SCIENCE YEAR NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 41 Week ending Friday, 2nd November 2001 A week of microscopes, awards, kitchen chemistry, a limerick about a bolometer and a million other things not often found together in the same newsletter. So keep reading or you never know what you might miss... THE MICROSCOPES HAVE LANDED - AND THEY'RE REALLY FREE! It seems you can't even give away digital microscopes these days without people suspecting a catch ... As you might know from previous newsletters, part of the Science Year strategy to help teachers and schools over the coming months has been the creation of a 'Kit Pot', a source of complimentary or heavily discounted advanced science equipment for schools. The first item out of the Kit Pot was free teacher training for Think.com resources. And next up is an Intel QX3 Microscope which, along with teachers and, resources from Tag Learning has been made available to maintained secondary schools in England. The majority of these were delivered over the last few days, leading to a deluge of calls and faxes to the Science Year office from teachers wanting to double-check, "Is it free? REALLY free? With no strings attached?" So the definitive answer is: yes it is free. Free as a bird, or to be more accurate, free as a present. The microscopes were chosen as a Kit Pot item after consultation with a number of science teachers, so we hope you'll find them useful, enjoyable and another step forward in 21st Century teaching. WHAT, ONLY FOR ENGLAND? If you're not in England and want to know why your school hasn't been sent a microscope, we'd like to take this opportunity to explain that Science Year is being organised - and funded - separately in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales, which is why although some elements of Science Year are shared, there will at times be slightly different things on the menu in each nation. But we'll keep you posted via this newsletter every time something is distributed from the Kit Pot, wherever it's targetted. WHERE'S JOHNNY? Where indeed? This week sees Johnny Ball setting off on the road with his Science Year tour 'Tales of Blooming Science'. Sporting a packed wardrobe of costume changes and an itinerary that would leave even a vote-chasing politician for dead, he can be seen over the coming weeks at a multitude of venues up and down the UK, and unlike the Intel Microscopes he's not just dispatching himself to England. For further details, visit www.johnnyball.co.uk. TEACHER NEEDED FOR TOP (5 hour) 'HUMAN BODY' JOB As you might already know as part of Science Year, we're running a lecture series featuring some of the UK's most eminent scientists, including Professor Steve Jones, Baroness Susan Greenfield and Professor Sir Robert May. Each lecture will focus on a hot current topic in science, and they're all aimed at a post-16 audience. In each case, there will be a question and answer session after the talk, with younger members of the audience actively encouraged to take part. To ensure that everyone can benefit from the lecture even if they can't be there in person, teaching resources and information to accompany each lecture will be published on our website. Who's going to compile these resources and check them for relevance and value? Well ... possibly YOU! We are looking for a teacher to attend each lecture and to prepare some relevant resources for use in the classroom. We'll pay £20 / hour and it will involve about 5 hours work. The next lecture available is Professor Sir Robert Winston's talk at Sheffield Hallam University on the 21st November. It's entitled 'The Human Body: Miracle or Machine.' Is this up your street? If so, contact Jenni French on jenni.french@scienceyear.com explaining in no more than 200 words why you would like the job. THE TEACHING AWARDS 2001 If you're in Wales, Northern Ireland or England, you may be interested in tuning in to the National Teaching Awards which are being screened on Sunday (4th November) at 4.10pm on BBC 1. The award ceremony took place last weekend, and presentations were made in categories such as Most Outstanding New Teacher and Most Creative Use of ICT. We'd like to congratulate each of the winners, and give a special mention to Barry Cooke of Hyde Technology School in Tameside, who was presented with the Award for Lifetime Achievement......Brilliant work all round! All regional nominees were invited to take part in a weekend of workshops and events culminating in the final award ceremony at the Theatre Royal in London. As with all televised award ceremonies these days, it was a glittering evening, featuring a galaxy of A-list celebrities, and hosted by Carol Smillie. Not surprisingly though given their professional skills, the teachers were completely unfazed by the cameras, the packed theatre audience and even the starry names! Despite standing next to the likes of Ralph Fiennes, Sol Campbell and Joanna Lumley on stage. Each in turn made eloquent, gracious and entertaining acceptance speeches, leaving Carol Smillie in good humoured awe of the teachers' presentational abilities, bemoaning her own reliance on autocue and muttering something about 'being in the wrong job'. (However, she did make neat work of redecorating the theatre in the style of an 18th Dutch farmhouse after the show......Only kidding!) Seriously though, even if you're not involved in teaching, we think you'd enjoy the programme. It was inspirational and even emotional at times - particularly for one very popular and famous individual ... but you'll need to watch to find out who, and why. MORE AWARDS The Teaching Awards will be back next year, and if you're a physics teacher, that gives you a double chance because the Institute of Physics Award are looking for nominations for their own awards as well... Here's what they say: Each year, the Institute of Physics rewards the excellence of primary science and physics teachers nationwide. The Institute's Awards are for teachers who inspire and engage their students, teachers who involve their students in extra-curricular activities and teachers who have uplifted their colleagues through their love of teaching and physics. Last year eight exceptional teachers were selected to receive an Award. So if you know an outstanding teacher who fits the bill and whom you think should be nominated, contact Ian Cuthbert in the Education Department at the Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London, W1B INT, Tel. 020 7470 4800, E-mail: ian.cuthbert@iop.org And here's a great bonus - the proposers of successful teachers will receive a set of the best-selling 'Uncle Albert' books, courtesy of the publishers Faber and Faber. Closing date for nominations is 30 November 2001. THE BGS NEEDS YOU! Meanwhile, if you are a teacher of Earth Sciences and are frustrated by the lack of good teaching resources, then why not take a moment to help the British Geological Survey with their new venture - and possibly help to bring some new resources on stream? (The BGS helped us hugely with the Giant Jump, so if you can help them back, please do!) The BGS has just launched a campaign of market research aimed at UK teachers - this is to try and discover whether there are gaps are in the resources which are currently available to teachers, if so, what those gaps are, and whether they could possibly be filled by brand-new BGS products and materials. If you'd like to take part, there's a questionnaire on the BGS website at: www.bgs.ac.uk/education/home.html. Please complete it online, and send it back to them. ASE INSET - TIME IS RUNNING OUT! If you're not a teacher, hang in there because non-teacher related news and information is coming up in just four paragraphs' time ... but if you ARE a teacher, and you'd like to find out more about The Association for Science Education INSET and take part in the associated CPD Certificate, the ASE would like to hear from you before December. These Certificates are only available to teachers of science, and are proving very popular, last year seeing an increase in registrations of 130% compared to the same period last year, so roll up, roll up while you can ... The success of the certificate is thought to be due to the fact it's integrated within the teacher's present teaching programme and focuses on classroom activities already planned rather than requiring extra additional bolt-on activities. The ASE CPD Certificate is a process not a course, so completing the Certificate means you can gain formal recognition for something you are already doing. Induction sessions are taking place on 3rd December at various venues and interested teachers are always welcome. To find out more, contact ASE INSET Services on 024 7669 0053 or email moakes@aseinset.u-net.com YOUR NAME UP IN THE STARS Fancy naming your own NASA spacecraft? Not a chance that comes along every day… This is an amazing competition being run by the SIRTF - the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, which is based in Caltech in California. UK-based entrants are eligible and being actively welcomed to take part. Here's what's happening. The fourth and final of NASA's Great Observatories, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, is currently under construction... and when it's ready it'll join the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra (formerly AXAF, Advanced X-Ray Observatory), and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (whose mission is complete) in exploring our universe in different wavelengths, revealing much more than our own eyes can see. But so far, the new spacecraft has no name. It can't go into space like that! So the SIRTF Science Center is conducting a public contest to name the infrared observatory. Entrants can electronically submit an appropriate name and 250-word essay in support of their proposed name. The Grand Prize Winner(s) will be flown to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the launch of SIRTF. And just to repeat - UK-based entrants are eligible and being actively welcomed to take part. So what are you waiting for? For Contest Guidelines and Entry Form go to: http://sirtf.caltech.edu/namingcontest/ And for more info on SIRTF, including tutorials on infrared astronomy, go to to http://sirtf.caltech.edu/ TALK FOOD CONFERENCE Meanwhile, from space to food, and if you're in London, you may be interested in a conference taking place on Tuesday (6th November) at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE The Food Standards Agency is putting on a public debate in a format similar to the BBC's Newsnight and Question Time, with the audience asking questions of a panel drawn from the farming and food sectors, moderated by Jeremy Paxman. On the panel: Sir John Krebs, Chairman, FSA Ben Gill CBE, President of the National Farmers Union Lord Haskins, Chairman of Northern Foods Prue Leith OBE, food writer and restaurateur Kevin Hawkins, Safeway's Director of Communications The event is part of a package of initiatives by the Agency to ensure the policy on farming and food represents the views of ordinary consumers in its submission to the Commission. Guests will have an opportunity to read the FSA's draft response to the Government's Policy Commission, advising the Government on ways 'to create a sustainable, competitive and diverse farming and food sector as part of a thriving and sustainable rural economy', and the debate will feed into the FSA's subsequent submission. Terms of reference include 'advancing environmental, economic, health and animal welfare goals consistent with the Government's Common Agricultural Policy'. If you would like to take part you can register at: www.our-events.net/talkfood/ If you've got any queries, phone: 0870 1616 541, or contact Dr Joan Mason on jm148@cam.ac.uk TOAST AND COFFEE And on a very much less serious foodie note, we have two questions for you this week from the Science Line files ... Firstly: How many slices of bread could you toast in a lightning strike? Have a guess (or do a rapid calculation if you think you're hard enough!) Then go to www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Physics/9609/p00461d.html And if that's not enough for you, ponder this one: Why when you plunge a spoon into a cup of coffee straight out of the microwave does the coffee suddenly boil? This time, the answer is at http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Physics/Original/p00092d.html As ever, these are real questions which have been phoned or emailed in to Science Line during the last few days. And this is by way of reminding you that if you've got a niggling science query, Science Line can sort you out. There's no charge for their service, in fact they seem to enjoy the thrill of making science understandable and interesting, even if researching the answers involves climbing ladders in obscure libraries or surfing to the remotest corner of the internet. Their phone number is 0808 800 4000 and the lines are open from 1pm - 7pm Monday to Saturday. Alternatively visit their website at http://www.sciencenet.org.uk RECOMMENDED WEBSITES OF THE WEEK Monday night is fireworks night, so it seemed timely to recommend three website which explains all about the history and chemistry of fire and fireworks, AND everything you need to know about firework safety. For the history: pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/7927sci3.html For how they work: www.howstuffworks.com/fireworks.html For the UK’s Fireworks Safety Site http://www.fireworksafety.co.uk/ Have a fun - and safe - November 5th. LIMERICKS OF THE WEEK Richard Ellam of L M Interactive in Paulton is the man responsible for diverting us from the quest for jokes this week. Instead he's sent us a few limericks. And this clearly throws the gauntlet down to other science-poets ... Here we go: (Tribute to Samuel P. Langley, 1834-1906) Oh Langley invented the bolometer, Which is really a kind of thermometer. It will measure the heat In a polar bear's feet From a distance of half a kilometer And (Tribute to George Fitzgerald, 1851-1901) A fencing instructor named Frisk Is in motion exceedingly brisk. Because of his action The Fitzgerald contraction Foreshortens his foil to a disc! If you think you can do better - difficult but possible? - get composing and send it in to us. A fantastic prize will be rushed out and bought for the winner, details to be announced soon! ANY OTHER BUSINESS If you've info other readers can use Or a website or desire to do reviews Send an email to us today With anything you've got to say And we'll put it in next week's news (letter -eek sorry) Ouch - that was Very bad, many apologies. You can definitely do better - a monkey with a typewriter could ... or perhaps already has (?) But meanwhile, do let us have any contributions to the newsletter. And have a great week. The email address for newsletter and web enquires is anne.mcnaught@scienceyear.com And have a scientastic week! Return to archive