hope it gives you plenty of good starting points when you are searching for tools for engaging with non-specialists or running classroom activities. We will do our best to keep the list up-to-date, and to add new resources as necessary. If you have a public engagement or teaching resource that you would like us to add to the list, please do contact us.
Useful resources list (pdf, opens in a new window)
Got ideas of your own?
If you've got an idea for a stem cell activity, or you've already tried something that worked well, we'd love to hear about it. We are keen to add to the resources on this page, and we may be able to offer you advice or information to help you with your plans.