World Book Day - STEM Ambassadors star. Real Scientists share their favourite stories live

STEM Ambassadors participated in World Book day reading stories or extracts from books to over 100 schools who participated in the event online.

Hosted by See Science pupils listened to readings from a range of books including  Alice in Wonderland,  and also heard how these readings linked with the world of work and individual career paths of STEM Ambassadors 

The 2 hour workshop  was managed as a rotational workshop and each STEM Ambassador covered different aspects of STEM
Thank you to the following Ambassadors for taking part and supporting

• Lil Martin Chemistry Specialist, UWTSD - "Dragon’s Breath" by E.D. Baker
• Justin Baldwin - , Senior Laboratory Technician, Lasers, CSA Catapult Innovation Centre – "Women in Science" by Rachel Ignotofsky
• JP Hadden -- Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Physics and Astronomy: "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Caroll
• Wendy Sadler – CEO Science Made Simple – "Why do Golf Balls have Dimples" by Wendy Sadler
• Chris Squire – STEM Ambassador - "The Little Prince" by French author Antoine de Saint Exupéry
• Darius Mc Phail  - PhD Researcher in Genetics and Cancer at Cardiff University : "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Steve Markham – Quality Engineer  sharing a poem
• Frankie Hobro Director and Owner of  Anglesey Sea Zoo- Menai, a turtley unexpected visitor by Leah Greene

Frankie is a Conservationist and Marine Biologist. She enjoys helping people to learn about the wonderful animals in our seas and how to protect them, and our amazing planet. Menai the turtle was rescued and rehabilitated at Anglesey Sea Zoo back in 2016. She was a record-breaking and world famous turtle! To celebrate the 5 year anniversary of Menai’s rescue, Leah Green created this beautiful children’s book packed full of information about Menai and marine conservation.
 

If you are interested in receiving a recording of any of these readings or more information about the books or the presenters then please contact llinos.misra@see-science.co.uk to request 
The STEM Ambassador Hub would be happy to support a similar event at your school - please contact for more details. More details about the speakers are available here:
https://www.greatscienceshare.org/gssfs-blog-2022/2022/1/13/great-science-ideas-world-book-day

At more than 20 stands, pupils were asked to guess which animal certain skulls belonged to, shown how important vaccines are, how mathematical models can help protect against pandemics and how the Ceredigion landscape has changed over centuries.Academics and University outreach staff were on hand to show pupils how science is at the heart of some of life’s most spectacular phenomena and affects our everyday lives in positive ways. Interactive stands were built by the University’s departments of Biological, Environment and Rural Sciences, Computer Science, Geography and Earth Sciences, Mathematics, Physics and Psychology.In-person Science Week outreach events at the University have not happened since 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Professor Tim Woods, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, said: “We were delighted to host pupils for our British Science Week events again. It really is a vital part of our calendar, showcasing the quirkiness and fun of the world of science, from exploring grasslands to the importance of probability.“These events can be the spark of a child’s imagination that leads to a career in science. We want to inspire boys and girls of all backgrounds and demystify the university so we worked hard to put inclusivity at the heart of these events. Our staff was equally imaginative in coming up with ideas that have excited pupils.“I was delighted to see such high numbers from schools across west Wales and we are all looking forward to hosting more pupils next year.”

• batteries are made of layers, and each layer is made of different materials
• to create the most efficient battery, you need to find the right combination of materials 
• we need to make a lot of batteries, so where we get those materials from really matters 
• the best materials are those that are abundant and easy to source

Climate Change: It’s over to you now! It’s time to Take Action.

Teachmeet: Take Charge - be part of a brighter future. Wednesday 11 May 4 - 5pm. Online

This month’s Welsh chemistry teachers network meeting is a joint session for primary and secondary science teachers. In collaboration with SeeScience and ASE it is all about getting involved with Take charge: a global battery experiment, Engineering UK’s Energy Quest and the Great Science Share campaign. Energy Quest is a programme that has been developed to unlock the learner’s inner engineer whilst exploring sustainable energy sources. The Great Science Share campaign promotes young people’s scientific curiosity and communication.

This event is an online session for KS2 and secondary teachers organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry as part of our secondary series. Details and booking here.

Llanelli Wetland Centre: Supporting you and your school. Wednesday May 11th 4pm – 4.45pm. Online

Webinar for Ambassadors and Teachers from STEM Education with Welsh Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

STEM Ambassadors will gain insight into outdoor learning experience and resources for engagement.

Hear from the WWT learning team how a visit to Llanelli Wetland Centre can bring your science curriculum to life with hands-on learning sessions for all ages and abilities. 

You will also find out about Generation Wild, their new nature connection programme for schools in economically disadvantaged areas. This includes FREE school visits (including FREE transport), FREE visits for families and a specially designed website to encourage continued nature-connection activity at school, at home and in local greenspaces.

As an added incentive, they have kindly offered to provide a free family visit ticket for all teachers that attend the session.

Come and find out the range of visits and resources they have to offer.

Book here.

Get involved in the Great Science Share for Schools. Celebration Day - 14 June

An annual campaign to inspire young people to share their scientific questions with new audiences.

The Great Science Share for Schools is the award-winning campaign that invites 5-14 year olds to share their own scientific questions and investigations, to raise the profile of science in schools and communities, and to be inspired into science and engineering. 

Themed activities and lessons are brought to teachers and educators, to inspire you to ask, investigate and share scientific questions you’re curious about. 

This year’s campaign theme is Climate Action and links to the issues discussed in the world global COP26 conference in November 2021, leading up to the campaign celebration on 14th June 2022.

Register any time for access to resources and news!

Registration and details here.

Your digital pack will include:

• Ideas and printable materials to support activity planning

• School Number Heroes competition to win a mega-bucks bundle of numeracy prizes for your school (for pre-school to Y8 children)

• Celebrity lesson starter video with activities and games (for primary schools)

• Number confidence resources to help all age groups, from 0-18, feel good about maths

• Resources to support staff and parents

• Opportunities for volunteer visits, STEM ambassador talks and more!

The Great Bug Hunt 2022

Encourage your pupils to get outside to learn more about living things and their habitats and to use the outdoor classroom – with our fabulous competition. Simply identify a local habitat, get your pupils to explore and discover the minibeasts (bugs) that live there, draw them and record their findings – it’s that easy!

And you could win (among other things!), a bug day in your school! Jackfield Infant School in Stoke on Trent was the 2021 winner,  and the children there had a wonderful day, provided by our partners, the Royal Entomological Society, finding out more about the insects and bugs that they found. The best part was holding the leaf insects and getting up close to bumblebees!

To help you on your bug hunting way, and to give you lots of ideas, join the NFU for a live lesson on 15 March to learn all about minibeasts, their habitats and the important jobs they do.

Closing date 10 June.  Details here.

The Young Coders Competition

The Young Coders competition is back again for 2022 bringing to you an amazing opportunity for you and your students to gain hands-on experience in coding with Scratch.

Originally just for primary schools years 4-6 we listened to last year’s feedback and have opened up the entry criteria to now include secondary years 7 & 8.

This year's theme is ‘My World, Our Planet’. We are looking for participants to create a reactive game which encourages children to take care of natural resources and improve the environment. The opportunities are endless and you are in charge of creativity!

Closing date 27 May.  All details here.

Local Schools Nature Grants

Schools in England, Scotland and Wales can apply for up to £500 worth of free outdoor equipment and up to half a day of professional outdoor training. Schools can choose from hundreds of different products to deliver outdoor learning and play.

The funding is being made available through the charity Learning through Landscapes’ Local School Nature Grant Programme and is funded by the players of People’s Postcode Lottery. 

Funding will also be open to Early Year’s settings which have their own building and more than five staff. 

There will be four funding rounds throughout the year which will support a total of 900 schools. Applications for round one will be accepted between the 22nd March 2022 and the 29th April 2022.  Details here.