Community College Whitstable, from Kent, has won the most recent STEM Challenge 8! The competition asked students from across the UK to work in teams to research and propose Paralympic Sports facilities to be made available in their local area.
STEM challenge 8 asked students to find out where and how more disabled people could take part in Paralympic sports.
Following regional competitions, seven schools from across the UK were invited to the national final at the Royal College of Surgeons on Wednesday 11th January. Each team of students aged 11-14 competed in a Dragon’s Den style pitch before a panel of expert judges. Finalists included:
• Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College, West Midlands
• The Community College Whitstable, South East
• The Nelson Thomlinson School, North West
• Two teams from Parklands High School, North West
• Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College, North West
• Washington School, North East
STEM Challenge 9, supported by The Paralympic Torch Relay Team – who aim to re-energise the nation after the Olympic Games and build excitement across the UK in the run up to the Paralympic Games – challenges 11-14 year olds to create a spark which lights the Paralympic Flame through the energy of human endeavour.
Closing date for registrations: Monday 23rd January. Schools wishing to enter this challenge can visit www.stemchallenges.net for further details.
The Phylum Feast is a celebration of science, bringing together aspects of biology, conservation, sustainability, healthy eating and most important of
all, fun! It is being organised voluntarily and run by students from the Newcastle Biology Society and is entirely free for your students to attend!
The event will take place on February 10th (2 days before Darwin’s birthday) between 9:30am and 2:30pm at the Great North Museum in Newcastle and will consist of 4 hands-on workshops and a sumptuous buffet where you can try and eat as many species as possible! We are looking
for Year 5 and 6 students to take part in this unique project, so if you’re interested please get in touch!
If you would like to register interest please complete the online form which can be found here: ncl.ac.uk/sage/outreach/phylum
Moorbank Botanic Garden is holding a Nature Party at the Open Day on Sunday 11thMarch, from 2 to 5pm. The idea of the party is to engage families and visitors with a broad range of hands on nature activities, such as building bug hotels, pond dipping, a treasure trail, seed planting, making bugs from recycled material etc. These will all be ‘drop-in’ activities, where people can pick and choose the activities they want to do, as well as enjoying a tour of the Garden, refreshments and purchasing plants. They are looking for volunteers to come along and either bring an activity to do on the day, or who would be willing to run activities that we provide (full instruction will be given of course).
To volunteer or to find out more information contact Helen Weddle on Helen dot Weddle at Newcastle dot ac dot uk
Inventor Trevor Baylis OBE will take centre stage at Newcastle City Library this January as part of Newcastle Science City’s “The Science of” series, a programme of events supporting the city’s efforts to bring the first regional Business and IP Centre to Newcastle.
Trevor Baylis, who shot to fame when he created the clockwork radio, will lead The Science of Innovation during “Innovation Month” at an event on 24th January 2012.
With a career built on a lifetime interest of inventing, Baylis is well known for his inspirational approach. He will share his concerns surrounding the perceived neglect of invention in the UK and how great innovations can change the world.
Joining Trevor will be Professor James Hayton, the David Goldman Professor of Innovation and Enterprise at Newcastle University, who will focus on how the influences of intangible assets such as culture, human capital and human resource management practices impact on the innovation process.
Aimed at company leaders, managers and business owners in the North East, the event is free to attend and will take place at the Newcastle City Library from 6.30pm – 9.00pm.
Calling UK teachers! Here is a an exciting competition to win a trip to London or Dubai for you and 5 students. The competition aims to help pupils put their scientific skills into practice with an engaging, real-life context and to give them the opportunity to work in international networks with schools across the Middle East and in the UK, just like real scientists.
All you have to do is ask your students to:
- identify local, national or global issues concerning water.
- design an innovative solution to one of these problems.
The competition close date is 3rd February 2012.
The Big Science Challenge was created by the British Council and Rolls-Royce. Find out more about the competition, and get further guidance and support by clicking here. Or get further inspiration about the competition theme of water on the resources page.
The Royal Society’s Partnership Grants scheme is now open. Schools can apply for up to £3000 to work with scientists and engineers on creative investigations that inspire students with the excitement and wonder of cutting-edge science or engineering research.
Funds are available for projects working with students aged 5-18, as long as the project involves a UK school or college, and a practising scientist or engineer. The next round for applications closes on the 24th of February 2012.
For more details about eligibility criteria and to find out how to apply via their online application system, go to http://royalsociety.org/partnership.
This year’s NSEC (National Science & Engineering Competition) Teacher Prize is now open for nominations!
This prize is open to any UK teacher who teaches or supports Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) lessons. The nominee’s should not have science/technology outreach as their primary role, as NSEC wish to recognise those that undertake enrichment and engagement activities in addition to their regular teaching load.
They are looking for a teacher who shows enthusiasm, passion and energy for their work, commitment and dedication and good subject knowledge, all of which have been used to engage the students they work with. If you think you match this description, or you know a teacher who deserves to have their hard work in STEM acknowledged, then nominate them!
The winner will receive £500 and a certificate, as well as being invited on an experience trip.
Here is a fun video about preparing for, conducting and presenting a science project at a science fair by Kevin Temmer.
It might be a useful resource for those thinking of presenting their projects at The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair. The deadline for entries for this years fair has passed, but it is never too early to start preparing for next year!
You will be pleased to hear that STEM Outreach’s Christmas event, in association with the Institute of Physics (IOP), was a great success! The event, held at Northumbria University on the 15th Decemeber, featured a fascinating lecture, “How Round is an Electron?” which was delivered by Dr Tarbutt from Imperial College London. Many STEM ambassadors attended along with teachers and members of the scientific community.
STEM Outreach are helping to organise an event at Hebburn Comprehensive School designed to inspire year 9 students about careers before making their subject choices for GCSE.
The event will be running on the 31st January. STEM Ambassadors will be representing their organisations or companies with an interactive talk or activity in 3 rotating sessions. The aim is to inform and inspire students about the amazing STEM related careers available in industry today and in the future.
In a recent survey, carried out by the school, the subjects of Science, Technology and Mathematics rated very highly as favourites amongst both the boys and girls. This career-based event aims to build on these results so that students are better placed to make informed choices in relation to STEM subjects, and where those subjects can take them in the future, having engaged with the STEM Ambassador network.
STEM Challenges are ten activities that have been inspired by London 2012. Each challenge focuses on a different aspect of the preparations for the Olympics.
The deadline to register for STEM challenge 9 is quickly approaching. The challenge, presented by STEMNET and the Paralympic Torch Relay Team, is challenging 11-14 year olds to create a spark to light the Paralympic Flame by the energy of human endeavour. Teams have the chance to win exclusive access to a Paralympic Torch Relay Challenge plus cash prizes to buy equipment for their STEM Club!
The Challenge is to design a spectacular human-powered invention for creating the spark which lights the Paralympic Flame. For the Challenge entries, pupils must produce a design for their device and present to a panel of judges. Pupils will need to provide enough evidence to convince the judges that their invention will work.
The deadline for team registration for STEM Challenge 9 is Monday 23rd January at 5pm, and local judging sessions will take place on the 20th to 28th February.
The final STEM challenge will be launched on the 27th February so keep your eyes peeled for that too!
For a fact sheet, videos and information on how to enter your school click here.
Biology Challenge is an online competition for schools which takes place between Monday 5th and Friday 23rd March. It consists of two 30 minute papers to provide schools with flexibility and maximise participation. It aims to encourage an interest in biology beyond the school curriculum. Gold, Silver and Bronze Award Certificates will be posted to schools and top scoring pupils will be presented with prizes at an awards ceremony at the Royal Society, in London.
The competition is open to all pupils in Year 9 and 10 in England and Wales, Year 10 and 11 in Northern Ireland and S2 and S3 in Scotland. Registration closes on 31st January 2012.
Full details and a registration form can be found at the Biology Olympiad website here.
British Biology Olympiad
The British Biology Olympiad is open to students aged 16 and over from all over the UK. The first round of the 2012 Olympiad will take place from Monday 6th February to Friday 10th February. This round will consist of a multiple choice paper taken online in schools. The paper will test the majority of UK specifications and contain a few questions on topics beyond. Registration closes on 17th January 2012.
One hundred top scoring students will be chosen to take part in the second round between Monday 27th February and Friday 2nd March. Following this, 16 students will be invited to take part in the finals at the University of Birmingham, School of Biosciences, from Sunday 1st April to Wednesday 4th April. The top four students from the final will represent the UK at the International Biology Olympiad in Singapore!
Full details and a registration form can be found here.
The Association for Science Education (ASE) are holding their annual conference starting tomorrow (Wednesday 4th January) until Saturday 7th January 2012. The conference is a major event for those wishing to continue their professional development in areas of science education and is free entry to the exhibition.
The event is held at the University of Liverpool. Online bookings are now closed but you can still register on the day, at the conference.
Details on how to register, where to find the conference, and a list of workshops, talks, seminars and more can be found on the ASE website here.
