A safe home for a meteorite: choosing the best materials
A precious meteorite must travel safely to a museum. Pupils test everyday materials for cushioning, keeping water out and letting you see inside, then design a box and give a reason for every material they choose.
- Compare how suitable paper, cardboard, foil, fabric, bubble wrap and clear plastic are for different jobs.
- Find out which materials squash and spring back and which stay squashed.
- Carry out a simple fair test and use the results to choose materials, giving a reason for each choice.
National Curriculum links
- Year 2, Uses of everyday materials: identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard, for particular uses.
- Year 2, Uses of everyday materials: find out how the shapes of solid objects made from some materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching.
- Key Stage 1, working scientifically: performing simple tests; gathering and recording data to help in answering questions; using observations and ideas to suggest answers.
Key vocabulary
- material
- suitable
- waterproof
- transparent
- squash
- cushion
- fair test
- museum
- rust
Resources
- A painted pebble as the class's "precious meteorite" for the story.
- Six samples of each material, each about 20 cm square: paper, thin cardboard, kitchen foil, cotton fabric, bubble wrap and clear plastic from food packaging.
- Sticks of chalk of the same size, one per material per group, as stand-in meteorites for the knock test.
- Plastic cups, elastic bands, squares of paper towel and a teaspoon and jug of water for the wet test.
- A mark on the wall 1 metre above the floor and a tray on the floor to catch chalk dust.
- A word card to read through each material for the see-through test.
- The worksheet, one per pupil.
Background for the teacher
Meteorites are precious to science because each one carries information about where it came from in space. Museums store them so they are not knocked, scratched or allowed to get damp. Water and damp air make the iron metal inside many meteorites rust, and over years rust can crack a meteorite apart, so collections keep many specimens in dry cabinets or sealed containers.
When the Winchcombe meteorite fell in Gloucestershire on 28 February 2021, the first pieces were collected within days and kept clean and dry, so scientists could study rock that Earth's water and air had barely touched.
No single material does every job. Card makes a strong outer box, soft squashy materials such as bubble wrap and cotton wool cushion against knocks, and clear plastic lets visitors see in while keeping water out. Real packaging combines materials for exactly these reasons, which is the idea pupils should reach.
Lesson plan
Starter 10 minutes
Show the precious meteorite and tell the story: a farmer has found it and it must travel to the museum. What could go wrong on the way? Collect ideas: it could be dropped, rained on, scratched or lost.
Agree three jobs for a good box: protect it from knocks, keep it dry, and let museum visitors see it.
Main 35 minutes
Groups move round three test stations, recording ticks and crosses on the worksheet.
Knock test: wrap a chalk stick in one material, and an adult drops it from the 1 metre mark onto the tray. Did the chalk break? Keep the height, the chalk and the floor the same, and change only the material.
Wet test: stretch a material over a cup with a square of paper towel inside, hold it with an elastic band, and pour on one teaspoon of water. Is the paper towel still dry?
See-through test: hold each material over the word card. Can you read the word?
At their table, children also press each material with a finger: does it squash and spring back, stay squashed, or not squash at all?
Plenary 15 minutes
Children draw a box for the meteorite on the worksheet and label each material with its job: card or plastic for the outside, something squashy inside, and a clear window in the lid. Two or three children explain their design, and the class checks that every choice has a reason from the tests.
Differentiation
Do two of the tests with an adult and stick result picture cards into the grid instead of writing.
Complete all three tests and the squash check, and design a box with three labelled materials.
Explain why paper is good for the museum label but not for the lid on a rainy day, and explain what made the knock test fair.
Safety and risk assessment
Check these points against your employer's risk assessment and your school's policies before the lesson.
| Hazard | How to control it |
|---|---|
| Slipping on spilled water | Pour over a tray and mop spills at once. |
| Falls when dropping from a height | An adult drops from the 1 metre mark while standing on the floor; nobody stands on chairs or tables. |
| Chalk dust in eyes | Drop onto a tray at floor level and keep faces back. |
| Plastic packaging over the face | Use flat squares of plastic, not bags, and never put plastic near the face. |
| Cuts from scissors or card edges | Cut materials to size before the lesson. |
Assessment questions with answers
- Which material would make a good window in the lid, so visitors can see the meteorite?Answer: Clear plastic. It is transparent and keeps water out. Glass is also transparent but can break.
- Why is bubble wrap or cotton wool good inside the box?Answer: It is soft and squashy, so it cushions the meteorite if the box is knocked or dropped.
- Why is paper a poor choice for the outside of the box on a rainy day?Answer: Paper soaks up water, goes soft and tears, and lets the water reach the meteorite.
- Why do museums keep meteorites dry?Answer: Water makes the iron inside many meteorites rust, and rust damages them.
- How did we make the knock test fair?Answer: We used the same height, the same size of chalk and the same floor, and changed only the wrapping material.
Homework
Look at packaging at home, such as an egg box, a cereal box or a padded envelope. Find one material that is there to protect something and one that lets you see inside. Draw them and label what each material does.
Answer guidance: Examples: card egg boxes cushion eggs; bubble wrap in envelopes protects; clear plastic windows on boxes let you see the food. Look for a job given for each material.
Use with these pages
- Winchcombe
- Caring for meteorites
- Be a meteorite detective
- Meteorite museums and collections
- Terrestrial weathering
These eight lessons are a free starter pack, written specially for this site. The full set of 25 lesson plans, with worksheets, end-of-unit tests and mark schemes, is in the Corvanelle book Teaching Meteorites. The lessons in the book are different lessons, so the starter pack and the book work together rather than repeating each other.