LIGHTYEAR LabS and Lightning labs

 

Our Lightyear Labs and Lightning Labs are fully funded workshops for small groups of disabled and neurodivergent 11 - 16 year olds which promote experimentation and discovery while developing critical thinking, decision-making and problem-solving skills. In each session participants become researchers and are guided through the experiments with support from their lab technicians (teachers and support staff) in the classroom. At the end of the Lab we celebrate their successes, perseverance and learning with a certificate. 

Lightyear Labs and Lightning Labs are completely free of charge for participating schools. For virtual labs, participating schools will be sent a box of kit for their session(s), and will be met on Zoom by their Lab Lead. For in-person labs, the Lab Lead will attend the school with all necessary equipment and materials for the sessions. Lab Leads will adapt session content to the needs of the participating young people, with the support of school staff. All sessions are developed with a learning objective, mindset and skills and have supporting vocabulary sheets with key vocabulary and widgit symbols.

I was just amazed that the sessions captured our students’ attention for that long through online learning. The resources were very well combined with the pace and delivery of the session. Very hard to do!” 

Lead Science Teacher, Heaton School

Lightyear Labs

Lightyear Labs are four sessions, which take place once a week over a month, providing the participating young scientists to build rapport with the Lab Lead and develop their confidence in experimentation. Click on each available Lightyear Lab subject area below to view examples of included experiments:

    • Sun, earth, and moon: creating and recreating the movement of the sun, earth, and moon with plasticine/modelling clay

    • Moon craters: learning more about asteroids, meteoroids, and moon craters using a flour and cocoa powder moon surface.

    • Constellations: exploring the stars by creating constellations using different formats including star beads and LED torches

    • Astronaut challenge: building dexterity and communication skills through the glove box challenge.

  • Under development

  • (in collaboration with F1 in Schools)

    • Friction: developing an understanding of friction using toy cars and different ramps.

    • Balloon cars: building and racing balloon cars to explore kinetic and potential energy

    • Wind tunnel: testing the aerodynamics of different cars using the F1 in Schools Wind Tunnel.

    • Race day: consolidating the learning of the past four weeks by designing, testing, and racing cars on the F1 in Schools Race Track.

    • Dissolving: experimenting with different solvents and solutes, and observing salt crystals form.

    • Bubbles: hypothesising and predicting using bubbles and different shaped wands.

    • Human circuit: exploring electrical flow by becoming a human circuit.

    • Make a torch: building circuits to create a paper flashlight.

    • Lollipop puzzle: learning more about sequencing by creating designs on lolly sticks, before working out how to put them back in the correct order.

    • Button sorting: sorting buttons into categories to learn more about patterns and their importance in coding.

    • Code bracelets: developing an understanding of functions in coding by creating colourful bracelets.

    • Lava maze: writing programs to save dinosaur eggs from a lava maze.

Lightning Labs

Lightning Labs are one-off hour long sessions suitable for schools which are unable to commit to the full four-week Lightyear Labs. Content from the Lightyear Labs is condensed into an accessible single session, suitable for a slightly larger group of up to ten students.

Click on each available Lightning Lab subject area below to view examples of included experiments:

    • Moon craters: learning more about asteroids, meteoroids, and moon craters using a flour and cocoa powder moon surface, OR

    • Constellations: exploring the stars by creating constellations using different formats including star beads and LED torches

  • Make your own rainbow: exploring the concept of density by creating a measuring cylinder rainbow.

  • Under Development

    • Dissolving: experimenting with different solvents and solutes, and observing salt crystals form, OR

    • Bubbles: hypothesising and predicting using bubbles and different shaped wands, OR

    • Make a torch: building circuits to create a paper flashlight.

    • Astronaut obstacle course: writing programmes to guide an astronaut through space, OR

    • Code bracelets: developing an understanding of functions in coding by creating colourful bracelets, OR

    • Lava maze: writing programs to save dinosaur eggs from a lava maze.

How to book

If you are interested in Lightyear Labs or Lightning Labs for your school please complete this enquiry form. Please note that available opportunities depend on our current funding.

If you would like more information about the labs, please contact us.

Reach and outcomes

In 2023, we delivered our Lightyear and Lightning Labs to 73 students in 12 labs. 

Evaluation for our Physics Labs, which were kindly funded by Future First’s Planet Possibility programme, showed:

  • 89% of participating young people felt they had learnt something new about physics. 

  • 94% of participating young people found the physics topics fun. 

  • 81% of participating teachers/LSAs felt more confident in delivering physics activities in school. 

  • 74% of participating young people showed higher engagement compared to their in-school science lessons.

“It was fantastic to watch the children engage in science in a way that they would not normally due to the special nature of the sessions, making them feel like real scientists. Particularly TB, who routinely disengages and falls asleep during lessons, he was alert, enjoying himself and following all of the instructions Rupa gave, this is amazing progress for him and not something we often see in class! Well done guys, it was great!”

Teacher, Briarwood Secondary