Virus Factory in Schools

Welcome to the home of Virus Factory in Schools!

Below, you’ll find resources to help with your delivery of the standalone workshop, 3-workshop series, and maths extension workshop, including links to download electronic and printable materials, our “Ask a Scientist” video playlists, and details of how to book into our Franklin researcher Q&A webinars. 

Overview

The three workshops are based around viruses and microbiology and use citizen science as a way to show your pupils that they are capable of making meaningful contributions to real research science and of going on to become research scientists. The workshops are designed using the science capital teaching approach.  

The overall structure of the workshop series is background science, citizen science, computing science and Q&A. The third workshop is designed to include a 25-minute Q&A session with a research scientist.

The standalone workshop is a condensed version which covers less computing science and has less time spent on the participatory citizen science. It has no time built in for meeting a researcher and we suggest a follow up session to allow your pupils to do so.  

The background science uses your pupils’ knowledge of living things as its starting point and from there introduces cells, DNA and viruses while reinforcing skills such as observation, collaboration, communication and use of ICT as key scientific skills.  

The additional maths workshop uses the concepts and results of the main workshop/workshops as a way to practice statistics in a real-life context, helping students to understand how maths allows scientists to move from making observations of images to answering big questions.  

View the curriculum map for Key Stages 2 and 3 Curriculum map

Links to Resources

Full course materials, including an educator guide, are available for download on Zenodo here. The Virus Factory citizen science project page can be found here, and zoo-notes can be found here.  

Video tutorials for navigating the Zooniverse and Zoo Notes interfaces, and how to make your own 3D cell jigsaw, can be found on the Science Scribbler YouTube channel.

Register for a Teacher Resource Pack

Additionally, we have a number of physical resource packs to distribute to interested teachers. We will prioritise teachers who are interested in delivering the workshops in the next (25-26) academic year, and those who are willing to provide feedback so we can improve this pack in the future!

Please note there is no requirement to have the physical resource packs in order to deliver the Virus Factory in Schools workshops or participate in our Q&A webinars. Online materials, including “print and play” files, can be found on Zenodo.

Sign-up to register for one of these packs for free Sign-up for a resource paqck

Franklin Researcher Q&A Webinars

The next online researcher Q&A webinar will take place at 2pm on Wednesday 15th October 2025.

To register your interest in participating in a Q&A, either sign up to receive a teacher pack using the link above, or email the Science Scribbler team directly.

Upcoming online Q&A dates, 2025 and 2026:

  • Friday 10th July
  • Wednesday 15th October
  • Thursday 11th December
  • Friday 6th February
  • Wednesday 18th March
  • Thursday 21st May
  • Friday 10th July

In-Person Q&As and Activities at Harwell Campus

We will be running in-person Q&A and activity sessions in the 2025-26 academic year. These will take place towards the end of each half term and will follow on from the materials in the core workshop series.

The next in-person activity session will take place on Thursday 16th October 2025.

To register your interest in participating in one of these sessions, either sign up to receive a teacher pack using the link above, or email the Science Scribbler team. We will reach out directly to registered teachers to invite them to sign up for these in-person sessions.

Full series of in-person event dates, 2025 and 2026:

  • Thursday 16th October (12:30-14:30)
  • Friday 12th December (10:00-12:00)
  • Wednesday 4th February (10:00-12:00)
  • Tuesday 17th March (12:30-14:30)
  • Tuesday 19th May (10:00-12:00)
  • Wednesday 8th July (12:30-14:30)

"Ask a Scientist" Video Playlists

The playlist contains 8 videos lasting between 2 and 5 minutes, taken from a series of interviews with researchers working at the Franklin and Diamond Light Source, recorded in February 2023. This forms an offline alternative to live Q&A options such as local STEM ambassadors, “I’m a Scientist” events, and the Franklin Q&A webinars. The playlist is hosted on the Science Scribbler YouTube, and the Franklin Vimeo.

External Resources

Contact Details

For questions, please contact the Science Scribbler team via email.

The Zooniverse in Schools team can also be reached by email here.   

You can also contact the team through the Talk Forums on the Zooniverse project page. 

Collaborating Institutes & Organisations

  • Diamond Light Source 
  • University of Oxford 
  • Zooniverse
  • UKRI-STFC – Professor Roger Ecclestone

Funded by

Wellcome Trust – Biomedical Resources Grant (212980/Z/18/Z)

STFC – Nucleus Award (ST/W001845/1)

STFC – Spark Award (ST/Y005813/1)  

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