Science in Society - Small Awards Scheme 2010B
Successful applicants in round 2010B
Ms R E Hoole
Coombeshead College, Devon
Dark Matter
Award: £10,000
This project will fund the writing and performance of a short piece of theatre or theatrical cabaret describing the science behind and the cultural value of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Drawing on their wealth of performing experience they will use their knowledge of physics and maths combined with a variety of theatrical methods and techniques including comedy and drama with use of sound and lighting, in order to promote an understanding of the physics of the LHC and its potential discoveries.
The projects aims are to create an accessible, entertaining theatre piece about the LHC and its value for society that is suitable for touring to theatres and educational establishments, communicate the science behind the LHC and its detectors, inspire the audience to engage further with particle physics, translate our wonder at the universe to help the audience gain a new perspective of our place in it and to increase support, awareness and empathy for the work at CERN and to enhance understanding of the importance of the financial investment.
Dr J M Hillier
University of Oxford
Magnetism and Superconductivity Workshops
Award: £9,000
For this project the applicant intends to develop two interactive workshops for pupils aged 11-14 which can be taken into schools. The aims of the workshops are to enthuse the pupils about magnetism and superconductivity, physics and science, allow pupils to observe and interact with a range of magnetism and superconductivity phenomena, give an appropriate explanation of the phenomena to the pupils, raise the awareness of the pupils about current research and everyday applications in the fields of magnetism and superconductivity and support the teaching and learning of magnetism in the curriculum.
The workshops will take the form of a range of demonstrations which pupil volunteers can assist with, interspersed with explanations using a few powerpoint slides/videos to illustrate a point. Pupils will also be asked to investigate different magnetic phenomena in small groups. Members of the project team will circulate during these times, assisting and answering questions. Teachers will be given a CD containing resources for 3 follow-up lessons: these will be stand-alone lessons and the activities can be slotted into schools' existing teaching schemes as appropriate.
Mr N A Ball
South Cheshire Astronomical Society
Bringing the Sun down to Earth
Award: £5,000
The Society have previously undertaken a number of local outreach activities and with this project, will be targeting local communities and schools, providing individuals with an opportunity to see dynamic activity on the surface of the Sun using a dedicated and portable solar telescope, allowing individuals to undertake genuine observations in order to improve their engagement with science, encourage teachers to include astronomy in the school curriculum as an ongoing legacy, whilst motivating the students to pursue a career in science by demonstrating real world physics in action. They will also develop a blueprint that can be rolled out across other regions, provide an ongoing resource for use by local schools / colleges.
An initial explanation of the observed phenomena will be provided by a professional solar astronomer. This will be the primary route for the training of the applicants and other members of the project. An important aspect of the project is its hands-on nature. By using specialist equipment in real time we aim to excite individuals, particularly school children / college students, with the positives to be gained from actual use of instrumentation.
The project will provide training to school / college teachers in the use of the equipment so that they become self sufficient and are able to incorporate the use of it into their classes. Upon the successful completion of training, SCASTRO will loan the out equipment to support this activity.
Dr A J Barr
University of Oxford
Big Bang Physics: A prototype smart phone application
Award: £2,570
This projects aims are to to develop and evaluate a prototype software application that would be compatible with any mobile phone or tablet computer running the Android Operating System. The same application could also be hosted on a website, available to anyone with a connection to the internet. This project intends to generate interest in and educate people about particle physics; in particular the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.
The application is eventually intended to be released without charge on the Android Market, which is used by developers to distribute applications to any smart phone or tablet PC running the open-source Android operating system. It would be freely available to download by anyone with an Android device. Among its features would be a simplified event display, similar to the ATLAS ATLANTIS event display that could display the ATLAS detector and the physical collision events in a highly interactive way on a small screen.
Mr P Bond
Field Studies Council, Cumbria
To install an Observatory as an evening activity for teenagers
Award: £9,511
This project is aimed at capturing and developing the inquisitiveness displayed by young people about astrobiology and the search for life, and use it to inspire future generations of scientists. Castle Head is situated in rural Cumbria and enjoys dark skies. As a residential Field Studies Centre it hosts young people at night time and offers a range of evening activities for the students. It aims to inspire the next generation of scientists by providing real hands on scientific activities and project work, alongside real scientists.
A 'Sky Shed Pod' observatory will be purchased and installed in the grounds of Castle Head. A member of staff will be trained in the use of the Sky Shed Pod and all its equipment by staff at STFC Daresbury. Their training will ensure that they have the knowledge and ability to run short night time sessions or to liaise with visiting teachers who wish to run their own practical sessions to support their curriculum. The project will be actively marketed to schools in the NW offering GCSE Astronomy and also science specialist schools.
Mr J B Coppersmith Heaven
Scottish Storytelling Forum
In the Beginning... Stories from the Science of our Origins
Award: £2,210
The objective of this project is to facilitate the writing of 8 new stories that can be appreciated by people both from a non-scientific and scientific background. The stories will give an insight into the origins of our universe, and particular aspects of it; gravity, light, planets, stars, black holes, matter and anti-matter, etc.
A group of four writers, two storytellers, two scientists, one creative writing facilitator and the award holder, who will also be a facilitator, will take part in a creative writing workshop, creating a set of stories that give cosmological science a clear and cohesive narrative, related to the audience in a way that is dramatic, memorable, inspiring, and educational. The overall impact is aimed at providing a more engaging way for people to understand the discoveries of science. Two events will be held in Dumfries & Galloway, with a further event at the Scottish Storytelling Centre where illustrated booklets available to buy. There will also be audio recordings of the stories available via a website.
Professor J C Dore
University of Kent
Schools outreach and public lectures on neutron and x-ray research
Award: £2,000
This project will fund the delivery of talks and workshops, over the period of a year, to schools and the public on the subjects of neutron and x-ray research. The use of neutron and x-ray techniques across a large range of subject areas is not well-represented in the media and, despite its important contribution to scientific knowledge, gives the impression of being under-valued.
The aim of the talks and workshops will be to inform students, teachers and the general public about the use of central [neutron/x-ray] facilities for characterisation of materials, particularly disordered systems such as liquids [water], glasses, crystals and other condensed matter systems. Specific topics will be given under the titles 'Water: the magic of molecular science' and 'Carbon nanotubes: the next revolution in materials science' but other presentations will also be developed.
Dr R Jarman
Queen's University, Belfast
Project 500: Exploiting Public Libraries as Informal Science Learning Enviroments
Award: £7,100
The aims of the project are twofold: to raise the profile of public libraries as valuable resources for informal science learning and to encourage children to borrow and read library books relating to astronomy/physical science. This project aims to encourage and assist public libraries in Northern Ireland to incorporate science-related activities into their programmes. It will be run in four public library settings in Northern Ireland, to include urban, rural and areas considered to be socio-economically disadvantaged, participants will be exploring the frontiers of our knowledge of astronomy / particle physics. The focus will be on presenting the science in a stimulating and interesting manner and with a constant link to the library's stock of science books and ICT resources. The range of books available will be emphasised, such as, for example, biographies, activity books, information books, guidebooks. In addition, the children and young people will be involved in information searches and they will be introduced to librarians as welcoming and supportive 'information professionals'.
Once the project is completed, the knowledge gained will be used to compile and produce a guide book on ways of using the public library to encourage and enable children and young people to find out about astronomy, physics and, about science more generally. The booklet will be designed for librarians to support and equip them so that the purposes of the project may have sustainability in the longer term.
Dr D G Jenkins
University of York
Rutherford 2011
Award: £5,540
This project is to produce a set of DVD-based resources on nuclear physics which will be of great use to school teachers, other educators and scientists for their own public engagement work. This work is in recognition of the centenary of Rutherford's 'Discovery' of the nucleus in 1911 at the University of Manchester. 5000 copies of the DVD will be produced and distributed to 1700 IoP-affiliated schools and other groups. Next year, 2011, will be a significant year in the history of Nuclear Physics, representing the 100th anniversary of Rutherford's paper which first introduced the concept of an atomic nucleus. The project will capitalise on the attention drawn to nuclear physics in 2011 and this significant centenary by producing a lasting set of materials and resources (many of which already exist) in a form suitable for school teachers, and members of the physics community interested in public engagement.
The DVD will look at the science of nuclear physics, its history, how it takes place today and how applications deriving from it are crucial in the modern world. A particular theme will be 'how science works' using nuclear physics as a topical example. Nuclear physics led by UK groups will be particularly emphasised as well as applications coming from UK science. It is proposed to distribute 1700 copies of the DVD to the IoP's affiliated schools as part of their standard mailings. It will also be distributed to all past, present and future attendees of Teacher's Conferences on Nuclear Physics. As far as possible, the material once collated will be uploaded onto the National HESTEM E-library which is hosted by the National Science Learning Centre.
Miss M M Kerssens
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Shining light on pathology: breast cancer screening with Raman spectroscopy
Award: £4,105
This project will provide an opportunity to demonstrate and communicate the science behind technology. Although breast cancer and the need for breast cancer screening is quite well featured in the media, very little attention is paid on ongoing research. The public is generally interested in this work but don't realise the kind of work actually done and the potential implications. The public profile of research will be raised by developing a cancer diagnostics workshop kit which can be used during festivals, presentations, lessons, and demonstrations. The programme will be built around breast cancer, which is the most common cancer among women in the UK. It will explore cutting edge work undertaken at STFC developing methods of deep Raman spectroscopy and their application to the diagnosis of breast calcifications.
An 'experiment kit' comprising of posters, presentations, quizzes and hands on experiments will be developed use for workshop for school, work experience students, medical career open day and a local Science Festival.
Miss K McGrath
Fuel Theatre Ltd
Going Dark: a touring theatre performance about astronomy and perception
Award: £5,000
A touring theatre performance about astronomy will be developed and performed to school groups and the public, exploring cosmology and blindness, through the story of a man who is working in a planetarium who which is gradually being commercialised, and who is losing his sight. It will inform and enthuse audiences about the dynamics of vision, how it is applied to both cosmic views and the everyday world we live in, making audiences aware of how visual perception and optics have been a key aid to astronomy, and how sight is a fragile tool in our perceptual understanding of the world and the universe beyond
To offer audiences an understanding of how the brain interprets images, and how we make sense of a vast cosmos stretching the limits of our perception.
It is intended that the performance will tour 11 venues around the country for a total of 52 performances playing to 4,000 audience members.
Miss C Molyneux
Balshaw's CE High School, Leyland
South Ribble in Space
Award: £7,000
This project is intended to reach as many members of the South Ribble community as possible, to enthuse, inspire and educate on all things astronomical during 2011. It will aim to provide a year of exciting, stimulating and interactive Science events for all ages to the community. It will offer exciting opportunities for members of the local public to get involved with Science and the wonders of Space - ones that they would normally have to venture further afield to get. It will involve 12 Secondary schools in South Ribble and an event will be hosted each month, rotating around the schools.
All the pupils, staff and parents will be invited to each Science event. These will range from workshops i.e. build basic telescopes, to lectures on Space and Astronomy themes. A cross curricular aspect will be included by hosting debates, for example, that include religious studies departments e.g. Big Bang or not?
Scientists from local Universities will be invited - the University of Manchester, the University of Liverpool and the University of Lancaster; these will host lectures both during the day for pupils and in the evening for public attendance in our school hall on subjects including evolutionary biology, microbiology and genetics. The project will aim to try out new ways of Scientific communicaton. These include the use of animation; pupils will create animations to show things like the ecliptic and path of the planets These will be exhibited in the local museum as well as used during deliverance of lessons on the topics.
Dr R Trotta
Imperial College London
Urban Sputnik: Interactive Cosmology
Award: £8,542
Five Kinetic sculptures are to be produced to educate and inspire a diverse audience about cosmology and astrophysics. A website will be developed to inspire further learning and workshops will be held surrounding the theories which inspired each sculpture. The aim of this project is to provide a sensorial experience in an urban setting with otherwise limited visibility of astronomical bodies.
Whilst Urban Sputnik is primarily intended for science-inclined audience, it is hoped to make it as accessible and as relevant as possible for groups of young people. The award holders will work hand in hand with the institutions that will house the pieces, to integrate it wherever possible into their educational programmes. Due to the kinetic and interactive nature of the pieces, this project is educational in a non-conventional way, inviting the audience to think about the universe in a way they may not have done previously.
Mr A Trow
University of Glamorgan
Leading Space Education Wales
Award: £4,980
This project plans to replicate successful aspects of the "Leading Space Education" programme being run in England by the SSAT and STFC to schools in the RCT Convergence zone. The successful model of close engagement to initiate the project, followed by good teacher training and student workshops, will be undertaken by the award holders. They will develop a pilot astronomy programme, working with teachers, GCSE students and 6th formers in the RCT Convergence Zone, develop classroom resources and place them online, so that they are available nationally. The project will raise awareness of astronomy and space science, and its social relevance, amongst 14-18 year olds.
Teacher participants will be staff at these local schools, who will undertake the Galileo Teacher Training Programme, and be briefed and supported on establishing GCSE Astronomy at their schools. The family audience will be members of the students' families who attend the final part an "end-of-course" Astronomy Day event at Glamorgan, where there will be a final award ceremony for the participating students and poster displays for people to look at.
Professor P M Watkins
University of Birmingham
A Cascade of Physics in and from Particle Physics Research
Award: £2,600
This project will invite A Level and GCSE students nationwide (flyers sent to 3000+ schools)) to prepare, with support from their teachers and e-mail support from students/staff at the University, a short, stimulating video relating to particle physics or the fundamental principles behind some of the particle physics experiments. The topic will be chosen from a suggested list given or the students can submit their own idea for approval. The videos will last 3-4 minutes and be aimed at a particular age group in school. Teams of 2-4 students will work together and submit their entries on CD or memory stick by the beginning of April 2011. A team at the University (researchers, teachers and PG students) will watch the videos and judge them against specified criteria, choosing up to 6 winners.
The winning teams and their teachers will be invited into the University in June / July 2011 for a celebration lunch, to include showing of the winning videos, presentation of prizes, discussions with staff and, hopefully, a live video link to researchers at CERN. Schools nationwide will then be invited to use them to introduce concepts in the classroom and enhance physics lessons.
Dr K Webster
Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
Frontiers and Barriers
Award: £5,000
This award will fund the creation of three new Space related object handling collections which will be taken out to organisations such as nursing homes and residential care homes for adults with disabilities. Through these presenter-led, interactive and sensory learning experiences, it will enable the residents to share the science, relevance and passion for space technologies as well the wider STEM agenda. The objects will be on the themes of:
- Inventions through Space Research
- Survival in Space
- Space Junk
Inventions through Space Research will include items such as Kevlar, Mylar, Teflon and the Fisher Space pen. Survival in Space will feature items such as space food, aeroponics and space suit components. The Space Junk handling collection will include items that are found in space, both natural and man made, such as a meteorite sample, satellite components, aerogel and haematite. They will offer highly sensory and tactile experiences that we have previously demonstrated as being effective tools for stimulating dialogue within groups and also leading to high impact learning.
Participants can hold and closely examine the objects while the presenter facilitates the exploration of these objects through questions and information about them.
For the audiences that have been identified for this project, physical access to the museum is a key barrier to visits, hence the initial outreach visits followed by visits to Thinktank, where they will be accompanied by their supporters.
Professor B C Allanach
University of Cambridge
Guerilla Science 2011
Award: £9,500
Using a blend of discussion, debate, live experiments, talks and performances, Guerilla Science aims to communicate various aspects of science and technology to a general public audience. These will be predominantly adults with little or no experience of science (but also children and families) attending two music festivals in the UK during summer 2011.
By participating in our programme scientists will be able to communicate more effectively with the public, improving on their existing skills and potentially learning new ones. Public audience will be informed of the latest activities in STFC-orientated areas of science and technology, and how the scientific process works through direct communication and dialogue between young scientists and non-scientists. It will also broaden the audience's perceptions of what science is. Guerilla Science will create events that communicate the exciting nature of scientific research today. Filmed clips recording Guerilla Science activities will also be posted on sites such as Youtube and Facebook etc.
Miss R C Livermore
Durham University
It's not Rocket Science
Award: £1,500
The goal of the project is to visit schools and local community groups in the North East of England to deliver talks and interactive sessions related to current topics in astronomy. They aim to engage young people and the general public in science, highlight current research and provide information on career opportunities in science.
Other aims are to produce a series of presentations and supplementary materials relevant to schoolchildren (Key Stages (KS) 2-4 + A-Level) and the general public, and to offer talks and interactive activities to schools and local community groups. In the case of KS 4 and sixth form students, the project team will also offer careers talks, offering an opportunity for young people to directly question active research scientists. As an entirely female group, they hope in particular to encourage more young women to consider careers in science. Elsewhere in the local community, they will offer talks and interactive sessions to such diverse groups such as astronomical societies, scout and WI groups and the air cadets, with the aim of raising awareness of and interest in science to those who would not normally be exposed to it.
Page last updated: 23 May 2011
by Chris Woolford
