ABSTRACT
In this paper I describe a curriculum initiative whereby first year science teacher training students prepared science boxes for children who were being taught at home or in hospital. A ‘science box’ is a portable self-contained resource box containing science activities and materials matched to part of the science national curriculum and sufficiently flexible to use in a variety of teaching situations. The intention behind the initiative was to give student teachers experience of preparing science work for primary school children and at the same time to promote their understanding of the needs of pupils with a range of physical and sensory special needs. I used an action research approach to develop the research. In what follows I hope to share the motivation, commitment and excitement of developing work along these lines and provide data to support my claims that I have implemented a science education programme that not only gave students a valuable educational experience but also produced a portable resource that is being tried out for more general use by home and hospital tutors.
