What are the CREST Awards?
The CREST Awards scheme is the British Science Association’s flagship programme for young people, providing science enrichment activities to inspire and engage 5-to-19-year olds.
CREST gives students the chance to participate in hands-on science through investigations and enquiry-based learning. It is the only nationally recognised accreditation scheme for project work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
There are six CREST Award Levels, allowing students to progress through the scheme throughout their education.
- Star (complete 8 short challenges to achieve an Award; typically undertaken by 5-to-7-year-olds)
- SuperStar (complete 8 short challenges to achieve an Award; typically undertaken by 7-to-11-year-olds)
- Discovery (around five hours of work and can be done in one day; typically undertaken by 11-to-14-year-olds)
- Bronze (around 10 hours project work; typically undertaken by 11-to-14-year-olds)
- Silver (around 30 hours project work; typically undertaken by 14-to-16-year-olds)
- Gold (around 70 hours project work; typically undertaken by 16-to-19-year olds)
Earn your CREST Award with OPAL
If you have any queries or suggestions please email firstname.lastname@example.org
CREST Star Award
Use the Discovery bag activity towards achieving a CREST Star Award - Challenge yourself to identify objects from the natural world. What will you put in your discovery bag?
CREST SuperStar Award
Use any of these activities towards achieving a CREST SuperStar Award
- Windy ways - Fascinated by the weather? You will be with our activities – from bubble blowing to building your own weather station.
- Tree trouble - Get thinking about trees, their value to wildlife and their importance for biodiversity. Choose from one of our three activities for help with your project.
- Special tree - Get thinking about trees, their value to wildlife and their importance for biodiversity. Choose from one of our three activities for help with your project.
- Goodbye old tree - Get thinking about trees, their value to wildlife and their importance for biodiversity. Choose from one of our three activities for help with your project.
Discovery – Gold CREST Awards
Earn your award with OPAL surveys
OPAL surveys are a fantastic resource to help you earn your CREST Award.
Think of a scientific question you’d like to answer, then use the OPAL survey guides to help you collect data for your CREST project.
By using OPAL resources or surveys as part of your CREST project, you will also receive an OPAL certificate.
- Case study: Nottingham - Find out how a school in Nottingham used the OPAL Air Survey to gain their CREST Awards
Here are some ideas to get you started.
- Does the abundance of earthworms differ between two different habitat types, such as grassland and woodland?
- Do different habitat types have different soil pH values?
- Do trees close to roads have more nitrogen-loving lichens than trees that are further away?
- Is lichen diversity related to tree girth?
- Do ponds stocked with fish show less aquatic diversity than those without fish?
- Is the size of a pond related to its aquatic diversity?
- Do neatly trimmed hedges house fewer invertebrates than hedges not cut so frequently?
- Do hedges that include mature trees have greater numbers and more diversity of invertebrates than hedges without trees?