The resources on this page have been selected to support educators in finding CREST project ideas that require little equipment, can be run outside of a lab or at home, and use equipment that doesn’t require much sharing.
Find out more about the different CREST Award levels here: CREST Awards.
At primary level, our curated home learning packs don’t require many resources so they’re perfect to use either in the classroom or at home. For Primary teachers who have CLEAPSS access, we recommend this piece on doing Practical activities within your bubble.
At secondary level, each project brief has an overall challenge, ideas for getting started and a list of resources you might need. Read the health and safety section carefully before you begin. Young people should create a plan for their project and a risk assessment before they begin any practical activity. You can use the CLEAPSS student safety sheets as well as the rest of the CLEAPSS website to help them.
If you are looking for further advice on how to get started with CREST, visit our help centre and check out our FAQs.
If you are looking for ideas for running CREST at home, many of the below resources are suitable, and you can still access our Star and SuperStar Home Learning packs below. If you need further support, check out the CREST at home section of the Help Centre.
Click to edit project description www.crestawards.org
Page 1 of 2 How do nutrients affect plant growth? In this project you will investigate how the nutrients in compost affect the rate of growth of seedlings. Many types of seed will work, but radish or lettuces are often chosen because they grow quickly. Getting started Despite the high rate of growth in rainforests the soil is poor in nutrients. The nutrients have been washed out of the soils by heavy rainfall. Plant your seeds in seed trays (following the instructions on the packet), water them, and place them in a well- lit location. You can help the seedlings to grow by using a propagator lid to maintain humidity. Alternatively, you could use makeshift propagators such as a simple polythene bag inflated around the seed tray or a plastic bottle cut in half to provide a close-fitting lid. You need to make sure that the soil/compost in the seed trays remains moist – trays without covers will need regular watering. Remember that you want your tests to be fair so make sure all your seeds are in the same conditions of light, temperature moisture etc. Things to think about Did the results agree with what you expected? Was there a pattern to your results? Were your results consistent enough for you to be able to make a conclusion? Which of the different ways of measuring plant growth do you think was the most suitable? Why? Useful resources Talk to a person at your local garden centre about the right type of seed to use for this experiment Keep a daily record of the number of seeds that have germinated, plant growth, and observations about plant health such as colour, height etc. You will need to decide what measurements to use as indicators of plant growth, for example, plant height or number and size of leaves. You will need to make your measurements daily for about three to four weeks. Click to edit project description Presentation of results: Choose at least two of your indicators of plant growth to plot as graphs to show how the different combinations of compost and soil affect plant growth. You will need to comment on your results.
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These challenges take about an hour each. Once you have completed eight of them you can get a CREST SuperStar Award. Start by downloading the Passport. Children can use this to record each activity they complete.
Our curated packs for home learning require very little equipment or resources, so are ideal now that you are back in the classroom. They also add flexibility as students can finish their Star or SuperStar Award at home, if needed.
Each challenge has an organiser card and an activity card. All the instructions to set up the activity are in the organiser card. Read the 'watch out' section carefully before you begin. Children can use the activity card or you can read it through together.
Find out more about Star and SuperStar levels here.
Each of these projects take between ten and thirty hours to complete. The project briefs have an overall challenge, ideas for getting started and a list of resources students might need. Before they begin, students should read the health and safety section carefully. Once students have completed their projects, they can get a CREST Discovery, Bronze, Silver or Gold Award. The amount of time spent on the project and how well they met the CREST criteria determines the level students will be awarded.
Start by downloading the relevant Workbook or Profile Form below. Young people can use these to help them complete their project and record their progress.
Young people should create a plan for their project and a risk assessment before they begin any practical activity, which should be checked by a teacher. You can use the CLEAPSS student safety sheets as well as the rest of the CLEAPSS website to help them.
For Bronze projects, once a student has completed their project, you can sign up to assess it and order their personalised certificate here. Bronze assessment is incredibly easy and can also be adapted for at-home learning if needed due to unexpected lockdowns, meaning parents can always assess when teachers cannot. Check out how to assess a Bronze project here
For Silver and Gold projects student work will need to be submitted online and will be assessed by a CREST assessor. Learn more about assessment for Silver Awards here
Find out more about Bronze level here.
Find out more about Silver level here.
Find out more about Gold level here.
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