Introduction

“Science is always discovering odd scraps of magical wisdom and making a tremendous fuss about its cleverness.” - On Freudian theories, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley (1929)

Now that we are entering a season of festivities and entertainment (for some at least) your pupils might like to learn some ‘magic’ tricks, which can be performed with readily available props, to amaze their friends and relatives. All have explanations that link to the primary science curriculum and are eminently compatible with at least one of the aims of a Curriculum for Excellence - that learning should be “active, challenging and enjoyable”. They let children see through the trickery and offer ideal vehicles for scientific enquiry.

  Under pressure