Snowdonia Space Centre

First Lego League success in Harrogate National Finals 2025

The First Lego League Challenge is a unique opportunity for 9-16 year olds to take a deep dive into the world of STEM, incorporating innovation, creativity and fun while working together as a team. As the name suggests, the Challenge starts with Lego; however, the entire experience extends far beyond building Lego models. In simple terms, the team needs to design their own Lego robot and then code it to perform a series of specific tasks on a specialised mat with Lego models. The team also needs to research a real-world problem related to the theme of the current season and come up with an innovative solution using scientific principles. Finally, the core values of the competition need to shine throughout the journey.

Over the past two years, we have been putting together out-of- school teams for this competition. The team members come from different schools, brought together by their love for Lego, engineering and much more. This year, we had eight team members from four schools in Cardiff. They started working since last September – the team met on Saturday afternoons during term time and also during school holidays. The theme for the 2024-25 Challenge was “Submerged”, hence the team named themselves “Seals in Suits”. Just like ‘seals,’ they are a playful fun-loving group and at the same time are serious in their concerns for the world’s oceans (hence the ‘in suits’).
Coding the robot is usually the most time-consuming part of the challenge and there are more failures than success to begin with. However, the children have shown tremendous resilience in the face of repeated failures and that to us, as mentors, is genuinely inspiring. 

During the First Lego League Challenge journey, it is quite easy to become over-focussed on the robot performance and coding, as these two aspects take up maximum time. However, the often- ignored Innovation Project is another great way for teams to shine. 
Our team this year focussed on the issue of oil spills during offshore oil drilling. They spoke to engineers who have decades of experience in oil rigs as well as experts in the field of communications. Their innovative solution was early detection of oil spills using advanced scientific principles and sensor technology. At the Nationals in Harrogate, the team was absolutely thrilled to receive the Bechtel Safety Award for their Innovation Project solution from none other than one of the sponsors - Bechtel. Hurray for the months of hard work that went into it! For those who might consider putting a team together, my advice would be to start early on and maintain a steady pace throughout. The zoom drop in sessions offered by See Science during the FLL season provide plenty of useful information and advice relevant for the current season. This guidance is absolutely crucial if this is your first year participating in this Challenge. 

The First Lego League journey embedded in ‘gracious professionalism’ and ‘coopertition’ inculcates values and sharpens skills that are really important for life. Our role as mentors is to simply create and hold the space – with supervision and support the children themselves work their way surprisingly well!
Debanjali Bhattacharjee, Cardiff

Merthyr Science Festival 

Expect experiments, and enough brainpower to light up the Valleys with demonstrations, talks and activities from groups including The Geologists Association, Space Forge, Show Me the Science, Institute of Biomedical Science, Health Data Research UK, SWIRL and Antivirals from Cardiff University.We'll also have some mini exhibits from Techniquest.

Saturday 5th July at Christ Church, Aberdare Road, Merthyr Tydfil 10am - 4pm.

More information here
 

World Environment Day 5th June - Celebrate World Environment Day 2025 with a brilliant FREE live-streamed event for KS2 and KS3 children.
 Thursday 5th June, 11:00am–12:15pm,

Plastic pollution permeates every corner of the planet—even in our bodies in the form of microplastics. World Environment Day 2025 calls for collective action to tackle plastic pollution.
By drawing inspiration from nature and showcasing real-world solutions, the campaign will encourage individuals, organizations, industries, and governments to adopt sustainable practices that drive systemic change.
This year’s World Environment Day comes exactly two months before countries meet again to continue negotiating a global treaty to end plastic pollution. Join the #BeatPlasticPollution movement—because together we can create a healthier future. 

Join Mr Dilly for an inspiring online experience bringing together bestselling authors, stunning science, wild nature, and imagination—designed especially for KS2 -KS3 pupils (ages 7–13yrs).Perfect for:

• Key Stage 2 & 3 teachers planning cross-curricular enrichment
• Literacy leads and science coordinators
• Eco-committees and whole-school assemblies
• Classes exploring STEM, nature, sustainability and creative writing.    Book here 

BioArtAttack (2D) 2025 competition

This competition is for people aged 7-18 years old to draw or paint their favourite animal, plant or fungi. The competition is open to entries of two dimensional artworks only. Please read the competition's terms and conditions before entering your drawing via this webpage.

The BioArtAttack 2D (UK) competition is for 2D artworks (without labels or descriptions) featuring an endangered animal, plant or fungi species. This is open to all young people aged 7 - 18 years old and currently living in the UK. Teachers can now download a poster for this competition for your classroom or school’s labs. This competition is now open until 3 July.

Teachers can download a free lesson plan to help your students prepare their artwork for either the BioArtAttack (2D) for artwork without labels. Or, for the Nancy Rothwell Prize for specimen drawings (which need to include labels and descriptions within the artwork). The lesson plan is useful for inspiration and ideas for both strands of the competition. You can enter our competition free of charge here

Funding for School Climate & Biodiversity Projects 

The Royal Society is inviting applications to their Tomorrow's Climate Scientists Programme to give students across the UK the opportunity to take action to address climate and biodiversity issues.

Grants of up to £3,000 are available to UK primary or secondary schools to run a STEM investigation project for students aged between 5 and 18. There needs to be two project partners to the scheme with the lead applicant being a school and the second partner being a STEM professional from academia or industry. Funding should predominantly be used to buy equipment. 

There are three submission deadlines at the end of April, June and November. 

Details here.

Keep Wales Tidy - Apply now for free garden packs!

Are you ready to turn a neglected space into a vibrant garden where nature can thrive? Whether you want to grow fruit and veg, create a green community hub, or boost local biodiversity, this is your chance.

We have hundreds of free garden packages to give away to community groups, schools and other community-based organisations.

Our pre-paid packages range from small gardening projects to orchards and large-scale makeovers. Each one includes lots of native plants, tools, resources and other materials. 

Keep Wales Tidy  handle the orders and deliveries, and our skilled project officers will be there to help you install your new garden. Apply here