Resources
STAO has thousands of resources available for Ontario teachers. Members should login to see the full suite of available resources.
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View postings from the STAO Blog.
Categories:
General Interest
Taste experiments are normally run to test for the four kinds of taste receptors in the tongue. Students should be directed to run this experiment as a class in the school cafeteria, or BETTER, at home, using the following household chemicals: dilute table salt... read more
Categories:
General Interest
STAO’s safety training resources provide practical safety training while promoting a culture of safety mindedness in schools. These resources are available in both online and ‘face to face’ formats to accommodate your teacher training needs. 8... read more
Categories:
Lab/Student Activity, Lesson Plan
This is a series of safety activities incorporating the new WHMIS symbols. There is a matching activity, a stations activity and a quiz. It is targeted to grades 9 and 10 but could be used at any grade... read more
Categories:
Teacher Demonstration
Although all students know that it is essential to wear safety goggles during many science investigations, it can be helpful to provide a powerful demonstration showing why this is so important. This quick and easy demonstration can illustrate the necessity of... read more
Categories:
General Interest
Hands-on activities are integral to science education. Continuing to provide these valuable learning experiences in these uncertain times poses several unique challenges and obstacles that the safety-minded science teacher must overcome. This document outlines... read more
Categories:
General Interest
Being aware of best practices in the use of chemicals is essential for maintaining safe and engaging science programs in secondary schools. This document was developed to alert teachers to the hazards posed by certain chemicals and provides guidance on their... read more
Categories:
General Interest, Teacher Demonstration
SOS is a collection of best practices to promote safety in high school science. View Safe On Science Second Edition in your browser. . To access this content, you must purchase School Membership (Small), Regular One Year Membership, Regular Two Year Membership,... read more
Categories:
General Interest
In science, hands-on activities are always desirable, particularly when these are real time, actual experimentation, not just virtual simulations. This conflicts with our current reality: budget cuts; safety concerns in overcrowded classes; other demands on teacher... read more
Categories:
General Interest
This article provides some recommendations for: storing flammable liquids; the quantities to be kept in schools; the types of storage cabinets usable; and the need to vent those cabinets. Such venting would neither violate the Ontario Fire Code, nor compromise the ULC... read more
Categories:
General Interest
It is the responsibility of all those working in a laboratory to be aware of potential hazards and to prevent them from becoming accidents. However, whenever chemicals are in use, there is a danger of spillage. A well-organized science program will have available a... read more