Activity overview

Run the activity

1. Several parcels of mystery items have been delivered! How can they tell what’s inside without looking? Some methods they could use:

• feeling
• observing
• listening
• smelling

2. All the objects have something in common. They're all made from plastic! Has this changed what they think is in the bag and if so, why? Reveal the items in each bag one at a time. 

Background science

All of the items in the bag are made of plastic. The first synthetic plastic was invented by Dr Leo Baekeland. He called it Bakelite, after himself. It was very hard and inflexible; very different to the plastics we can make today. Today, plastic is used to make lots of different things, from plastic shopping bags to water bottles or toys. As of July 2017, scientists estimate that 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced in a period of only 25 years. The problem with this is that most plastic isn't biodegradable and a lot isn’t recyclable. This means it can end up in our oceans and on our beaches where it can be harmful to the environment and wildlife.

This link downloads a glossary of terms used to describe properties of materials (ages 5-7).

Take it further

Identifying plastic objects can be challenging for young children because they are often designed to look like other materials. Children could sort the plastic objects by their different properties. Are they bendy or rigid? Smooth or rough? Cold to touch? Shiny or dull? This will help children understand that plastics have a range of different properties. They could play I-spy plastics in the classroom or around school, recording what they find with drawings or words. 

We use a lot of plastic in our daily lives. Talk about what happens to the plastic items when they wear out, or break or are no longer useful. Are there any swaps we could make or things we could do without?