Welcome to the latest STEM newsletter for Primary Schools  from your local STEM Ambassador Hub. 

See Science  have a facebook page - please like or follow the page
Please don't hesitate to contact us if we can support the teaching of STEM subjects in your school or college. 
With best wishes 
The See Science Team

The newsletter that's an essential source of information and inspiration for teachers and anyone with an interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) engagement in Wales.

CONTENTS

STEM news
 

Local events 
 

 

Competitions and Funding opportunities

Feedback 

 


Ask a STEM Ambassador to visit your school

STEM Ambassador's involvement can engage and enthuse both students and teachers. If you are interested in asking a STEM Ambassador to visit your school you can make your request hereWe’ve created brief guides to encourage both STEM Ambassadors and educators to use the self-service. 

The  video guide outlines how to use the web platform  and  helps teachers and group leaders find the right STEM Ambassador for their activity.

Give us your Ambassador feedback

If an Ambassador has visited your school, or if you have met an Ambassador at an enrichment activity, we would be very grateful if you could fill in our teacher feedback form. Please encourage colleagues to respond.

 

LATEST STEM NEWS

 

Me - an Engineer?’ Celebration Days

Following on from our ‘Me - an Engineer?’ primary workshops delivered around Easter, we were proud to be involved in 3 very successful Celebration Days during the latter half of the summer term. Primary schools from the Idris Davies cluster in Caerphilly, the Coedcae cluster in Llanelli and the Dyffryn Nantlle cluster in Gwynedd had been set the task of designing and building models of iconic new bridges for their local area to bring to the Celebration events. The events were held at the secondary schools, acting as a great transition event where pupils shared their learning and their enthusiasm for Engineering!
The variety and standard of the bridges at all 3 events was outstanding and it was clear that teachers and pupils had made the most of the project which fits well with the requirements of the new curriculum with pupils encouraged to be creative and to work independently.
The ‘Me – an Engineer?’ Workshops will be available to download from the See Science website in September.

 

Read more

Llanfoist Primary take First steps into French with STEM Ambassador Chris Squire 
 

Chris has long been used to sessions combining STEM and French with Secondary Schools. Primary School visit required careful planning and a soupcon of  ingenuity!

Chris developed a session for Primary pupils where a STEM type challenge was set based in different countries where French is the official language.
The session then progressed to how French is used in everyday life – at the end pupils were even able to place an order in a restaurant using French!

The teacher clearly pleased with the result:

‘Just a few lines to let you know how much Heidi and myself enjoyed our productive morning session with you and your pupils at Llanfoist School, the session  yielded very promising and positive results and keen participation amongst the pupils, who applied themselves most enthusiastically throughout. I was particularly impressed by the early enthusiasm and confidence,
Chris

‘It was a fantastic learning opportunity.

Every child was engaged. Chris was able to support the More Able Children, and take them onto a level way beyond my knowledge and understanding and challenged them.....the progress they made in an hour was outstanding.


By working together so closely amazing opportunities are created that either of us would be able to do alone.

This opportunity to work closely with experts is one I would love to explore further, with any subject or experience.

 

Read more

Chemistry of the High Street

During the summer term See Science travelled across south Wales running our brand new workshop, Chemistry of the High Street, with all types of community groups, thanks to funding from the Royal Society of Chemistry. Rainbows, Cubs, Urdd, Home Education, Youth groups and many more all enjoyed a carousel of 4 practical chemistry activities based on products commonly found on the High Street.

Activities range from using smelly cabbage water to test the pH of kitchen liquids such as lemon juice and Milk of Magnesia to creating slimy pink worms with Gaviscon. Each of the activities are differentiated for all ages from 6 to 14 years old.

The workshop was well received at all the groups and hopefully inspired some group leaders to try some more chemistry activities with children in the future. A couple of Cubs groups used the workshop for their members to earn their Science Badges.

All resources will be available, free to download, on the See Science website in September, along with a set of 10 chemistry based Busking activities, developed with funding from the same Community Chemistry project.

 

Local events

The National Education Show, Cardiff, 25 October

Did you know that to simply join us in the City Hall on 25 October is completely free? There's a huge host of things to see and do at the National Education Show and SEN Show, without spending a penny.

Our show welcomes thousands of education professionals including teaching and non-teaching staff from across Wales and the UK - and with so much on offer, it's easy to see why!

Things to do at the show:

  • Explore our exhibition featuring over 150 companies  - with exclusive deals, discounts and giveaways on the day!
  • Network and meet with thousands of education professionals.
  • Listen to free talks at our Exhibitor Spotlight.
  • Try and test hundreds of school products, supplies and services on offer to your establishment.

For a little bit extra:
With 40 CPD accredited seminars to choose from at The National Education Show, we have a great range of teaching based topics to explore, presented by the UK's most popular education experts! Each of our seminars costs just £10 per attend (or £5 as part of a group booking!)

All details here.

Read more

The UK Space Conference 2019 is three full days of information, inspiration and innovation. Get the latest updates from the space sector, learn from industry specialists, policy makers and thought leaders and take part in thought-provoking sessions and discussions. 

The ESERO-UK Teacher Conference will once again run in parallel with the UK Space Conference. ESERO-UK, also known as the UK space education office, provides free resources, support and information for teachers to enhance the teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) using space as a context. 

DISCOVER SPACE is the unmissable, free-to-attend event for schools. Held alongside the UK Space Conference 2019, DISCOVER SPACE will host a series of fun and educational activites, hands-on interactive exhibits, talks and shows to capture the imagination and inspire young people to pursue careers in science, engineering and technology.

Recommended for uniformed groups and schools. 

For further information, please contact info@ukspace2019.co.uk

Read more
Theatr na nÓg, Eye of the Storm. Swansea 24 - 28 Sep; Newport 15 -19 Oct; Bangor 21 - 23 Oct; Aberystwyth 24 - 26 Oct

In partnership with Technocamps

Best Show for Children and Young People - Wales Theatre Awards 2018

Meet Emmie Price.

For the last 5 years her life has been a whirlwind. It’s a world torn between caring for her bipolar mum, pursuing a passion for tornados, and proving she’s got what it takes at school. But Emmie knows one day that’s all going to change. One day she’s going to become a storm chaser… in America.

When an opportunity to get a bursary to study in the USA comes up can she keep her place on the course and win the STEM competition with her invention for renewable energy?

This theatrical event of courage, determination and compassion is guaranteed to inspire adults of all ages and families with children aged 8+.

Details here.

Association for Science Education  - Pre theatre Panel Discussion at 5.45pm
Swansea 25 September; Newport 18 October; Bangor 22 October

A panel discussion entitled "Let's Talk about Girls in STEM" will take place before performances of the show Eye of the Storm (details for the show above).

Bookings for the discussion are separate from bookings for the show. 

Details and booking here

Read more

FIRST® LEGO® League 2019/20 CITY SHAPER season for 9 to 16 yr olds

FIRST LEGO League is a global STEM challenge for teams of young people, to encourage an interest in real world themes and develop key skills that are crucial for their future careers. Young people work together to explore the season’s architecture theme and design, build and program an autonomous LEGO robot to solve a series of missions.

FIRST LEGO League is for young people aged 9 to 16 years, working in teams of up to 10 students with a supporting adult coach. The challenge involves a robot game and a research project, and students will need to demonstrate the FIRST LEGO League Core Values throughout all their work. Teams usually have 12 to 16 weeks to work on the challenge before they compete in their chosen regional tournament.

Details here.

    Farmvention         
 

A  STEM competition run by NFU Education and aimed at primary school children for the duration of the Autumn term 2019

There are three exciting problem based challenges that can be entered by individual children or in teams. Each challenge is designed to make children think about the day to day issues faced by farmers and growers in England and Wales as well as the wider environmental challenges faced by the worlds growing population.

Each challenge is supported by curriculum linked resources created in partnership with the Association for Science Education (ASE) 
sign up to receive your free pack.

More information here

Funding opportunities and feedback

Funding to Mark the International Year of the Periodic Table

Royal Society of ChemistryThe Royal Society for Chemistry is making grants of up to £1,000 available to its Network Members to run a project for the International Year of the Periodic Table in 2019.

To be eligible, applicants should demonstrate that the project supports the celebration of the International Year of Periodic Table; that the project has a significant aspect which is related to the chemical sciences; and that the project has a clearly identified target audience.

Funding is open all year round and will considered at three checkpoints in the year.  The next deadline is Monday the 14 October 2019.

Details here.

Read more

Society for Microbiology Education and Outreach grants
Grants of up to £1,000 are available to support relevant science teaching or promotion initiatives, or to support developments  to lead to an improvement in the teaching of any aspect of microbiology.

  • Talks, workshops, demonstrations, posters, leaflets, broadcasts, activities at science festivals and audio-visual or computer-based packages;
  • Activities that take place as part of a National Science and Engineering Week event at the applicant's place of work;
  • Running a school or college-based science week activity (e.g. hands-on or programme of talks);
  • Supporting microbiology activities in an out-of-school science club;
  • Buying materials and equipment outside of normal department resources to support a microbiology activity (no more than £500 can be used toward large equipment such as microscopes and incubators);
  • A class visit to a microbiology laboratory to carry out activities; and 
  • Organising a visit to or from a working microbiologist. 

The deadline for applications is 1st October 2019.

Apply Online here

Read more

 

How can CREST support the new Curriculum in Wales?


CREST helps young people become independent and reflective learners through enquiry-based project work. 

CREST Awards are flexible. They can be run in schools, clubs or at home. With no set timetable, projects can start whenever you want, and take as long as you need
Star and SuperStar levels are designed to be easy-to-run and low-cost for children typically aged 5-7 and 7-11 years. Children gain an Award by completing eight challenges, which are available to download from the resource library. There also provide helpful tips sheets for you to use, explaining the scientific themes and offering guidance on conversation topics for your children.
You can download CREST Star and SuperStar passport templates for your students to track their progress once you create your account.

Within four weeks of payment, you will receive certificates and fabric badges to give out to your class.

 

Latest CPD from your Science Learning Partnership

To find out more about the latest CPD from your Science Learning  Partnership click here

Follow us on facebook - See Science  have a facebook page 
Please like or follow the page