The following activity sheets have been developed for years 4, 5 and 6 following consultations with scientists and science education experts. The resources are grouped into the five senses of touch, taste, sight, hearing and smell. Within each activity sheet, there are questions, stories and experiments that tie in with the learning objectives of the lesson. The experiments are to be conducted in groups and children are encouraged to share their findings with the class.
Teachers may choose to do all of the activities for just one sense, or may choose a combination of activities from different senses, and it is advised that teachers base their decision on what they think will work best for their class. However, as the activities have been designed to follow one another and build on information from the previous activity, it is preferable that teachers start from the top of the activities list in each group.
Each activity below includes two teachers’ sheets outlining the outcomes and learning objectives of the activity and questions for the class, as well as one children’s sheet.
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The teachers’ sheets contain much more than a lesson plan, and include resources and further information to help guide the lessons, allowing for greater depth to be explored on certain topics if desired. Download a guide, (4mB) to help you get to grips with the teachers’ sheets.
Teachers: FSN guidance, notes and objectives
1.3mB, pdf
Tip: Depending on the year group, the activities in this category could be covered in one or two sessions.
In this experiment, children will choose between two bowls of apples: one containing bruised apples, and the other with unblemished apples. The purpose of this activity is to explore how our dominant sense of sight influences our food selection and the importance of the appearance of food.
A1a Teachers: Apple dilemma
2mB, pdf
A1b Teachers: Does sight influence food choice?
2mB, pdf
A1 Kids: Apple dilemma
1mB, pdf
Download the image
4mB, pdf
In this experiment, children will be asked to decide which apples (red or green) are sweet or sour. The purpose of this activity is to explore how our dominant sense of sight influences what we think our food might taste like.
A2a Teachers: Sweet or sour
2mB, pdf
A2b Teachers: Does sight influence taste?
2mB, pdf
A2 Kids: Sweet or sour
2mB, pdf
Download the image
2mB, pdf
In this experiment, children will be asked to determine the flavour of the coloured water (red and green) they drink. The purpose of this activity is to explore how our dominant sense of sight dictates our identification of flavours.
A3a Teachers: Coloured drinks
1mB, pdf
A3b Teachers: Does colour influence our colour perception?
1mB, pdf
A3 Kids: Coloured drinks
1mB, pdf
In this experiment, children will be asked to assign names (Kiki or Bouba) and tastes (sour or sweet) to two shapes. The purpose of this activity is to explore the concept of synaesthesia, a phenomenon in which sensory perceptions can blend different senses. In this case, our sense of sight blends with our sense of taste.
A4a Teachers: Kiki and Bouba
2mB, pdf
A4b Teachers: Does shape influences our taste?
2mB, pdf
A4 Kids: Kiki and Bouba
1mB, pdf
A4 Kids: Kiki and Bouba character sheet
200kB, pdf
Tip: Experiments B3 and B4 in this group are more suitable for year 6.
In this experiment, children will be tasting sour, bitter, and umami tastants. They will then be asked to locate where they taste the tastant on their tongue, and draw its location on a printed tongue map. The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate the importance of taste and how it helps us decide whether a food is harmful or nutritious.
B1a Teachers: Tongue mapping
2mB, pdf
B1b Teachers: How is the tongue helpful in tasting?
1mB, pdf
B1 Kids: How is the tongue helpful in tasting
1mB, pdf
Download the image
50kB, pdf
In this experiment, children will be asked to make a “tasting scale”, in which they will rank the tastes (sour, bitter, salt, sweet or umami) strengths in each food samples they try. The children will have their eyes closed during the tasting process. The purpose of this activity is to explore how people can overcome their resistance to new foods by introducing the same foods in novel ways.
B2a Teachers: Taste testing
800kB, pdf
B2b Teachers: How sensitive is the tongue to tastes?
1mB, pdf
B2 Kids: Taste testing
1mB, pdf
In this experiment, children will be asked to sip a fizzy drink and hold it in their mouth as long as they can. The purpose of this activity is to introduce the topic of chemesthesis, tingling and sometimes painful sensations triggered by food and drinks stimulating the trigeminal nerve. The learning outcome is to demonstrate how chemesthesis can warn our bodies of high chemical concentrations in foods.
Chilli heat, the cooling effect of menthol, fizziness and why chopping onions makes your eyes water.
B3a Teachers: Chemesthesis
800kB, pdf
B3b Teachers: What is chemesthesis?
1mB, pdf
B3 Kids: Chemesthesis
1mB, pdf
In this experiment, children will perform PTC (phenylthiocarbamide) taste test, and determine how bitter it is. Some children will taste something very bitter, while others may not taste anything at all. This is because some people have a dominant gene that will allow them to taste PTC, while others who have the recessive gene are not able to taste PTC. The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how our gene traits may influence certain things we are able to taste.
B4a Teachers: Taste and inherance
800kB, pdf
B4b Teachers: Do we taste what our parents did?
1mB, pdf
B4 Kids: Taste and inherance
1mB, pdf
In this experiment, the children will hold their nose while tasting a small spoonful of cinnamon and sugar. The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how our sense of smell is responsible for up to 90% of what we usually call taste.
C1a Teachers
800kB, pdf
C1b Teachers
1mB, pdf
C1 Kids
2mB, pdf
In this experiment, children will first taste a cube of cheese while holding their nose, and then taste a second cube of cheese while smelling shallot/onion flavouring. The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how our sense of smell can change how we perceive flavours of food.
C2a Teachers
800kB, pdf
C2b Teachers
1mB, pdf
C2 Kids
800kB, pdf
In this experiment, children will be asked to identify different samples of food or drink flavours using only their sense of smell. The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how we rely on the combination of all our senses to identify aromas, rather than just one sense (of smell).
C3a Teachers
1mB, pdf
C3b Teachers
2mB, pdf
C3 Kids
800kB, pdf
In this experiment, children will be asked to link a scent (cinnamon, cheese, onion, curry powder, etc.) with an image chosen from our gallery. The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how our perception of smell is often linked to our memory and emotions.
C4a Teachers:
1mB, pdf
C4b Teachers:
1mB, pdf
C4 Kids:
1mB, pdf
C4 Images:
4mB, 10 x jpg, zipped
In this experiment, the children will be asked to eat a bowl of crisps or tortilla chips while simultaneously listening to another participant (or teacher) shaking Shaker 1 or 2 next to their ear. The purpose of this activity is to introduce the concept of ‘cross-modal’ response, the phenomenon in which one sense affects another.
D1a Teachers
1mB, pdf
D1b Teachers
1mB, pdf
D1 Kids
1mB, pdf
In this experiment, children will eat two pieces of chocolate while listening to two different soundscapes. The purpose of this activity is to elaborate on ‘cross modal’ response (introduced in D1), and how hearing can alter how our food tastes to us.
D2a Teachers
1mB, pdf
D2b Teachers
1mB, pdf
D2 Kids
1mB, pdf
Download Bitter sound
33mB, wav
Download Sweet sound
45mB, wav
Download Sour sound
53mB, wav
In this experiment, the children will be asked to design food packaging for the ‘Crunchy Crisp Company’. The purpose of this activity is to further elaborate on ‘cross modal’ response (introduced in D1), and how packaging of foods can impact our eating experience.
D3a Teachers
1mB, pdf
D3b Teachers
1mB, pdf
D3 Kids
1mB, pdf
In this experiment, children will eat pieces of biscuits while simultaneously touching and stroking textured plateware (rough/bumpy or smooth/shiny). The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how one sense can trigger another sensory response. In this activity, the children will experience how what we touch with our hands can affect how something feels and tastes in their mouths.
E1a Teachers
2mB, pdf
E1b Teachers
2mB, pdf
E1 Kids
1mB, pdf
In this experiment, the children will be pouring melted chocolate into two shape moulds (Shape 1: Smooth/Round, Shape 2: Angular) and tasting their chocolates. The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how shape and smoothness can affect the taste of food, making our perception of taste either more sour, bitter, or sweeter.
E2a Teachers
2mB, pdf
E2b Teachers
1mB, pdf
E2 Kids
1mB, pdf
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