Low-resource or low equipment sharing resources


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.


To browse the resources, click the buttons below or scroll down.
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Star Home Learning

  • Text
  • Challenges
  • Encourage
  • Hankie
  • Materials
  • Stella
  • Registered
  • Pegs
  • Cans
  • Association
  • Bubbles
  • Cosmic
This resource is published under an Attribution - non-commercial - no derivatives 4.0 International creative commons licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Tea Bag Trouble Activity

Tea Bag Trouble Activity Card Uncle Astro loves drinking tea. He drinks tea with his breakfast and with a biscuit mid-morning. He has tea after his lunch and with a piece of cake at 4 o’clock. He has tea with his evening meal and a cup just before he goes to bed. “No wonder the tea bag tin is empty,” sighs Aunt Stella. “We’ll go to the shops to get some more,” offer Cosmic and Gem. But when they come back there are no tea bags in their shopping basket. “The shop has run out of tea bags. We had to buy a packet of loose tea instead.” TEABAG TROUBLE TEABAG TROUBLE “Oh no!” says Uncle Astro. “That won’t do. I’ll end up with a cup full of tea leaves. How am I going to make a nice cup of tea this afternoon?” “We can try to make some tea bags for you Uncle Astro,” they answer eagerly. TEABAG TROUBLE “That’s very kind of you, but remember - I don’t like tea leaves in my tea. I just like a nice cup of lovely brown tea.” “Come on,” says Aunt Stella. “Let’s start testing tea bags!”

Your challenge Uncle Astro doesn’t like tea leaves floating around in his drink, so Cosmic and Gem wonder if they can make him some tea bags. Have you ever helped to make a cup of tea? Do you know how tea bags work? Aunt Stella thinks they should make Uncle Astro some tea bags out of kitchen roll Cosmic wonders if newspaper would work Gem thinks thin fabric would be better What do you think? Find the best material to make a tea bag for Uncle Astro. Discuss Plan how you can test different tea bags. How will you know which is the best tea bag? Getting started Cut out a square of kitchen roll. Put a teaspoonful of tea leaves in the middle. Gather up the corners with a clothes peg to make a bag. Half fill a clear beaker with water from the hot tap. Holding the peg, dunk the teabag up and down in the water for one minute. Try other papers and fabrics to see which type makes the best tea bag (lets the flavour and colour out, and keeps the tea leaves in). Take care with the hot water and don’t drink the tea! Extra things to do Are all tea bags the same shape? Are some shapes better than others? Why do some have string attached? Find out when tea bags were invented. Test your ideas Can you think of other ways to test tea bags? Share your ideas Draw a picture of each cup of tea. What colour is the water? Are there any tea leaves in it? British Science Association Registered Charity No. 212479 and SC039236

Challenges for ages 5-11


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.


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Projects for ages 11-18


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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