Archive

STEM Club Video Guides 6: Tips for Success

In this guide: Positive approaches to running STEM Clubs and general tips for running a successful STEM Club.

Challenges

STEM Club Video Guides 5: Funding

This guide shows you how to go about the important issue of funding, how to run a STEM Clubs with next to nothing, and the possible sources of finance for your STEM Club

Ways to Fund Your Club

Running a Club on a Shoestring

STEM Club Video Guides 4: Who Can Contribute

This guide shows how students can be involved in STEM Clubs, and how STEM Clubs can also benefit from STEM Ambassadors and other volunteers.

Involving Students

Involving External Volunteers

STEM Club Video Guides 3: Reaping the Rewards

This guide will give you an idea of the impact STEM Clubs have on achievement, some opportunities for staff CPD, and the awards and competitions STEM Clubs can engage in.

Awards and Competitions

Life Skills

Academic Achievement

Professional Development

STEM Club Video Guides 2: Identity, impact and profile

This series of films will give you an idea of how to create your club identity, extend the impact of your club, and working with other schools and your local community.

Your Club Identity

Working With Other Schools

Involving the Wider School

Working With Your Local Community

STEM Club Video Guides 1: Setting up a STEM Club

In this guide: STEMNET highlight what you would need to consider when setting up your club, and show a range of different approaches.

The Benefits of setting up a STEM Club

Working across STEM

Who will be your STEM Club members

Practical considerations

What to do and how to do it

New Biology Resources

Six new practical biology activities to engage students in Biology topics, from developing super-strength glue to investigating the decline of conker trees.

The activities are designed to enhance the curriculum, covering areas not supported by existing resources. They were developed with STEM Ambassadors in mind, and include guidance on introducing the topic, how to present the activity, structuring the session, equipment lists and health and safety notes.

The activities explore the following topics, providing STEM Ambassadors and teachers with guidance on introducing the topic, how to present the activity, structuring the session, equipment lists and health and safety notes:

• Colour questions – what happens when coloured substances are mixed with oil and water?
• Improving glue – can we develop a stronger glue?
• Eat your greens – can we stop food from going off but still keep it tasty and nutritious?
• Exploding cells – why can’t the concentration of our body fluids change?
• Take your medicine – why are there so many different kinds of pills?
• Save our conkers – what’s happening to our conker trees? Will they survive?

The six resources are also available as pdfs from the STEMNET website, from the STEMNetworking Resource Bank, and from the STEMNET TES site.

Brainwave Space Technology Teacher CPD – 20 March 2013

Free STEM event for secondary science teachers.
NETPark Sedgefield
20 March 2013

More Details Here

Booking: n.l.hall@durham.ac.uk 0191 370 6200

A full day event for teachers at NETPark, Sedgefield, County Durham. The theme is Space Technology and purpose of the day is to enhance the teachers’ subject knowledge in this area and increase awareness of STEM careers.

The day is structured around workshops delivered by scientists and engineers which will provide the teachers with ideas for activities which will engage students with the STEM curriculum. Teachers will receive free resources to take away which they will be able to use in Science lessons or for STEM clubs. You will also have the opportunity to discuss STEM careers informally with practising scientists and engineers.

The workshops include making a robot, a spectrometer and landing a virtual Mars Rover. There will also be an engaging talk by a US Space Scientist who has worked with NASA.

STEM Directories – £500 grants available

Activity providers

The STEM Directories are an online resource to help teachers find Enhancement & Enrichment activities across the UK to support their teaching. It contains information about activities delivered in-school as well as trips that schools can make and challenges, competitions and summer schools. STEM Directories have over 300 schemes live on the site, but are keen to make the resource as comprehensive and useful to teachers as possible. As an added bonus, we provide 30 grants a year of £500 to teachers in English state schools, and more £500 grants for Maths teachers UK-wide who select a scheme listed on the STEM Directories site. If you’re not already listed, it’s an easy process and you will become eligible for teachers to apply to spend £500 on your scheme. The closing dates for these rounds of grants are 20 March 2013 and 22 March 2013.

To register, visit www.stemdirectories.org.uk/login/?action=register

And for more information about the grants, go to www.stemdirectories.org.uk/teacher-faqs

Teachers

The STEM Directories provide information about ways to support and extend your science, engineering, design and mathematics teaching. Some schemes bring exciting activities into your school, others can provide a memorable day out for your students or a nationwide competition to help motivate your science club. They might involve bringing a real scientist, engineer or mathematician into the classroom, give your students access to equipment not readily available or simulate real-life applications of science and technology. Many schemes can provide supporting teaching materials to help get the most of the activity.
STEM Directories also offer grants of up to £500 available for you to have a STEM Enrichment activity take place at your school in 2013. The closing dates for these rounds of grants are the are 20 March 2013 and 22 March 2013.

For more information about the grants, and to apply, please visit
www.stemdirectories.org.uk/teacher-faqs

Funding to bring your STEM Club to Big Bang 2013

The Big Bang Fair 2013
London’s ExCeL Centre
14-17th March 2013.

With over 65,000 people expected on site across the 4 day event, The Big Bang is now the largest single celebration of Science & Engineering for young people in the UK. As the Fair extends to four days for 2013, they are expanding the Club Showcase to over 150 clubs to form the largest showcase of its type in the country.

A club can be selected to:
A) Compete in a clubs competition held Thursday 14th and Friday 15th March 2013 with awards handed out at the National Awards Ceremony on the evening of Friday 14th (school and college days) in the ExCeL Auditorium including UK Club of the Year.
B) Participate in the UK Showcase on the Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th March (Family days) and be eligible for People’s Choice Awards presented on Sunday 17th March 2013.
C) A combination of A and B Compete and Participate for all four days Thursday 14th to Sunday 17th March 2013
To be eligible for either of the above the club must participate for at least two days (Thursday and Friday or Saturday and Sunday). Any club available for all four days will be eligible for both.

The clubs selected will receive:
Food vouchers per day
A clubs show box
Access for all students to book into activities at The Fair
Participation certificates for all students participating

Please note clubs will be able to participate for one day but will only be eligible for:
£50 worth of food vouchers per day
Access for all students to book into activities at The Fair
Participation certificates for all students participating

Club Bursaries
All clubs selected will be provided access to apply for a bursary for travel and accommodation. The link to the online bursary application process will be provided to clubs upon notification that their application was successful.

Please note that bursaries are only available to clubs that prove they have exhausted all reasonable attempts to obtain the funding elsewhere. This includes, school funds, Parents and Teachers Associations, Local Education Authorities, local businesses and education charities. Evidence of formal written requests and refusals or part funding offered will be required as part of your submission.

If your club will require funding to participate we strongly suggest all clubs begin this process of application prior to the formal application link being provided in December. Please note that the bursary application deadline will be Friday 25th January and all evidence will need to be submitted by this date in order to be considered for a full or partial bursary.

More information contact clubs@thebigbangfair.co.uk

More info here: www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/stemclubs

£1500 grants for physics engagement

Institute of Physics’ Public Engagement Grant Scheme 2013 – Round 1

Do you have a fantastic idea for making physics accessible? Do you want to reach a wider audience? Do you need some support to make your outreach activity happen?

The first round of the 2013 Public Engagement Grant from the Institute of Physics is now open for applications. The grants are worth up to £1500 and aim to support physics-based outreach activities in the UK and Ireland throughout 2013. Activities should provide engaging experiences of physics to public audiences.

More information about the grant scheme, including application forms, guidelines and summaries of past projects, is available online at http://www.iop.org/about/grants/outreach/page_38843.html, or by emailing physics.society@iop.org.

Closing date: 22 October 2012.

STEM Challenge 10 Winners Announced

The "A-team" from the All Hallows Catholic High School, Lancashire, have lived up to their name to become winners of STEM Challenge 10, the last competition in a successful series ahead of London 2012. They had the most innovative and exciting plan for a local sporting event, created using their maths and science skills.

Cisco, STEMNET and the Pearson Foundation challenged students to consider the venue, location, sport, resources, facilities and equipment to plan a large scale, accessible and sustainable event in their home area.

The finalists presented a Dragon’s Den style pitch to a panel of expert judges on 6 July at Cisco House, London, overlooking the Olympic Park in Stratford. The judging was based on the core Values of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement: excellence, friendship, respect, courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

From blind football to an aquatics centre, all of the finalist schools embraced and excelled in the Challenge. Despite extremely tough competition, the All Hallows Catholic High School stood out through their excellent data analysis surrounding their swimming venue. It was inspired from a love of circles and presented with nails reflecting the Olympics colours.

STEM Challenges are a series of competitions designed to encourage young people aged 11-16 to use the skills learnt in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics lessons to think and work creatively about the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. STEMNET (The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network) works in partnership with major organisations to nationally manage each Challenge for UK Secondary Schools.

Nearly 200 UK state-maintained secondary school teams took part in this final Challenge and were put through a rigorous regional judging process, in which eight teams made it through to the final:

• All Hallows Catholic High School, Lancashire
• Angley School, Kent and Medway
• Kendrick School, Surrey and rest of Berkshire
• Perins School, Hampshire and Isle of Wight
• South Axholme School, Humberside
• The Elton High School, Greater Manchester
• The Gryphon School, Wiltshire, Swindon and Dorset
• Woodham Community Technology College, County Durham and Tees Valley

The winning team won £2500 for their school’s STEM Club and eight tickets for Olympic Hockey. Second place was awarded to Woodham Technology Community College who received £1000 for their STEM Club and eight tickets for Olympic Canoeing whilst the third place team from South Axholme Academy were awarded £500 for their STEM Club and eight tickets for Olympic Rowing. The Elton High School were also Highly Commended by the judges for an excellent use of research, sources and surveys.

STEM Challenge 10 forms part of Cisco’s "Out of the blocks" project which gives schools the chance to explore the events and venues of London 2012 whilst practising maths and science skills. More information about the "Out of the blocks Maths and Science Series 2012" project can be found at www.mathsandscience2012.co.uk.

Jelly Baby Wave at Boldon School STEM Club

STEM Outreach recently visited Boldon School’s STEM club where students helped to build a jelly baby wave machine and learned about light waves, reflection and refraction. Hannah and David obviously breaking the stereotype of white coats and goggles as one of the students remarked, “You look more like you’re from a rock band than scientists.” \m/ To build the tasty wave machine they used gaffa-tape, kebab skewers and jelly babies.

Students tested the wave machine by moving a jelly baby skewer at one end of the machine; setting off a Mexican-wave of jelly babies across the length of tape.

They then got to “test” the jelly babies by eating half of them. A wave was set off along the tape again but with one half stripped of jelly babies. This simulated a wave travelling from a dense (with jelly babies) to less dense medium (without jelly babies). The students observed changes to the wave as it passed along the length of the tape and explained what was happening.

To round off the session, Hannah and David talked about refraction and how refracted light allows you to see transparent objects such as clear glass. Students were amazed by glass objects “disappearing” in a beaker of glycerol (which has the same refractive index as glass).

The wave machine will be making another appearance this weekend at Newcastle Community Green Festival where STEM Outreach will be appearing with STEM Ambassadors as “Science Pirates” to communicate some of the amazing science research happening in and around the North East alongside some great bands, crafts and food. Event details here.

K’Nex Challenge Day

Wednesday 11 July 2012

St Thomas More School, in North Tyneside, is offering a select number of schools the opportunity to be involved in a fantastic day. This is for four Year 9 students from your school that may be interested in pursuing a career in civil, mechanical, design engineering or maths industry.

Teams of four will be competing against 19 other local schools using expert advice from industry specialists. An accompanying teacher (from a Maths, Science or Technology background) is also invited to attend a STEM Club CPD session to learn about and test the type of activities you could run with a small group of students in your school. You will be involved with the Athlete or Machine training, a session informing you about free STEMNET resources that are available and you will have the opportunity to be involved with a STEM Ambassador activity.

Lunch will be provided for teachers, please ask student to bring a packed lunch. Please email Jonathan Powell (JPowell@stmschool.org.uk) with subject heading CHALLENGE DAY to book your place.

National Science and Engineering Week Events – North East England

Here’s a quick run-down of National Science and Engineering Week events open to the public and schools in the North East. Click on the links to view full descriptions of the events

National Science & Engineering Week: Events and activities for everyone, 9–18 March 2012

In 2012, National Science & Engineering Week explores “our world in motion.”

National Science & Engineering Week shines the spotlight each March on how science, technology, engineering and maths relate to our everyday lives and helps to inspire the next generation of scientists with fun and participative activities.

With over 4,500 events and activities attended by 1.7 million people in 2011 and generating over £1m in press coverage, this is the UK’s widest grassroots celebration of all things science and engineering. You can join the celebration by attending an event or taking part in our national activities.

EWB-UK Outreach Workshops

Date(s): 23rd February 2012 (21:00) to 31st December 2012 (21:00)

Behind the Scenes Tours of the Natural Science Stores
Date(s): 17th March 2012 (10:00) to 17th March 2012 (11:30)
Date(s): 17th March 2012 (11:00) to 17th March 2012 (12:30)

Lecture: Evolution, Extinction and The Lost Humans
Date(s): 15th March 2012 (18:00) to 15th March 2012 (19:00)

Saving the Spoon-Billed Sandpiper
Date(s): 13th March 2012 (19:00) to 13th March 2012 (20:15)

Tackling Species Extinction
Date(s): 12th March 2012 (19:00) to 12th March 2012 (20:15)

Red Kite Ramble
Date(s): 10th March 2012 (10:00) to 10th March 2012 (13:00)

A Great Late Night
Date(s): 10th March 2012 (18:00) to 10th March 2012 (22:00)

The Engineering Challenges of Sustainable Transport
Date(s): 14th March 2012 (18:15) to 14th March 2012 (20:30)

Designing the Dynamic
Date(s): 8th March 2012 (09:00) to 15th March 2012 (17:00)

ScienceFest Weekender
Date(s): 10th March 2012 (10:00) to 11th March 2012 (18:00)

Armstrong the Electrical Wizard
Date(s): 14th March 2012 (11:00) to 14th March 2012 (13:00)
Date(s): 14th March 2010 (14:00) to 14th March 2010 (16:00)

Nature Party at Moorbank Botanic Garden
Date(s): 11th March 2012 (14:00) to 11th March 2012 (17:00)

Newcastle ScienceFest12
Date(s): 8th March 2012 (10:00) to 15th March 2012 (22:00)

Undress: Redress
Date(s): 8th February 2012 (09:00) to 7th April 2012 (23:00)

A Real CSI/Forensic Science Investigation
Date(s): 12th March 2012 (08:00) to 23rd March 2012 (15:00)

Behind the Scenes: Hydro Walk
Date(s): 15th March 2012 (11:00) to 15th March 2012 (13:00)

Just Add Water
Date(s): 11th March 2012 (11:00) to 11th March 2012 (15:00)
Date(s): 17th March 2012 (11:00) to 17th March 2012 (15:00)

CSI Forensic Science Investigation Workshop KS2, KS3, KS4
Date(s): 9th March 2012 (09:00) to 18th March 2012 (16:00)

The Thomas Hepburn
Date(s): 15th March 2012 (10:00) to 15th March 2012 (17:00)

Rocks from Space
Date(s): 16th March 2012 (19:30) to 16th March 2012 (21:00)

Night Sky Observing
Date(s): 16th March 2012 (21:00) to 16th March 2012 (22:30)
Date(s): 16th March 2012 (21:00) to 16th March 2012 (22:30)

Cleveland & Darlington Astronomical Society Meeting
Date(s): 9th March 2012 (19:15) to 9th March 2012 (21:00)

£5000 awards available from the IET

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is committed to promoting enthusiasm and understanding of STEM subjects in young people and, as part of this commitment, offers funding to support local education projects.

The IET Education Fund is an annual fund, and will be accepting bids for funding from 1 January 2012 to 9 March 2012 for projects taking place 1 May 2012 to 30 April 2013. Awards of up to £5000 can be offered. Eligible projects must help to engage UK-based students aged 5-19 with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) subjects, and projects must involve more than one educational establishment. For more information and an application pack, please go to http://www.theiet.org/fund

A CPD course for STEM Club leaders

The Engineering in STEM Clubs CPD will be taking place on Thursday 8th December 4.00pm-6.00pm at Science Learning Centre North East. If you would like to attend please click the following link to register. http://stemcpdframwellgate.eventbrite.com/  Places are limited so please register asap.

Please note that all schools who attend the CPD will receive a free resource, ‘Engineering in a Box’ that contains hard copies of the resources produced by the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a selection of specialist resources worth over £75 to support the delivery of engineering in your STEM Club.

A STEM Ambassador who is an engineer that has worked in industry and now works with young people will be involved in the session.

Engineering in STEM Club Course Details

This free course is intended for anyone who is currently running or is considering running a STEM or STEM-related club (e.g. a science club, maths club etc.) and would like to include more Engineering into their programme of activities.

The session looks at creating positive images of engineering, and breaking down negative stereotypes to highlight the diverse and creative elements of engineering. It also offers a selection of activity ideas and access to support resources. The session has been developed with the specialist and non specialist in mind.

Come along, network with club leaders, get plenty of activity ideas and develop your club.

Light refreshments will be provided.

This course is offered free of charge through the Engineering Engagement Project from the Royal Academy of Engineering. By applying and accepting a place on this course your school will be automatically be signed up to the Engineering Engagement project mailing list. For more information visit www.raeng.org.uk/eenp

Source: Framwellgate School Durham

STEM Challenge 9 – The Paralympic Torch Relay Challenge

STEMNET and the Paralympic Torch Relay Team are challenging 11-14 year olds to create a spark to light the Paralympic Flame by the energy of human endeavour.

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.

For more information go to: www.stemchallenges.net

4×4 in Schools

What is the 4×4 in Schools Technology Challenge?

The challenge is aimed at young people aged 11 – 19 years old (key stages 3, 4 and 5), and involves 3 to 6 team members working together to design and build a radio controlled 4-wheel-drive (4×4) vehicle to set specifications, that can successfully negotiate a specially designed test track that emulates that of real life and what a full scale 4×4 vehicle can do. Teams entering the challenge will spend a number of weeks designing, researching, building and project managing their 4×4 vehicle to enter it into a regional heat to compete against other schools from their area. Regional winners will be selected via a judging process to go through to the National Final where they will compete again but this time against the other regional winners to challenge to become the 4×4 in school Technology Challenge UK National Champions.

Registration for the 4×4 in Schools Technology Challenge 2011/12 season is now open and the 2011/12 Rules & Regulations and Challenge Handbook are now available to download from the 4×4 in Schools website. I am delighted to announce that following the success and high standard of entry from the 2010/11 season, the 2011/12 Regional Finals will be held in February (dates T.B.C) and the UK National Final will be held at the Big Bang Fair on Thursday 15th March 2012 at the Birmingham NEC.

For more visit: www.4x4inschools.co.uk/

STEM Club launch in Morpeth

STEM Club launch in Morpeth – event for STEM club enthusiasts!

Date: Monday 6th June 2011
Time: 3.30-5.30pm
School: King Edward VI (KEVI) school in Morpeth (NE61 1DN)

The session is free and it will give you an idea of how a STEM Club could be run. The session forms part of the school’s launch event for their STEM Club and will give you a real example of how it can be achieved. There will be a practical session for the students on how silver kills bacteria and you are more than welcome to come and observe and ask questions. There will be a free STEM Club support available.

This session will also give you an opportunity to meet to your local STEM Ambassadors coordinator who can organise local STEM experts’ visits in your school.

Newcastle Science City Showcase event

A celebration of the innovative science happening in our region

Venue: Scotswood Suite, Centre for Life, Times Square, Newcastle upon Tyne
Date: 17 May 2011
Time: 12noon – 5pm

Newcastle is a proud city of science. Driving forward the development of electric vehicles, playing a leading role in identifying causes and prevention of Alzheimer’s and pioneering cutting-edge stem cell research into the diagnosis and treatment of cancer – just some of the innovative science activities that are happening right here in Newcastle.

To showcase these activities Newcastle Science City are bringing the city’s science excellence to life under one roof, at the International Centre for Life on 17 May between 12noon and 5pm. The venue will come alive with a vibrant exhibition of the work happening across our region giving schoolchildren and the local community the chance to meet with scientists and get behind their discoveries through models, films, presentations, even taking part in a real-life experiment!

On the day we’ll be joined by special guest Steve Mould, Blue Peter’s resident scientist, who will be bringing science to life using his unique, engaging style that has won the hearts of children and adults alike.

This event is a must for anyone studying science at school, thinking of a career in a scientific area or those who simply enjoy seeing science in action!

If your school would like to attend please provide; your school name, how many children you will be bringing and your estimated time of arrival at the event via email to helen.mcloughlin@newcastlesciencecity.com

(Please note it is anticipated that each school will need 1.5 hours to see the exhibition in full)

Institute of Physics’ Public Engagement Grant Scheme 2011

Do you have a fantastic idea for making physics accessible? Do you want to reach a wider audience? Do you need some support to make your outreach activity happen?

The second round of the 2011 Public Engagement Grant Scheme from the Institute of Physics is now open for applications. The grants are worth up to £1000 and aim to support physics-based outreach activities in the UK and Ireland throughout 2011. Activities should provide engaging experiences of physics for public audiences.

More information about the grant scheme, including application forms, guidelines and summaries of past projects, is available online at www.iop.org/activity/outreach/ or by emailing physics.society@iop.org

The closing date for applications is 2 May 2011.

OPAL Climate Roadshow

The Open Air Laboratories network (OPAL) is launching a new Climate Survey this March, and as part of the launch OPAL North East will be hosting the OPAL Climate Roadshow for one week only.

The Roadshow will be a great opportunity to learn more about our changing climate and weather systems, through exciting hands-on experiments and activities. With the help of professional meteorologists, visitors will explore the science behind the weather, and gain a better understanding of the impact that a changing climate may have on our everyday lives.

For those who already work in relevant areas, the Roadshow can help to inspire new ways of communicating important climate issues to the wider public, and will be an excellent opportunity to discuss your thoughts and have your questions answered by our meteorologists.

The Roadshow will run from Monday 14th until Friday 18th March at the Claremont Quad, Claremont Road. Monday and Friday are open to all to drop-in and take part in the Roadshow Activities, any time from 10am-5pm.

There are also have a limited number of private sessions available for booking by groups (max. 35). Each session runs for 90 minutes and will be led by the meteorologists and OPAL NE Education officers. Slots available are:

Tuesday 15th March: 14.30-16.00
Wednesday 16th March: 14.30-16.00
Thursday 17th March: 9.00-10.30

For more information or to book a session for your group please contact Chloe Booth at chloe.booth@newcastle.ac.uk

Meet the Land Speed Record Holder

The Leaders Award for STEM and BLOODHOUND SSC invite you to…

Meet and Interview Wing Commander Andy Green
the World Land Speed Record Holder!

Introducing Wing Commander Andy Green, the man who is aiming to break the world land speed record by driving the BLOODHOUND SSC car to 1000 mph!

Andy Green already holds the current World land speed record of just over 763 mph and was the first person ever to break the sound barrier on land!

This is your chance to bring Andy Green into your school and interview him as part of the Leaders and Reporters Award for STEM!

Give your students an insight into the BLOODHOUND SSC Project whilst they learn about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics!

What questions would you ask?

How to enter:

1. Schools must register with the Leaders Award by clicking here.
2. A joint letter from students about why Andy Green should come into their school!
3. A covering letter from the Head teacher/ teacher.
4. All letters to be sent electronically to editor@leadersaward.com

Andy will review the letters and visit the schools with the most persuasive argument!

For further information visit: Leaders Award Website

Closing date: 30th May 2011

RMetS launches theWeather Club

The Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) launched “theWeather Club” in September 2010. theWeather Club is the public outreach arm of RMetS, where general public members can become part of a community in which the weather is something to be celebrated, enjoyed and talked about. To enthuse people with a passing interest in the weather with stories about exciting, often dramatic, occasionally sublime weather from around the world. A recent survey in the UK revealed that the average Briton spends an astonishing six months out of their lives talking about the weather so this club is appealing to an eager audience.

Membership includes a free Galileo thermometer, a quarterly magazine called “theWeather,” full access to website content, weather forums and a great range of discounts on weather related products, weather postcards, a collectable A-Z of weather and a membership card,.

The launch of theWeather Club was marked by a project called “The Great British Weather Experiment,” during September and October to help study the arrival of autumn. The study is the largest of its kind in UK with hundreds of people taking thousands of observations of weather, temperature and rainfall. The results can be found on theWeather Club website. The launch also included a tour of Britain in a VW campervan called Daphne, visiting 16 cities in 8 days and encouraging schools and individuals to participate in the experiment.

Dr Liz Bentley, founder theWeather Club, said: “theWeather Club is for all those who appreciate the weather for all its wonders. Its beauty, its power, its fragility, its occasional absurdity, and deep fundamental influence it has upon us all. It will allow us to come together and share our obsession with the weather.” To find out more about theWeather Club visit www.theWeatherClub.org.uk

World Water Day

Tuesday 22 March 2011

On the 22nd March, all over the world, people will be celebrating World Water Day.  Newcastle College, Kenton School and the Climate Change Schools Project would like to invite your school to be involved in an event to raise awareness of water issues around the world.

Your KS2 students will have the opportunity to participate in workshops led by sixth form students about different water issues including flooding, climate change adaptation, water scarcity and clean water. We recommend that you bring between 5 and 10 students to the event who can then go back to your school and share what they have learnt.

The event is half a day and is free to attend.

There is the opportunity to register for either the morning session or the afternoon session:
Morning: 9.30 am – 11.30am
Afternoon: 12.30pm – 2.30pm

In each session students will get to participate in two interactive workshops.

A number of sample teaching resources will be available for teachers to look at from a number of organisations including WaterAid, Oxfam and Northumbria Water.

Where:
Kenton School
Drayton Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE3 3RU

The event is going to be really fantastic and an excellent opportunity for your students.

To register to attend or for more information contact SCENE at:

scene@ncl-coll.ac.uk or on 01912004453 or visit the website at www.scenelink.org

The Wetsuit Challenge in Sunderland

Take 12 students from Thornhill School (STEM Club members) add one STEM Ambassador as an expert (Dave Burton from Siemens) and give them a full day to face the Wetsuit Challenge. The outcome? A completely new wetsuit design for a paratriathlete Jimmy Goddard!

STEM Challenges (www.stemchallenges.net) are series of competitions that have been inspired by London 2012. Each Challenge will focus on a different aspect of the preparations or the event itself. The Challenge number 5 was to design a new wetsuit for Jimmy, a British paratriathlete who is paralysed from the chest down. He can’t move his legs, but still swims and takes part in triathlon!

Year 9 students from Thornhill started their work one week before the final took place. They met with their teacher Daniel Abraham every day after school to discuss the Challenge and even used own initiative to phone companies and got some samples of materials!

The real Challenge started on Monday 7th February at 9am. After few brainstorms and online research they came out with some brilliant ideas! Students had to finish their work and came up with the final design by 2pm when a judging session with 3 STEM Ambassadors began.

2 teams with 6 students each presented final outcomes in front of the judging panel and answered questions related to their projects. The judges were impressed with “incredible clear & well-rehearsed presentations” and the fact that both teams “knew exactly what they were talking about” plus had “great use of ICT”. The final scores for the teams were very high: first – 114 and second – 127 (out of 150 points). The judges said at the end: “All members were enthusiastic, worked really well as a team and seemed to respect each other. Well done!”

Students also entered Bronze CREST Award with their Wetsuit project. They finished the day at 3.30pm and everyone (students and judges) went home happy!

The Big Bang North East 2011

Excite, Inspire, Celebrate…

The Big Bang North East 2011
New College Durham, 12 July 2011

Book Now!

Join us for a celebration of science, engineering and maths in the North East
- Enter pupil project work to win cash prizes and places at The Big Bang 2012
- Bring a group of pupils for a fun, exciting and inspirational day out

Enter the Competition
Do your pupils have science, engineering or maths project work they want to show off? The Big Bang North East includes the regional heats for Young Engineers for Britain, CREST awards and the National Science & Engineering Competition. There is over £1500 prize money up for grabs and the best 10 projects will win a place at the prestigious national fair, The Big Bang 2012.
Find out more and register here www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/northeast

Visit the fair
Bring a group of pupils for a fun, FREE, day out. Visit the fair for a full, or half, day and enjoy an exciting science show, hands-on workshops and inspirational talks from young people who have succeeded in STEM. Groups will also tour the competition stands – perhaps it will inspire them enter The Big Bang North East in 2012!
Find out more and book here www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/northeast

Places for the competition and visitors are limited so register now to make sure you don’t miss out. www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/northeast

Grid Computing

Wednesday 15th December 2010 at 19:00 (refreshments from 18:30)

Presented by R L Warrender - Senior Lecturer, University of Sunderland

The University of Sunderland Cluster Computer (USCC) is an example of what can be built using commodity components for the creation of a high performance computer cluster. Built just over three years ago, the USCC uses 160 Intel ‘Woodcrest’ Cores running in 40 compute nodes and can be booted into either Windows or Linux operating systems.

The talk will focus on three key areas:
a) The system architecture and construction – size really matters!

b) Examples of recent uses being made of the system – how effective is the USCC?

c) The development of teaching resources for use by staff and students interested in applications to be run on the USCC.

In addition to the talk, attendees will also get the chance to visit the facility and see a variety of visual applications running on the cluster.

The talk will be given by R L Warrender, who is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Computing at the University of Sunderland. As well as teaching within the Computing Department, he is also studying for his Professional Doctorate developing a Framework for Efficient Cluster Computing Services in a Collaborative University Environment.

The tour of the USCC facility and demonstration will be given by Professor John Tindle who designed the USCC system.

The meeting will be held in room 007, Prospect Building. This is building 41 on the map of the St. Peter’s campus.

If driving do not forgot to print the Car Park Notice to receive free car parking at the University.

For more information please contact Adam Moss at ADAM.MOSS@CHILDMAINTENANCE.GSI.GOV.UK

Electric Car Racing event

Electric car racing event – Wednesday 6 July 2011 at Croft Circuit, Darlington

Your school is invited to participate in this exciting Greenpower electric car racing event. Your school still has time to get involved, to design, build and race an electric car.

Greenpower is dedicated to promoting engineering and technology as a career option to students aged 9 to 25 in any form of full or part-time education. This is achieved through unique hands on projects to design, build and race an electric car, with the support of an engineering ambassador.

By taking part in the competition, all participants are given an insight into the real, tangible world of science and engineering. The competition is very popular, which stands as a testament to its unique approach to engineering and its ability to bring together and excite young people from a variety of different areas and backgrounds.

Not only does Greenpower approach the idea of science and engineering from a less mainstream direction than normal lessons or after school clubs, it also encourages creativity and most importantly enthusiasm and cooperation in problem solving invaluable skills for any young person. For the school getting involved will bring the following:

-          A project which can be used to enhance the engineering diploma or CREST award or other STEM activities.

-          Links with Mechanical, Electrical and Design engineers as mentors.

-          National and regional recognition.

-          A visit to North east school that has already taken part to share experience.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers is delighted to offer continued support to Greenpower. Participation in this exciting challenge requires teamwork, engineering skills, commitment and enthusiasm.

If you are willing to give your students a brilliant opportunity to get involved in a project like this and would like to receive more information about how to enter this Websites:

Institution of Mechanical Engineers – http://imeche.org/ Greenpower

http://www.greenpower.co.uk/ 

Email: info@greenpower.co.uk 

Tel: 01243 552305

If you would like to enter the competition then please contact Julie Harrison on 07899 050767 or email julieharrison@a4e.co.uk.

Please note: pupils will also be able to attend that are not participating in the actual design and build programme. Further details about this will be sent to schools nearer to the time.

 NORTH EAST REGION In partnership with IMechE North East

F1 in Schools Curriculum Resource

It prepares students for the F1 in Schools Technology Challenge, a multi-disciplinary contest in which teams of students use computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacture (CAM) software to design, analyse, manufacture, test and then race miniature balsa wood racing cars powered by compressed gas.

Intended to develop students’ interest in, and knowledge of, engineering and design, the ‘F1 in Schools Curriculum Resource’ enables schools to run a cross-curricular project. It is an excellent way to move STEM work from after-school clubs to timetabled classroom activities, and thereby give STEM more prominence in school life.

The resource is provided online, and an annual subscription costs just £295+VAT per school. Discounts are available if several schools purchase together; please contact us for further details. You can also encourage schools in your area to subscribe by sending them the following link to an information site, which is at: http://www.parsonpublishing.co.uk/fscr/ 

To view a brief demonstration of the ‘F1 in Schools Curriculum Resource’ (Bloodhound SSC), enter the user name ‘demo’ and the password ‘password’ at: http://fscr.pearson.co.uk 

To subscribe, a school should print out, complete and return the order form provided at: http://www.pearsonpublishing.co.uk/fscr/subscribe

This edition of the ‘F1 in Schools Curriculum Resource’ is for the 9-14 age group and Bloodhound SSC level of the challenge; subsequent editions for the F1 Class level will be available shortly.

To express your interest in editions for the 11-14 or 15-19 age group at the F1 Class level of the challenge, or for any other queries about the ‘F1 in Schools Curriculum Resource’, please email fscr@pearson.co.uk or call 01223 350555.

Pearson Publishing

Tel 01223 350555

Fax 01223 356484

www.pearsonpublishing.co.uk

Oceans of Opportunity – Your Future in Science and Technology

Careers fair Wednesday, 1st December 2010

Lindisfarne Room, Main Campus, Newcastle University

You and your students (Year 10 – 13) ar invited to the Oceans of Opportunity Careers fair on Wednesday, 1st December 2010 at the Lindisfarne Room, Newcastle University.

The event is an opportunity for  pupils to participate in a suite of stimulating interactive activities that bring science and technology learning to life. A wide range of high profile STEM companies and employers will be represented at the event with many challenging and exciting careers showcased. While all careers represented are in science and engineering, many also have a focus on the marine sector, a field that a lot of young people will have not considered.

Schools can book a choice of two free activities from a choice of 4, participate in an engaging debate, have the opportunity to win prizes and resources, and find out more about the fantastic careers and courses on offer.

There are a number of different options available to your school/college:

The options are:

• Attend the morning session (10am-1pm) : participate in two hands-on activities, speak to organisations and companies at the Careers Exhibition, and be involved in the debate.
• Attend the afternoon session (12-3pm): participate in two hands-on activities, speak to organisations and companies at the Careers Exhibition, and be involved in the debate.
• Participate in Careers Exhibition only – from 10.00am-12noon
• Participate in Careers Exhibition only – from 1.00pm-3.00pm

Please contact Annie Cunningham at annie.cunningham@ncl.ac.uk or Tel: 0191 222 3066 to register your attendance. See also this link http://www.ncl.ac.uk/marine/learning/inspiringoceans/.

Oceans of Opportunity – Your Future in Science and Technology

The Oceans of Opportunity event is being held on Wednesday 1^st December 2010 at Newcastle University. It will be attended by an estimated 600-700 pupils aged 15-18yrs, from schools and colleges around the NE region and further afield.

Schools can sign up to a range of stimulating, interactive activities that bring science learning to life, participate in an engaging debate, and find out more about the fantastic careers and courses on offer. A wide range of high profile companies and employers will be represented at the event with many challenging and exciting careers showcased.

There are a number of different options available to your school/college, as there are different elements that make up the event.

The options are:

• Attend the morning session (10am-1pm) which will include chance to participate in two hands-on activities, the opportunity to speak to organisations and companies offering courses or careers in marine, maritime and science based fields at the Careers Exhibition, and the chance to be involved in the debate.
• Attend the afternoon session (12-3pm), and participating in the activities described above.
• Participate in the Careers Exhibition only – from 10am-12pm
• Participate in the Careers Exhibition only – from 1-3pm

 As part of your session, students will get the opportunity to participate in two activities out of a choice of four.

To ensure your school/college’s participation in the Oceans of Opportunity event, please complete the form below by 4pm on the Tuesday, 2^nd November 2010 and return it to Annie Cunningham at annie.cunningham@ncl.ac.uk or post to Annie Cunningham, Dove Marine Laboratory, School of Marine Science and Technology, Newcastle University, Cullercoats, North Shields, NE30 4PZ.

Please complete the following details to register:

Please number the options below in order of preference, put a cross against any options you cannot attend.

 If you are attending a full morning or afternoon session, please specify your activity preferences below and we will do our best to accommodate your top choices.

If you have any questions or queries please contact Annie Cunningham on the above email address.

The Big Bang 2011 – NSEC

Do you teach some young scientists or engineers who deserve recognition? If they are 11-18 with a great project or invention…enter the National Science & Engineering Competition today. There is over £50,000 of prizes, including cash awards and trips abroad – plus the prestige of winning a high profile competition for your school or college and the teachers involved.

The lucky finalists will be invited to showcase their work to around 24,000 students, teachers, journalists and VIPs visiting The Big Bang: UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair in London in March 2011. Here your students can mix and compete with the country’s best – and gather tips and advice from working scientists and engineers from all fields in business and research. With plenty of individual and team prizes up for grabs, there are lots of opportunities for all students, and the two winning individuals in the senior category will be crowned the UK Young Scientist of the Year and UK Young Engineer of the Year.

Go to www.nationalsciencecompetition.org

Closing date: 31 October 2010.

Young Engineers – Autumn Update

Here’s what Young Engineers have lined up for you in 2010/11:

Clubs – download our NEW Be Engineous activities (age 9-14)
A new activity programme, ‘Be ENGineous’, has been launched in time for the start of the Young Engineers Club year!
‘Be ENGineous’ has been designed to follow on from the ‘Get Them Going’ introductory programme and gives Young Engineers club leaders a ready-made programme to develop the engineering skills of club members that have already had an introduction to engineering. ‘Be ENGineous’ enables club members to progress further by working on more complex scenarios.

The programme provides an exciting mix of activities relating to different branches of engineering. Each activity has been split into 3 stages; the stages are indications of the difficulty levels of the activity:
* Stage 1 – Basic level; step by step instructions to complete the activity.
* Stage 2 – Intermediate level; follows on from stage 1 where students are required to build upon the completed stage 1 activity, not necessarily with instructions.
* Stage 3 – Higher level; students are required to research and develop the final stage of the activity, without instructions.

The activities included in the programme are:
• Hovercraft – General Engineering
• Bath Bombs – Chemical Engineering
• FM Radios – Electrical Engineering
• Water Purification – Civil Engineering
• Putt Putt Boats – Marine Engineering
• Cranes – Mechanical Engineering
• Rambling Robots – Robotic Engineering.

The whole booklet can be downloaded from our Complete Activity programme webpage. The individual activities are also available on the activity bank, and are suitable for using as standalone activities.

Young Engineers is grateful to Tomorrow’s Engineers for supporting the development of this programme.

D&T Show – club members needed! (age 12-14)
Following the success of last year, Young Engineers is again asking its club members (age 12 to14) to join us at the Design & Technology Show at the NEC in Birmingham for one of the days between 18th and 20th November. We are currently confirming the line up of activities we will be offering this year’s club members, but it will be along similar lines to last year’s event which included: trialling a brand new Rapid electronics project, making rocket cars on the Technology Enhancement Programme stand and showcasing their own club activities and taking part in one of our home grown engineering challenges on the Young Engineers stand. Register your interest stating which day you’d like to attend and we’ll send you the programme once its confirmed. Email us to reserve your place.

Showcase your club at national level! (age 12-18)
We are looking for 24 ‘STEM’ clubs who cater for secondary-school level to display their various projects and take part in The Big Bang: UK Young Scientists’ and Engineers’ Fair that is being held 10-12 March 2011 at ICC London ExCeL. This is an opportunity for Young Engineers Clubs who do purely engineering activities or a mix of STEM activities (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).

Not only is this a great way to promote your club members’ talents but you will also have the opportunity to meet lots of celebrities, scientists and engineers. You will also be able to interact with some of the most cutting-edge companies in the UK and to showcase your projects to the UK media. There will also be plenty of opportunity for teacher CPD and networking amongst peers. The fair is a huge event, attracting 22,500 visitors last year. It will be a mass of displays, demonstrations, workshops and floor shows – a truly inspiring occasion for your club members to experience.

Apply by telling us about your club and the fantastic, interesting, unusual and creative projects that you have undertaken and explain why you feel your club will benefit from showcasing your efforts at the Big Bang. Closing date: 31st October 2010.

Application form link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BigBangFairClubShowcaseApplicationForm

The 24 selected clubs will be invited to bring up to 4 students and 1 accompanying adult to exhibit for the full three days of The Big Bang and will receive significant subsidies for travel, accommodation and catering.

You can find out more information about The Big Bang Fair by visiting: http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk

STEM Challenge Days (age 7-16)
“A great day was had by the students and teachers. It went very smoothly and we will recommend it to other schools.” Adrian Stannard, Kelmscott School. It has proved extremely popular in its first year, with over 4000 students experiencing one of our interactive challenge days. We have included some feedback from teachers to help you get a feel for what a STEM Challenge day is really about. 75% teachers gave their day an ‘excellent’ rating, with the other 25% considering it ‘above average’!
Our dedicated team have also included some new challenges for both primary and secondary school students. http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=1260

Meet the Public
This project enables practising engineers to work alongside Young Engineers to engage the general public in inspiring bite-size engineering activities at local Science Festivals, County Shows and other public events across the UK.
Look out for Young Engineers at the next event in Manchester at Manchester Science Festival 19-20 October 2010.

Young Engineer for Britain (age 12-19)
Any student working on their own innovative, creative or novel inventions in either club time, part of the curriculum or as a hobby can gain important recognition for their project as they compete for some absolutely fantastic prizes and awards.
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=66

National Science and Engineering Competition (12-19)
The National Science & Engineering Competition is open to 11-18 year olds in the UK who have completed a project or activity in any field of science, technology, engineering or maths. If you or your team have done an amazing project or invented something new then you should enter!
http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/the_competition.cfm

The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust Engineering Experience (age 16-19)
Selected students take part in a 3-4 day intensive engineering, social and cultural experience visiting international industrial facilities in October 2011. The selection process is simple and is good university/job application practice. The six finalists are selected by telephone/video interview.
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=1178

The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust Teacher’s Award
Details are still being finalised, but there will be a Teacher’s Award at the Big Bang Fair 2011. We will be informing all once we have details of the nomination process.

Other Competitions
For all other Young Engineers Competitions, please keep checking our website for updates when latest competitions will be available.
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=54

Club Activities
Available to Club Network members : (Membership is free – sign up now)
Activity Bank – need inspiration for your next club project? Search this ever growing resource. 11 new activities were added over the Summer between them catering for ages 8 to 16 – thanks to club leaders Caroline Alliston from Blue Coat Technology Club for adding “Bottle Rockets” and “Catapult to Fire a Water Bomb”, Paul Thomas from New Hall School for adding “Nuclear Engineering” and Andrew Bennett from St. Andrew’s Science Club for adding “24hr Clock”.
Don’t forget – we need Club Leaders’ help to keep this amazing resource growing! If you have run an activity which really worked well in your club, please do add it to the Activity Bank so that other clubs can try it also!
Go to Activity Bank
Submit an activity

Club Grant – £50 to £100 available each year
Exclusively available to Club Network members: (Membership is free – sign up now)
Don’t forget we’re keen to get our hands on information for our sponsors on what your club got up to last year. To help us, fill in our 10 minute Club Report – and collect your £50-£100 Club Grant to help you run the club this year! (New clubs can also apply for a Club Grant by telling us what they are planning for the coming year).
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=1122

Local Support Group Grant – £50 to £500 available each year
Exclusively available to Club Network members: (Membership is free – sign up now)
Funding is available to assist clubs who want to work with each other locally – purchasing of shared club resources, local events involving several clubs and joint club industrial visits are all eligible for support. Tell us who you want to work with, or ask us to put you in touch with clubs in your area.
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=1294

Club Leadership Awards
Exclusively available to Club Network members: Is there an adult helper, company contact, or even student mentor whom you’d like to thank for their club support?
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=139

Club Registration for 2010/11
Club Network members take note: Our club member numbers have been zeroed ready for you to enter this year’s figures, so please update your Club Profile with the number of students attending your club this year. Maintaining up to date membership information is an important element of keeping our sponsors up to date! In the coming months we will running a series of lucky dips and will be handing out more club merchandise as prizes, so get your club member numbers updated early so you will be put into each and every draw this year!
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=100 (Email us if you have problems)

The Big Bang Fair – date for your diary (age 9-18)
Taking place in Manchester on 10-12 March, this high profile and free event promises to: Wow students with experiments, explosions, simulators and shows. Give them the opportunity to quiz scientists and engineers about their jobs and discover a dream career. Meet students from around the country and find out about the amazing projects they have brought to display.See cutting edge technology from many leading companies and get some great teaching ideas. We are also helping to plan a series of STEM related Teacher CPD opportunities which will be publicised once we have the full details.
http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk

Regional Big Bang Fairs
A number of organisations are bidding to host regional Big Bang Fairs in June/July 2011 and once the selection process is complete, we will let you know who has the lead in your region so that you can start planning to attend.

Other News
Remember, get all our news first on www.youngeng.org! Other recent news items:
* Be Engineous is launched!
* We have won e-Legacy Awards
* Showcase your club at national level!
* SmartPlanet joins the Support Pages
* Square Eyed Engineering
*Calling for Entries in to the National Science & Engineering Competition

We hope you’ll find something amongst all of this lot to keep your gang amused. Club Network members remember there is loads more information on other competitions and sources of activity ideas and tips on how to get your club running smoothly in the members’ pages of our website. (Contact us if you have forgotten your log in details)

Kind regards
The Young Engineers Team

STEM Challenges

Part of the Official London 2012 Education Programme

STEM Challenges are a series of competitions which link the curriculum to the inspiring Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Each challenge incorporates a range of activities for schools and once in a lifetime prizes can be won!

“The STEM Challenge students feel privileged to be a part of the competition. This is the best extra-curricular activity I’ve ever been involved with!” ~ Pam Large, Sacred Heart High School.

The STEM Challenges are ten activities designed for KS3 (or equivalent) students and inspired by London 2012. Each Challenge is a competition focusing on a different aspect of either the preparations for London 2012, or the event itself. The Challenges provide a cross-curricular approach to the STEM subjects, which benefits students in their academic work, whilst allowing them to develop skills and values that are essential outside the classroom. The activities have been designed for use in a club environment (e.g. a STEM Club) or during lessons.

The STEM Challenges are managed by STEMNET (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network) in association with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), and are funded by the Department for Education.

New Challenges are introduced each term and last approximately 6 to 8 weeks. They provide an opportunity for students aged 11-14 to explore, experiment and innovate! Each team is set a task related to London 2010, which gives students the chance to experience a combination of hands-on testing and research.

STEM Ambassadors are a free resource available to support your students and clubs in the Challenges. STEM Ambassadors volunteer their time to help excite young people about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. They have proven to be a vital resource for schools and colleges:

“The pupils valued the comments they received from STEM Ambassadors. It was great for them to have experts who really knew what they were talking about. Pupils were encouraged to discuss their ideas more as they were keen to improve their designs and complete the task to the best of their abilities.” ~ Lucy Rowe, St Mary’s Middle School, Puddletown, Dorset.

“STEMNET, you have solved my problem! We have no budget to pay Science speakers for our school and I’m so pleased to have made contact with you.” ~ Mrs Gaur, Shirley High School, Croydon, London.

STEM Challenges aim to support children and young people across the UK in the development of their leadership, personal, thinking and life skills. In each Challenge, a team of students work together to develop and achieve the seven core values of the Olympic and Paralympic games, these are: excellence, friendship, respect, courage, determination, inspiration and equality. Team work and enthusiasm are essential!

How to get involved in the STEM Challenges

It’s easy to get involved- simply register on the website www.stemchallenges.net The sign-up process is quick and simple- and you can go back to enter as many teams as you like from your school. What’s more, if your school is part of the STEM Clubs Network and you are a club leader- then it’s even easier. Just select your name from the list and you’re done!
We will send you a newsletter with regular updates on the Challenges, including information on forthcoming Challenge launch-dates and deadlines.

“Thank you so much for all your help! I have been really impressed by STEMNET’s advice and your organisation of our Scientists who were first rate and ideal for our purposes.” ~ Rebecca Jones, Science Co-ordinator, The Pointer School, London.

STEM Challenge 1

Challenge: Design an Eco-friendly National Handball Centre.
Winners: Appleton Academy from Wyke, West Yorkshire.
Prize: Trip to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The first STEM Challenge required students to design a National Handball Arena for the 2012 Olympics. The STEM Club at Appleton Academy began the Challenge by testing out different surfaces for the floor of the Handball court. In groups, the members of the STEM Club completed experiments on types of laminate flooring they had constructed and analysed how recorded balls behaved on different surfaces around school.

The successful team, from year nine, then designed a stadium based on a segmented orange. They worked with STEM Ambassador Phil Spencer, a building surveyor and the technology department to prepare scale diagrams and models to show the layout of the main arena.

The winning features of the design include the segmental structure of the sphere-shaped dome, which would allow natural light and ventilation into the arena. The team incorporated the use of eco friendly solar panels to achieve the environmental objective of the challenge. At the presentation event, the judges commended the team for their work and leadership skills.

“Winning the STEM Challenge, a national competition, is the result of a great deal of hard work and commitment by our students, and their excitement and enjoyment of science created by their teachers and the STEM Club.” ~ Dwayne Saxton, Academy Principal.

“It is fantastic that the hard work and skills of our pupils has been recognized nationally. This project has been completed in our after-school club – the pupils’ enthusiasm and willingness to invest their own time reflects the interest they have developed in their lessons.” ~ Barbara Hey, Advanced Specialist Teacher in Science at the Academy and STEM club co-coordinator.

STEM Challenge 2

Challenge: adidas asked students to design a new glove for Olympic and Paralympic Canoeing, Rowing or Sailing.
Winners: Heolddu Comprehensive School, Bargoed.
Prizes: £3,000 worth of STEM Club equipment and the latest in adidas sports clothing.

The second STEM Challenge required students to design a new glove for adidas (Official Sportswear Partner to London 2012) to be used by top Olympic and Paralympic athletes in Canoeing, Rowing or Sailing events. The Challenge was launched by double Olympic Gold medalist James Cracknell.

Students at Heolddu Comprehensive School decided to design a new glove for rowers, who don’t tend to wear gloves as they can cause their hands to sweat, impeding the action of rowing. The pupils relished the opportunity to produce a specially designed glove, which, made with the right materials could allow breathability and make a major contribution to the sport.

Once the team had decided on the most important properties to include in the design of their glove, they used a range of tests, activities and factsheets provided by STEMNET in order to research their design.
Heolddu beat stiff competition from seven other teams from around the country that made it through to the final, where they faced a Dragon’s Den style interview and grilling from the judges, including Olympic gold medallist rower, Tom James.

The students’ design is so inventive it is now being commercially developed by adidas. According to the company, the design was so innovative that it could give our Olympians the winning edge!

“We were thrilled and honoured to win such a prestigious competition!” ~ Owen Griffiths, Science Teacher, Heolddu Comprehensive School.

For the most up-to-date information on Challenge launch dates and deadlines go to: www.stemchallenges.net
To register for the latest Challenge go to: www.stemchallenges.net/school-register.html

National STEM Centre’s e-Library resource bank is now live!

An extremely impressive collection of resources and definitely worth a look

http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/elibrary

Would you like £3000 for your club?

Enter the anti-doping STEM Challenge and you could win up to £3000 worth of equipment for your STEM Club!

This is in addition to the expenses paid trip to the Science Museum, which includes a curator-led tour of the museum, a private viewing of the “Who am I?” exhibition, a behind-the-scenes tour of the IMAX theatre and time in the Launchpad gallery.

What’s more, we’ll cover the expenses for up to six pupils and two adults, including transport, accommodation and meals. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity!

We’ve topped up the prize fund as we have been so impressed at the hard work pupils have shown so far in the STEM Challenges.

The deadline for team registration is Monday 14 June 2010. Team registration only takes a couple of minutes once you are logged in to the website! You then have time to prepare entries before the judging takes place in schools on Tuesday 6 July 2010.

More ways to win!!!

In addition to the main prizes, we are offering you opportunities to win STEM Club Boxes and a free tour of the London 2012 construction site. Visit the STEM Challenges website for more information.

Good luck!

www.stemchallenges.net

£300 funding available for STEM clubs to showcase at the Big Bang North East!

Good afternoon,

I am writing to let you know some money has become available for funding STEM clubs to showcase at the regional Big Bang. Clubs can claim back up to £300 towards their costs for attending the event.

Funding is limited to ten clubs in each region. In the event that we are oversubscribed, priority will be given to:

• clubs that have been established since September 2008
• clubs that are demonstrably active
• clubs that could not have attended without the additional funding being made available

This money is not available to ASSEC funded schools. Clubs will also need to complete a brief evaluation of the event on the STEM clubs network website before funding is released. Emails have very recently been sent to all non-ASSEC funded clubs that are affiliated to the STEM clubs network, inviting them to apply. If you know of a school where this money would be beneficial, then please press for them to apply.

The funding can also be made available to clubs that are not currently affiliated so long as they affiliate before they claim (they have to affiliate to complete the evaluation). If you know of a club that is not affiliated but you would like to invite please let me know their contact details and we will extend the invitation to them as well.

Teachers will need to fill in a short application form which they can get by requesting one from support@stemclubs.net and completing and returning it by no later than 5.30 pm on Tuesday 9th June 2010.

Young Engineers Leader Board Challenge

Young Engineers needs to commission two new ‘Top Gear’ leader boards for the regional Big Bang Fairs taking place this Summer. Rather than employing the services of an established engineering firm, we think this is an excellent opportunity for our club members to work on a real mini-engineering project.

Requirements and Specification

The leader board is taken around the country and used to generate excitement and encourage competitors to give their best performances when taking part in our engineering challenges. As in the Top Gear television programme, our leader board needs to be of an impressive height. The whole front face must enable information strips to be easily attached and slid around. (Our current board uses white magnetic white board strips on a steel surface).

The leader board needs to be self-standing, as we will be setting it up in many different locations. It must also be stable so that it will not topple over and hurt someone, and the health and safety implications of any protrusions at the base must also be considered in the design. As we use the leader board in all sorts of places around the country, it must pack down to fit in a small car boot and be robust enough to be sent by courier. It should also be light weight to save on fuel and portable so that it can be carried long distances across car parks and up and down stairs. Set up times for our challenges are often very tight, so the leader board must be quick and easy to set up and pack down.

Dimensions for the main unit*:
When standing: 2000mm x 500mm with a maximum depth of 60mm.
Packed down for transport: 1000mm x 500mm with a maximum depth of 200mm.

Weight for the main unit*: As light as possible – target weight around 10kg.

*Additional units may form part of the design. We haven’t given specifications for these, but they must compliment the design and help it to meet our requirements.

Project Time Line

Submission of design brief by: Friday 14th May
Award contact on: Wednesday 19th May
Delivery of finished leader board to Young Engineers by: Monday 14th June

Design Brief

Briefs to be submitted no later than 5pm on Friday 15th May.

Please include:
• School name and address and club number
• Names , age, gender and roles of each project team member
• Description of leader board and techniques which will be used to construct it
• An annotated diagram, showing what materials will be used where and how the design fulfils the brief
• A construction schedule
• A budget which includes the list of the materials and the suppliers
• Method of delivery or transportation to Young Engineers Head Office
• Your Club Leader’s permission to take part! They must email your design brief or sign a hardcopy confirming they will supervise the team’s work.

Download a copy of the competition pdf with photos of the current leader board

Email Leader Board Challenge Enquiries if you have any questions.

Volunteering opportunities

• Hookergate School, Rowland’s Gill, Tyne and Wear, NE39 2BX

Engineer ambassador who could help design and build a hover craft at STEM club

• STEM day at Hill Top School (special school) 23^rd June

The structure of the day could be five 45mins sessions and was hoping to include all the students, considering we are a Special school the abilities range from P levels to level 4, and was hoping to mix the groups.

The school day starts at 9.00 with an assembly so if the ambassadors could arrive around 9am to set up.

9am set up and introductions
9.45 first session
10.30 break
10.45 Second session
11.30 Third session
12.15 lunch
1.15 4th session
2.00 5th session
2.45 thank yous and good byes

The type of students we have include autistic, behavioural and general leaning difficulties. Each group would have a teacher plus support assistant to support the ambassadors and the size of each group would be around 15 to 20 students.

• STEM day at Ryton Comprehensive School, Ryton, NE40 3AH 15^th July- all day

Holding annual Year 10 careers event in school on Thursday 15th July. Have 213 students in Year 10.  We break the year group down into 2 x groups of 106 approx.   Half the year group take part in an event in the main hall in the morning, the other half attend a carousel of workshops/employers. 20-25 students in each group.

  After lunch 12.00 – 1.00 the students swap. The ambassador(s)  would therefore be needed in school for the whole day, probably to repeat their sessions twice or more.  We would provide refreshments and lunch for him/her/them. Start 9.45- 10.45. 15 min break. 11-12pm. Lunch 12-1pm. 1-2pm and 2-3pm. finish (4 times do workshop)

• Science and Engineering Careers at the Dryden Centre On Wednesday 7^th July from 9am to 1pm.

For year 8 students

All schools in Gateshead. 10-15 students in each group- total of 180 students. 9 secondary schools and one special school. At the Dryden Centre, Gateshead. 3 or 4 stands. Workshop/practical- talk and activity. Money will be available to do workshops.

The areas of STEM they would like ambassadors from are:

• Biotechnologies
• Chemical Engineering
• Construction
• Motor Vehicle Technology
• Environmental Futures
• Electronic Communication and Computing
• Engineering
• Food Production
• Health and Medical
• Forensics

If possible they would like two people from the same company so that whilst one is doing the workshop with the students the other can chat to the teacher. However, this is not essential.

• STEM Themed Mornings at St Thomas More High School in North Shields Wednesday 21^st and Thursday 22^nd of July 3 hours in the morning

For year 7 students. The idea is organise about 10 activities that can be one in the main hall of the school and for pupils to rotate around the different activities, spending about half an hour at each one for the duration of the morning, about 3 hours. I was wondering whether there might be some STEM ambassadors available to run a few activities.

Please let me know if you can do either date.

• Big Bang North East Event on the 2^nd of July at the Discovery Museum – schools throughout the North East invited.

The Big Bang North East is an event which gives students from schools across the North East the opportunity to show off their projects and hard work in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), compete for prizes, the opportunity to compete to go to the national event and be crowned Young Scientist or Young Engineer of the year, meet professionals from STEM, see displays from organisations and attend entertaining STEM workshops.

What we need are individuals/businesses for:

·    Providing a workshop related to your business will broaden students knowledge of the career paths open to them through STEM study.

·  Helping to judge student projects (guidance / assessment criteria will be provided).

·   Provide industry input for the students’ projects (where could they go next, what could they explore differently next time?)

·   Talking about careers in your field will give students a clearer picture of possible career routes and the benefits of studying and working in STEM.

·  Industry displays: ranging from banners and representatives to brining along interesting and entertaining demonstrations of what has been or is in current development.

Do you think that this might be something you could be involved with? The website with more information and where you can register is www.thebigbangfair.co.uk and you can click to the North East. We expect lots of schools to be involved and are hoping the local media will come along too (I’ve been chatting to the BBC) so if you can be involved fantastic.

Please remember to register at http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/northeast.cfm. The letter for businesses can be found at: http://stem-ncl.org/mails/BigBangNorthEast2010_businessFeb.html and you can also register from this link

Also we have a number of prizes which companies can sponsor too.