Hands-online

Glasgow Science Festival Hands-online brings our ever popular family day activities into your homes and classrooms. Featuring dozens of fun activities, demos, games and experiments to have a go at. All linked to current STEAM research. Activities are designed to be enjoyed by all ages. Best suited to primary and lower secondary unless otherwise specified.  

adults and children with a robot rocket and spaceman

Glasgow's Transforming- Heritage and Culture

Cartoon image of a lit-up lightbulb with wires above it.
Cartoon image of a lit-up lightbulb with wires above it.

Light and Art

Fri, 31 May 2024 16:29:00 BST

Learn what gives pigments and dyes their colour, the University of Glasgow

Cartoon image of a country house with bushes in front.
Cartoon image of a country house with bushes in front.

Defending Scotland's Heritage

Wed, 31 May 2023 13:49:00 BST

Learn about the challenges affecting Scotland's historic places, Historic Environment Scotland

Cartoon country house with thought bubbles and a drone.
Cartoon country house with thought bubbles and a drone.

Defend Stirling Castle

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 13:49:00 BST

Use cyber security skills to defend one of Scotland's most important historical sites with Historic Environment Scotland.

Cartoon country house with people holding telescopes, robots and magnifying glasses.
Cartoon country house with people holding telescopes, robots and magnifying glasses.

Castle Science

Wed, 03 May 2023 15:15:00 BST

Historic Environment Scotland share the science behind designing, building, and sieging a castle!

Cartoon of the Glasgow River Clyde with a rainbow in the background.
Cartoon of the Glasgow River Clyde with a rainbow in the background.

Glasgow's Clyde Bridges From Your Sofa

Fri, 31 May 2024 10:49:00 BST

Virtual walk through the engineering of the River Clyde, Institution of Civil Engineers

Several cartoon people exploring near a bridge
Several cartoon people exploring near a bridge

Glasgow's Kelvin Bridges Trail

Fri, 31 May 2024 10:49:00 BST

Virtual walk through the engineering of the River Kelvin, Institution of Civil Engineers

Cartoon image of a barge with bunting and anchors.
Cartoon image of a barge with bunting and anchors.

Glasgow's Forth & Clyde Canal Trail

Fri, 31 May 2024 10:49:00 BST

Virtual walk through the engineering of the Forth & Clyde Canal, Institution of Civil Engineers

Cartoon image of a mother and child with thought bubbles coming from their heads. The thought bubbles contain lightbulbs and musical notes.
Cartoon image of a mother and child with thought bubbles coming from their heads. The thought bubbles contain lightbulbs and musical notes.

Exploring Multilingualism

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 21:31:00 BST

Explore Glasgow's languages, Universities of Glasgow & Strathclyde.

Glasgow's Transforming - Sustainability

Plastic bottle turns into a plant pot

Upcycle your own Window Garden

Minimise plastic waste & create your own pot plant

drawing of plant cells dividing in a root

Give your Kitchen Scraps a Second Life

Grow your own veggies at home

Potato Bioplastics

Smart packaging, bioplastics & chemistry activities from Really Small Science, University of Strathclyde

Glasgow's Transforming - Natural Sciences and Engineering

Cartoon man holding a map next to a signpost saying Future, surrounded by STEM icons such as DNA, stars and viruses.

Research at the OU

Activities from the OpenLearn resources, The Open University

Cartoon lady pointing to a blueprint on the left, car in the middle, train on a train track on the right.
Cartoon lady pointing to a blueprint on the left, car in the middle, train on a train track on the right.

GSF: Creating Engineers in Your Classroom

Wed, 05 May 2021 01:00:00 BST

Glasgow Science Festivals Creating Engineers Classroom Challenge for Primary Schools. Free, complete during May & June as suits you.

A cartoon blue rainbow and a cartoon red rainbow.

Faster than the Speed of Light Waves

Seeing light in different ways, from rainbows to LEDs, PIADS 

Cartoon mathematician with equations and numbers.
Cartoon mathematician with equations and numbers.

Transforming mathematics and chemistry into knitted art according to Alexander Crum Brown

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 13:24:00 BST

Scientific knitting patterns, University of Glasgow

female scientist holding DNA strand in front of Glasgow cityscape
female scientist holding DNA strand in front of Glasgow cityscape

Glasgow Science Festival: Monumental

Wed, 09 Sep 2020 05:18:00 BST

Glasgow Science Festival's Monumental: Scotland's Women of Science Activity Pack

Several cartoon people building models and wearing lab coats.
Several cartoon people building models and wearing lab coats.

GSF's Primary STEAM Activity Pack

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 18:21:00 BST

Glasgow Science Festival: Glasgow's Transforming themed activities, best suited for primary school P4 to P7's

Glasgow's Transforming- Biology

Two cartoon female scientists and three petri dishes.
Two cartoon female scientists and three petri dishes.

Exploring Outbreak Prevention

Wed, 03 May 2023 14:42:00 BST

Explore spread of disease in animals & potential future vaccine tech, University of Glasgow. Higher Biology.

Cartoon detective character looking through magnifying glass
Cartoon detective character looking through magnifying glass

Data Detective

Thu, 05 May 2022 11:27:00 BST

Link data to stop the spread of a mystery disease, University of Glasgow

CoIMMUNIcate

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 01:00:00 BST

Learn how immune cells communicate to get rid of a virus, University of Glasgow

Person with watering can watering a plant in a glass jar

The Seed Race

What is germination & which seeds grow the fastest?

Three baked biscuits in the shape of animal and plant cells
Three baked biscuits in the shape of animal and plant cells

Bake a Beautiful Cell

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 18:51:00 BST

Bake your own stain glass cell, Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, University of Edinburgh

Edible Cells

Wed, 09 Sep 2020 03:07:00 BST

Cells under the microscope and make edible cells, University of Glasgow

Glasgow's Transforming- Philosophy, Psychology & Education

Scientist in front of an open door, next to a person doing a handstand.
Scientist in front of an open door, next to a person doing a handstand.

Master of Illusions

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 11:23:00 BST

Interactive illusions to challenge your perceptions, University of Glasgow

Two cartoon people reading

Project Real

Can you recognise fake news? School of Education, University of Glasgow