Chemistry at Work event

Helen and I had a busy day at Manchester University's Chemistry at Work event sponsored by the RSC.
Approx 120 year 8 and 9 pupils attended from quite a wide geographical area.
This type of event is designed to introduce school pupils to scientists from industry, especially chemists, to give the young people a feel for what careers there are using chemistry.

This isn't the first event of this kind we have done and originally we wondered just what we could contribute - after all we still work in schools. We decided to create a presentation about a day in the life of a science presenter and show how we use our science knowledge to make science accessible to others.
The presentation is a behind the scenes look at how we research materials, test resources and create shows. We share how we approach explaining difficult concepts to different ages and of course we have lots of gadgets, gizmos and props to have a go with.

We have discovered that our giant hyrogel balls are an enormous success with pupils and teachers, especially this time when one of the staff had a great camera and was taking some wonderful close up shots!

Colour changing straws, our now famous thermochromic mug and some of Helen's great demos such as the Freaky hand went down well.

And then a make and take muffin bath bomb with bubble gum fragrance.

It was really great to meet up with Trinity School Manchester - we know them from our Catalyst days - a great group of youngsters!
At the start of the day Emma Lewis our host from the University side asked the schools about their views of science - we had quite a mixed bunch - not everyone was thrilled to be there! I asked some of them what they had got out of the day and was very pleasantly surprised when lots of them said how much they had enjoyed our session and were genuinely interested in how we got into our line of work.
Many thanks to Emma Lewis from the university and Kat Presland from the RSC for asking us to be part of a great day.

We have a similar event in July at Jaguar in Speke organised by MerseySTEM - so I will be keeping my eyes open for some cool resources! What a great job!

Nannerch Posters

Those super pupils at Nannerch VCP school have sent us some mini posters that they made after our visit.
We know they had a great day but it really brings it all home when you see their work.
They have remembered so well!

 Obviously the freaky hand was 

a huge hit!

It seems they liked the flames too 

and of course the dry ice

and elephants toothpaste - we did the very safe version with yeast

the gooey balls which disappeared were a great hit

everyone made lava lamps including the teachers

Thank you for all your lovely artwork guys and check out the boasting book page on our website to see your work online

A day out in North Wales

Helen and I had a wonderful day with a tiny village school in rural Flintshire North Wales.
At just over 70 pupils Nannerch primary school is in the most beautiful village between Mold and Denbigh - a lovely part of Wales.

It was an early start with a very packed car full of exciting science so that we arrived in time to set up for our first session - one of our favourites - Super Science Magic for the very youngest.
So we had  nursery and reception tinies along with the very grown up year 1 and year 2s - all very excited to see what the scientists were going to do.
We took Timmy - our puppet - with us, who helped Helen explore the amazing objects in the basket and see what they were made from. One brave young man put his hand into a container of liquid only to find it full of jelly balls which had been quite invisible! We had huge fun!

Then we did two shows all about changing materials with the Juniors. The dry ice was a huge hit - of course -   ooohs and ahhhhs came from the flame tests and the iron filings sparklers. In such a small school everyone was able to come up and volunteer for something so the shows were very interactive.

After a well earned lunch we did two hands on sessions - getting up close and personal with some of the show demonstrations, making lava lamps and having a go at things to try at home with a take home make - bath bombs with year 3/4 and slime for yr5/6. The tip of the day for the slime session - the more you stir it the thicker it gets..... and it doesn't drip off your elbow!

After a quick slurp of coffee it was the turn of the teachers - we had a great time exploring the experiments from the shows - the teachers had been itching to get their hands on some of the things we had been showing - the jelly balls, the colour changing straws but most of all the dry ice! It is not something you get to play with every day and the staff certainly enjoyed making vast amounts of spooky smoke and Boo Bubbles.

Finally we all had a go at the ever popular Art on a Plate - there were so many ideas of using this in all areas of the curriculum and I think nursery planned to do it the very next day - how's that for an impact!

Thank you to everyone at Nannerch for being such lovely hosts and making us so welcome!

CATCH UP TIME!

Now that the school Easter holiday is here I have time to catch up on what we have been up to over the past few weeks.
We had an amazing day at Ellesmere Port Boat museum as part of  BOOST's STEM event.
Amazingly we didn't drop anything into the water as we made our way across the cobbles and over the lock bridges to the rooms we were using - thank goodness for the trolley but note to self - must buy bungees to stop things slipping!!

Throughout the day we worked with groups of about 30 primary aged pupils, looking at Supermarket Science - our take on "do try this at home" type of science - 5 sessions in all.
We used our latest gizmos to inspire ideas, showing lots of mini experiments to have a go at - and everything can be bought from the supermarket!

The highlight was making their own bath bomb mini muffin to take home although I quite liked my heart shaped versions!

Then it was a very busy day at DaresburySIC with MerseySTEM and secondary school pupils.

Again 5 sessions back to back as Helen and I explained what a Day in the Life of a Science presenter is really like!
Stars of this event were without doubt our amazing jelly marbles which swell to about 30 times their original size and seem to disappear in water.

Colour changing straws which are great but we had to keep in the fridge because the room was so warm!

Bath bombs featured here too and a mass slime making fest!

So now we have two weeks of school holiday to make sure we are ready for the summer term, having done a mini mail drop and following up on possible bookings we should have a good few weeks.
watch this space!

Get A Move On!

A big shout out for everyone at Parochial primary school Ashton under Lyne!!

Helen and I had a super day with pupils and staff starting off their celebrations for National Science and Engineering week. They have loads of great activities lined up with different classes exploring an experiment and then sharing it with the rest of the school in assembly.

Great conversations about the best way to do bicarbonate volcanoes, making lava lamps and much more!

It was a very early start for us and as ever the traffic on the M56/60 was heavy but we found the school very easily and were soon sorted, settled in and a coffee in hand!

First was a mini session with reception so we took our lovely wicker basket into one of the classrooms and explored moving toys. They gave our cuddly teddy a name - Lulu - she doesn't move but she is very soft and  after all "teddies don't need to do anything they are just there for hugging" - what a lovely quote!

After reception we did a turn in assembly and then it was onto the main shows.

Year 1 and 2 - huge fun with lots of giggles especially with the poppers and the space hopper - forces in action - good luck with your CD hovercrafts year 1!

After lunch it was the turn of year 3 and 4 who were amazed with Helen's air pressure demonstrations - I think there will be a few trying out the leaky bottle on friends and family!

Year 5 and 6 - the super scientists - and also extremely good at hoola hooping and the Tudor cup and ball game. I think their favourite was probably the air powered rocket which flew the whole length of the school hall. 

Year 6 were also impressed with the solar toys - I think there might be a project in the making there - perhaps an entry for the Global Adventure competition?

Finally we gave the staff a hands on session exploring Materials and hopefully some inspiration for future science lessons. Hope the lava lamp goes well!

Have a great science week guys and hopefully we will see you all again!

Toys are us!

Having a wondeful time creating a new show for National Science and Engineering Week in March.
The theme this year is MOTION which gives huge scope so to make a show that we can keep running after the event I have come up with something all about forces but using toys to explain.
It isn't a unique thought - there has been a section in most curriculum topics about toys and forces but I am hoping that my take on it will be just that bit different.
I have started where most other teachers would start with Bruegal's wonderful picture of children at play in 16th century.
click to see Bruegal's painting of children in16th century

I used this many years ago with a class of 11 year olds looking at how toys had changed over time. What was really interesting was that the toys had changed but the games hadn't - at least not for my class.
We observed our own school playground and saw a group of girls spinning on the spot, a rough and tumble (nice euphemism there!) some juggling, the modern equivalent of 5 stones ( jacks to me) and of course Chase.

My dad who is quite an accomplished wood worker made me some replica toys especially a cup and ball and a Lenten rattle ( can you imagine the racket that must have made - what fun)

So I am starting there - looking at Tudor toys, how they work - where is that off switch????
Then we will head off through Victorian toys, tin clockwork toys and the emergence of plastic through to today.
I have managed to acquire some wonderful resources on the way and as we look at how batteries changed the way we played with toys but also how alternative energy toys and gizmos are becoming more popular we will be thinking about the forces needed to make the toys work.
I will have to get a volunteer out for the  space hopper and probably the hoola hoop too!
Our first booking for this show is on 5th March - hopefully we will be able to get some images but none of me on a space hopper!!

Going LIVE!

WOW! how hard can it be?
This having your own company thing is not as easy as it looks!!
Actually I am having lots of fun but getting the nitty, gritty down tight is very time consuming. Things like a web site - I know a bit about this area from my previous life in Flintshire as an advisor for schools - we used to teach pupils how to create a simple web site. BUT creating a commercial one -with all the bits and bobs that you need for a business is a different ball game.
So after more time than I would have liked our website is actually LIVE with most of the pages up and running. There is more to do - sorting out T&Cs, giving enough info but not overloading, creating downloadable pages........
And of course the real job is creating the actual shows and workshops - I have 6 years of experience in doing that but starting from scratch is a mammoth task. At Catalyst I had a whole room of resources to inspire me!
So far I have four shows pretty much finished - at least they will be ready to go within a couple of weeks.
I have created 1 biology, 1 chemistry, 1 physics and 1 that is a mixture of all three!!
I didn't plan it that way - it just evolved: healthy humans, changing materials, forces and light/colour ( which is the mixed one - a bit of physics obviously, some biology in how our eyes work and I intend to do a bit of chemistry in flame testing and colour change reactions.) Plus some psychology too in thinking about how colours affect our mood - that is going some!!!!
For anyone interested - have a look at our website

www.science2u.co.uk

A super bit of news - when I worked at  Catalyst science centre I had a great team - Carrie-Anne Parkes an amazing historian turned scientist whose real passion was Egyptology but turned her hand to so much more and was the creator of wonderful resources. She has taken a post at Quarry Bank Mill with the National Trust in their education team. She is back in her beloved history - and is doing well! Good luck CAP!

The other member of the team was Helen - my right hand and the one who always had my back. She as over 4 years of experience in science presenting and many more in museums and galleries.

Helen Ross

I am thrilled to announce to my readers that Helen has decided to join me in this venture as the other half of Science2U.
This is great news because it is always more fun on the road if you are not on your own but also she is Ms Organised which anyone who actually knows me will tell you I really need.
With Helen on board we may actually get out there on time, with resources and at the right school!!
So welcome Helen  - now Science2U is really on the road.