Pick up anything near you — a spoon, a cup, your shoe, a window. Every single thing is made of something. That "something" is called a material. Wood, metal, plastic, glass, rock, fabric and rubber are all materials, and the world is built out of them.

Here is the clever part. Each material is good at different things. Metal is hard and strong. Glass is see-through. Rubber is bendy. Wool keeps you warm. The things a material is good at are called its properties, and they are the reason we choose one material over another for each job.

Have a play. Choose a material below and watch its properties light up. A glowing yes means the material is that thing; a faded no means it is not. Notice that no material lights up everything — each one is special in its own way.

Your material adventures

Start by meeting the everyday materials and the words we use to describe them. Then discover how we choose the right material for a job, and find out what happens when you squash and stretch them.