Sourcing Equipment

Below are details of where some of the equipment used in some of our experiments and activities are sourced from. Some of the items might be found from alternative educational suppliers or stores. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

  • Marble runs (1 x dropper, 1 x chicane, 1 x whirlpool, 1x Build and Learn set) – from Cheatwell Games under Kids Zone.
  • Hand Battery – aluminium and copper A4 sheets and crocodile clip wires from Middlesex University Teaching Resources.
  • Coloured filters (red, green, blue) – made from cardboard and coloured acetates available from Timstar.
  • Magic Dye mixture – contact Kemtex Education Supplies.
  • white material scraps (silk, polyester/cotton mix, cotton, acetate) – any fabric shop. Ask if they have a ‘cut-off’ or discard pile.
  • Titanium (IV)oxide nanoparticles P25 ~21nm particle size for Graetzel Cell experiment from Sigma-Aldrich.
  • Titanium foil sheets for anodising titanium from Mindsets Online.
  • Brasso from Homebase or B&Q.
  • Exercise bike with speedometer from Argos.
  • FTO conducting glass – Solar cell making kits and supplies are available from ManSolar. Alternatively, Pilkington Glass might be able to provide small samples of conducting glass free to schools. Contact them and enquire at Pilkington Glass.

Below there are some other gadgets and kit that you might find useful if teaching about solar and renewable energy/materials science. Also check out the article by Dr Ashley Green, a freelance STEM Educator with a passion for renewable energy education and many years of solar energy research under his belt, for more ideas.