Science Aglow at the Darwin Centre, Pembrokeshire College was an opportunity to showcase different STEM organisations working in the area and highlight potential career paths available. The focus of the day was Energy. The event provided primary pupils with an opportunity to work on a project of their own in school and present their work to a panel of advisors, participate in a carousel of workshops provided by STEM Ambassadors from local industry and attend a show. The Royal Institution presented a show ‘We’ve got the Power’ for pupils followed by CPD for teachers on science presentation skills and a Community Show for families from the local area
Over 130 pupils from Fenton Community Primary School, Lamphey Primary School, Johnston CP School and Mary Immaculate Catholic Primary School attended the event, bringing with them a science investigation to present to the Darwin team to develop their science communication skills.
The pupils took part in a carousel of STEM workshops, delivered by STEM Ambassadors:

• Timothy Brew - Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum
• Magnus Harrold and Michelle Hitches – Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult
• Rebecca Laye - Royal Society of Chemistry Education Coordinator in Wales

All pupils presented their renewable energy investigation to a panel in order to highlight the work that had been carried out during the term in school.

The event for pupils concluded with an informative and fun show, ‘We’ve got the Power’ show from Usmaa Choudry, The Royal Institution - Science in Schools.
Samantha Williams, manager of the Dragon LNG Darwin Experience said: "Over 100 pupils took part in Science Aglow and we were blown away by the quality of their science investigations and their presenting skills.
"Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day and we are so grateful to all of these fantastic organisations for inspiring the next generation of scientists."
The schools’ event was followed by a Royal Institution CPD session for primary and secondary teachers.
Not everyone who teaches science has a background in science themselves. A CPD session with a professional presenter can help build skills and confidence to inspire children with practical science in engaging and simple ways. All of the attendees were encouraged to network and share good practice with each other.
The Community show – ‘Rockets’, again by the Royal Institution, ignited interest in science in people of all ages, through a mix of talks, demonstrations and interactive experiments.

The Science Aglow event was coordinated by See Science in association with the ASE and the Darwin Centre. Please get in touch with cerian.angharad@see-science.co.uk if your school would like to be involved in organising a similar event to engage with STEM Ambassadors in your area.
 

The National Eisteddfod 2023 was held in Boduan on the Llyn Peninsula from the 5th to the 12th of August. Many STEM Ambassadors were present throughout the week on various stalls engaging with visitors of all ages.

This is from Dr Victoria Bradley of the Institute of Biomedical Science:

Held at a different location in Wales in the first week of August every year, the National Eisteddfod is the largest cultural festival in Europe and celebrates the culture and language of Wales. The Eisteddfod attracts 150,000 annual visitors over the week with many events and activities for the whole family. 

Although Wales may be well known as the Land of Song, the contribution of Welsh researchers to the scientific world is equally remarkable, and is becoming a growing part of the Eisteddfod. 

This year, the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) took the lead in hosting a stall in the Science and Technology village at the Eisteddfod.

Co-organised by Dr Victoria Bradley (IBMS Council member from Cardiff Metropolitan University) and Luke Hughes (Head of Education at the BCUHB), the stall was set up to recognise the work undertaken by biomedical and other healthcare scientists – including those working in pathology.

Visitors took the opportunity to ask questions about the field, how samples are processed in laboratories, and the breadth of analysis that biomedical scientists can undertake. Many were particularly fascinated to find out how important laboratory test results are to any diagnostic process and to the provision of personalised medicine.
Our members were additionally able to discuss careers with school students across varying age groups. With A-level students, members highlighted the importance of IBMS Accredited biomedical science degrees and explained apprenticeship opportunities available in pathology as well. For younger children, members were able to utilise the new Welsh language version of our Superlab comics to engage children in science-related conversations.

 Another STEM Ambassador who was involved with a different stall shared this comment:
“The STEM activities were welcomed by all those I interacted with and our presence seemed to be greatly appreciated by the local community. 
One of the main benefits was reaching young people who would not normally have the opportunity to participate in STEM activities in this very rural area. Regularly children, notably a high proportion of girls aged 3 to 11, either dragged their parents or came alone to the stall so that they could take part. They were clearly keen on STEM and their successes with our activities both supported and reinforced their desire for STEM involvement in their lives. For many of these young people the event provided a rare opportunity for them to interact with STEM and the enthusiasm shown only highlighted the need to reach this demographic. On a personal level I found this very rewarding.”
 

STEM Ambassadors are available for school visits all year round. To learn how you can request a STEM Ambassador for your school, contact ambassadors@see-science.co.uk.

Congratulations to Matt Howells of Ysgol Y Graig, Merthyr Tydfil on receiving the STEM Learning Award for Excellence in STEM teaching – Primary, and for sharing his experiences with us.

As part of my role as STEM Coordinator at Ysgol y Graig Primary School, I have always aimed to enhance our STEM provision, experiences and opportunites for our pupils. This has been established through creating links with industry and providing real life experiences through site visits and inviting in guest speakers working in various STEM professions, as well as creating links with STEM organisations that have run workshops and securing funding grants to enhance our STEM resources within in the school.

In the summer of 2022, I was lucky enough to win the ‘Excellence in STEM teaching – Primary’ award through STEM Learning UK based in York. This award opened up a variety of new opportunites, which have enabled me to further enhance the STEM provision within Ysgol y Graig. These include creating closer links with a wider range of industry companies that have worked with our pupils, secured funding to run a wide range of projects both within the school and our cluster of schools, as well as being invited to attend and be a guest speaker at a number of STEM focused conferences.

During the summer term of 2023, I was invited to attend and be a guest speaker at the British Science Association – Engage Teacher Network Conference. The focus of the conference was looking at a cross-curricular approach to the delivery of STEM and guest speakers were invited to present case studies of how they have gone about this in their own schools, in order to promote and enhance the delivery of STEM. During the conference I presented two case studies of projects that have been carried out within the school. It was great to receive feedback from teachers attending the conference and also answer their questions, in order to support the work they are doing in their own schools. Also, while having the opportunity to listen to the other guest speakers, it gave me some great ideas of future projects I can plan to carry out within my own school.

The conference was a very beneficial experience, both in terms of celebrating the work that has been carried out at Ysgol y Graig and receiving great feedback, but also being inspired by other practitioners about the brilliant projects they have carried out within their own schools. The BSA have many conferences that practitioners are able to sign up to and attend remotely, so I would definitely advise others to take up this opportunity of CPD and gain new ideas of how they can enhance the STEM provision in their own schools.

Matthew Howells – STEM Cordinator, Ysgol y Graig Primary School, Merthyr Tydfil.
mhowells@ysgol-y-graig.merthyr.sch.uk
 

How CREST can help schools achieve the four purposes of the new Curriculum for Wales

The following are extracts from a CREST blog which you can find here.

We’ve spoken to Rachael Mackay, Year 6 teacher and STEM lead at Monnow Primary School in Newport, about her experience of running CREST, the benefits for pupils and how the activities align with the four purposes.

Teacher Rachael Mackay ran our ‘Machines of the future’ Discovery challenge - “the largest project that we undertook”. This project encourages children to think about machine learning and AI, how it relates to their lives and how we can best harness it in the future. It is also available in Welsh language.

She said:

“This [project] hit so many of the four purposes. The children had to be ambitious and capable, as much of their work was team-based, with children taking specific roles within the group.

“They had to be enterprising and creative in order to think about and put together ideas for a machine that nobody else had yet thought of – and of course they then had to physically create that machine!

“They also had to be ethically informed citizens, as they had to consider how their prototypes could be made using only recycled or reused items and they also had to think about whether the creation of the machine would take employment away from an individual or group of people.”

If you would like to learn more about how CREST could fit into your school’s curriculum, contact llinos.misra@see-science.co.uk.

ESA School Projects launching in September

The European Space Agency offers a range of Space themed challenges for schools and they will all be launching during September for the coming school year:

The European Astro Pi Challenge (all ages) - Have you ever dreamt of performing an experiment in space? All you need to do is write a computer programme for our special Raspberry Pi computers (called Astro Pis) on board the International Space Station! 

CanSat (14 to 19 yr olds) - What’s it like to make a real space project from A to Z? Work together as a team to imagine, build, launch and operate a CanSat to find out! CanSat challenges high-school students to fit the key components of a satellite in the volume of a soda can.

Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut (8 to 12 yr olds) - It’s time to get up, move your body, and train like an astronaut! In Mission X, you’ll learn the key elements to keeping fit and staying healthy in space and on Earth.

Moon Camp Challenge (all ages) - Become an expert in lunar exploration and 3D design with the Moon Camp Challenge! Choose the level that best fits your team, from beginner to advanced, and start designing an out-of-this-world lunar base.

Climate Detectives (all ages) - In the Climate Detectives school project, teams of students are challenged to identify and investigate a local climate problem using real satellite images, historical climate data, or even their own measurements. They then use this data to propose simple actions to raise awareness or reduce the problem they investigated, that is… to make a difference for our planet. 

Why not request a STEM Ambassador to help with one or more of these challenges?

Details here.

FREE BBC micro:bits for Primary schools

Register with the BCC for a free set of 30 micro:bits for your primary school.

The BBC micro:bit lets kids code their own way. The smart, pocket-sized computer has been designed to inspire children to explore creative ideas using real code and can be used for teaching computing across the curriculum. Its goal is to make coding fun, creative and exciting for pupils and teachers alike.

BBC micro:bit - the next gen is our brand new campaign to empower primary school children aged 8 to 11 with the digital skills to understand the world around them and to shape their future. As part of the launch, we are giving away micro:bits to primary schools across the whole of the UK

Register here.

Solving sustainability issues with science. Tuesday 12 September, 4pm–4.45pm. Online

A Royal Society of Chemistry session for Primary teachers.

Join us  for this interactive session exploring how you can bring sustainability issues into your classroom. We will explore our climate change resources and ways to use practical work to enhance your learners understanding. You will have an opportunity to discuss local and national contexts that could be used to highlight the importance of science in solving climate change issues.

Details and booking here.

Spooky STEM-tacular activities! Thursday 5 October. 12.30 - 1.15pm. Online

If you are unable to join this session live, be sure to register on Eventbrite and you will receive a recording of the session.

Halloween is the perfect excuse for some Spooky STEM-tacular fun! 

Join us for some great activity ideas ideal for teachers to show at school before half term and pupils to try them at home on the big day, or for STEM Ambassadors to run a half-term session with a community group. All activities will use readily-available, low cost ingredients.

Register here.

Books as hooks. Monday 16 October – Thursday 19 October, 4pm-4:30pm. Online

A Royal Society of Chemistry session for Primary teachers.

Join us for four live and interactive sessions on how to bring practical science to your classroom by linking well-loved books with activities and  investigations to show how they can engage and feed the curiosity of your learners. You’ll be able to find out how the practical can be linked to the Curriculum for Wales.

Details and booking here.

CREST Discovery information session for teachers and STEM Ambassadors. Monday 23 October. 12.30 - 1.15pm. Online

If you are unable to join this session live, be sure to register on Eventbrite and you will receive a recording of the session.

Session repeated in Welsh Tuesday 24 October 12.30 - 1.15pm.

CREST Discovery Awards offer an introduction to real project work in STEM and give students aged 10 to 14yrs the freedom to run their own investigations. Perfect for the Curriculum for Wales! They can be completed in one day, or over a number of lessons or STEM Club sessions, with students working together in self-managed groups. At the end of the project every student earns a CREST Discovery Award and these are FREE in Wales.

During this session one of the downloadable CREST Discovery resources will be highlighted - Sustainable Solutions  - an activity where students are challenged to use digital tools and new technologies to tackle climate change in their local area.

CREST activities provide a great opportunity for STEM Ambassadors to engage with schools as they are all based on real-world challenges.

Register here for the English session.

Register here for the Welsh session.

​Space for Everyone. 14 - 18 September. Queens Square, Wrexham

The UK Space Agency’s "Space for Everyone" rocket tour lands in Wrexham, at Queens Square, 14th September -  18th September! 

The event is a STEAM Outreach Programme with a mission to inspire the next generation to pursue careers in the UK space industry, particularly those from under-represented groups. No tickets required, just turn up! Event features include:

• A colossal 72 ft replica of the LauncherOne rocket 
• Virtual reality experiences
• Careers advice from local space professionals 
• Space-related activities

Group Tours - It is highly recommended to visit the event as a group and enjoy a personal tour of the event with one of our dedicated hosts. Minimum of 10 people per tour. To book a group tour timeslot email hello@ha-lo.co.uk with a preferred date/time. 

Details here.

DVLA Code Challenge

The Code Challenge enables students of all ages to develop their problem solving, teamworking skills and improve their knowledge of computer programming in a fun and innovative way and also to win thousands of pounds of IT Equipment for their schools or Groups.

All schools, clubs and groups working with children aged 16 years or under based in Wales are eligible to enter the Competition.

Each school, group or club can enter as many teams as desired. Each team must consist of a minimum of two and a maximum of six children. 

There is a wide choice of themes and teams can select one or more themes but can only submit one entry per theme.  

Closing date Friday 6 October.

All details here.

FIRST LEGO League 2023-2024

The 2023-24 FIRST LEGO League MASTERPIECE season has officially begun! This season is all about putting the Art in to ‘STEAM’, with teams imagining and innovating new ways to create and communicate art across the globe. We are really excited to see all of the amazing and creative ideas that we know will be produced this season. 

Schools can apply for FIRST LEGO League Funding Packages.

More information here.

Starpack Schools Competition 2024

Register now for the new  Schools Starpack Competition for pupils aged 9 to 17.  The competition has been designed to link to and support the school curriculum, especially Design &  Technology, and encourage young people to consider  the important role played by packaging in protecting  the products we take for granted.

There are three briefs for secondary schools with separate  categories for years 7 & 8, 9 & 10 and year 12: 

• Product design brief 
• Product analysis brief 
• Packaging research brief

In addition, we have launched a brief for KS2 focussing on  recycling packaging and identifying packaging materials. 

The briefs have all been designed in such a way that they  may be incorporated into your scheme of work for delivery  in lessons, or they can be run as an extracurricular activity  such as a STEM club or STEM Day. 

Registration opens in early June and a package of guidance  and support is available for each brief. The competition is  free to enter, and great prizes are available for the winning  pupils. Closing date for submissions 26 July 2024.

Details and registration here.

The Special Species Game

Create your own Special Species and send them in!

Every species has its own unique scientific name that is chosen by the individual or team that discovers it. The name usually reflects something about the species itself.

Carl Linnaeus came up with the 'binomial' naming system, which means two names. Every species is known by two names - we are Homo sapiens (meaning human thinking, or wise).

You can come up with your own Special Species by combining together different latin or greek words and imagining what the species would look like and why the species might have developed those features through evolution.

There are three main ways to create your own Special Species:

1. Use our online Random Special Species Generators 
2. Download and print our special species card game
3. Use the power of your imagination (maybe with some guidance from our word lists)

We will be highlighting great works as we receive them.
Winners are awarded every year in April, July, September and December.

Details here.

The Edina Trust Science Grant Scheme

NEW AREAS FOR 2023-24 SCHOOL YEAR - Denbighshire, Newport, Torfaen

The Edina Trust offers £700 primary school science grants and £500 early years science grants. Grants are available in a local authority area for three years, after which we move on to new areas.

It’s quick and easy to access as the grants are non-competitive, meaning you are guaranteed to get funding if you are in one of the current areas. 

Schools can use their grants for: 

• Science resources 
• Science weeks 
• Scientific visits (in or out of school)
• Improving the school's grounds for science
• Gardening equipment
• Science subscriptions

Details of the simple application process are here. 

Are your colleagues registered with STEM Learning and receiveing the Hub newsletter? Please share this link to enable registration. 
A STEM Ambassador's involvement can engage and enthuse both students and teachers. If you are interested in asking a STEM Ambassador to assist you can make your request here. We’ve created brief guides to encourage both STEM Ambassadors and educators to use the self-service.