SCIENCE YEAR NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 53 Week ending Friday, 8th Feb 2002 Strap on your skis, lubricate your luge, and turn on your tv - the Winter Olympics shoots off the launch pad late tonight. And not to be left behind, we've located some top sport science resources to make (scientific) sense of the whole event as it unfolds. For many people though, the Winter Olympics will be taking a back seat to the Pop Idol Final tomorrow night... So, love it or hate it, we've got P.I. covered too, with information on the science of singing, recording, hair gel - and a link to our online mixing desk. And in the meantime, here's what's in store in this newsletter. • SCIENCE WEEK is coming... • SCIENCE WRITERS' competition • BRISTOL SCHOOLS' LECTURE • PRIMITIVE STREAK - art meets Science Year • Drama projects approach curtain-up - SCIENCE CENTRESTAGE • NORTHERN IRELAND gets web-W.I.S.E. • Educational WEB-ASSISTANCE called for • WINTER OLYMPIC SCIENCE - don't be left out in the cold :) • POP IDOL SCIENCE • Scary QUESTION OF THE WEEK • ANOTHER RECOMMENDED WEBSITE OF THE WEEK • JOKE OF THE WEEK • A.O.B. NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK IS COMING Want to learn about lightning, rainbows and silicon chips in Glasgow? Or about the science of today's toys in Nottingham? Or do some animal behaviour research in Devon? These are just a tiny fraction of the projects and activities that imaginative, energised science-lovers have already organised for National Science Week, which begins on the 8th March. Check out all the events so far registered on the British Association for the Advancement of Science's site at http://www.the-ba.net (they've got a clickable map of the UK to help you find what's happening in your area with the least hassle.) And if seeing the range of activities gets your creative juices flowing, you can also find out about how to organise and register an event yourself. (In the next couple of weeks we'll be supplying further ideas for activities as well if you're still really keen but also really stumped!) DAILY TELEGRAPH/BASF SCIENCE WRITERS AWARDS We've mentioned this prestigious (and generously prized) competition before, but as the schools' information packs are going out next week, it seemed a good opportunity to bring the subject up again. The aim of the competition is to encourage promising science writers of the future to step forward and show what they're made of... There are two categories, 16-19 and 20-28, and what's required is a 700-word article about a scientific discovery (or your own research, if you're in the older age range and a working scientist). If you love science and have a flair for writing, why not give it a go? You'll find all the entry details online at http://www.science-writer.co.uk/. There's also a wealth of advice and tips from the professionals AND you can have a look at what the previous winners did to win. Narcolepsy, music on the brain, maggots and antimatter are just a few of the wide-ranging subjects that have been written about recently, and you'll see that what the winning features all have in common is that they're extremely readable and interesting. NOT scarily academic. All you have to do is find a good story, research it properly, and be able to bring it to life for a general audience. Easier said than done - but if you've got the gift, it's time you showed it off! (And attention all teachers - there's a special schools' prize for the one submitting most entries ... how's that for a carrot?) The information hotline number is: 020 7704 5315. And the closing date is 26th April. LECTURE: UNDERSTANDING THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS Roll up, roll up for Science Year's next lecture. This time it's taking place in Bristol, at the IMAX cinema, on the 13th March at 6.30pm. And in contrast to previous lectures, it's aimed at 11-14 year old pupils. The lecturer is award-winning physics teacher Helen Reynolds, and the title of her talk is "Scientriffic: understanding the way the world works". She'll be describing how science holds the key to understanding and answering some of the world's biggest questions ever. Helen is a charismatic speaker, and the lecture will be fully illustrated with real life experiments, so it should be a good evening! If you'd like to book seats, email your details to: keynote@sciencyear.com And remember, we've already accumulated a huge bank of transcripts, information, book lists etc for all of the previous lectures, and these can all be found on the Science Year website by clicking here. PRIMITIVE STREAK And - if you're in the Tayside area, get your diary out: another forthcoming SY lecture is planned for 26th April at Dundee University. In a radical break from tradition, the lecture will feature TWO speakers, in fact, two sisters. Fashion designer Helen Storey, and research biologist Dr Kate Storey. The Storeys have collaborated on several art/science projects before and their talk will explore the achievements and potential for this type of crossover between the 'two cultures'. If you'd like to reserve tickets for school groups, contact: keynote@scienceyear.com . Meanwhile, in London the Storeys' exhibition, 'Primitive Streak' re-opens at King's College on Wednesday. The show features sumptuously created dresses which take their inspiration from the stages of development in the first 1000 hours of embryonic life. You can read more about it at: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/phpnews/wmview.php?ArtID=71 The exhibition runs until the 6th March, and the new address is: Reception, New Hunt's House, Guy's Campus, London, and if you'd like to go along, email Katharine.rabson@kcl.ac.uk . A competition for best review of the exhibition was held for 15 year olds who were invited to the exhibition recently, and the winner was Khandan Rashid, with runner up Lavinya Royer. You'll be able to read their reviews in full on the Science Year website shortly ... SCIENCE CENTRESTAGE Science and the arts meet again as part of the Science Year/Wellcome Trust project 'Science Centrestage National Drama Festival'. Participating schools have been working with actors and scientists to produce new theatrical works which reflect ethical and moral issues in current biomedical science. These works will be staged at regional festivals which will be taking place in ten major cities around the UK in March. They festivals are free to attend, and if you'd like an invitation please contact Bridget Hollingham bridgeth@oxtrust.org.uk . Details of all the venues can be found on the Events section of the Science Year website by clicking here. So hurry hurry hurry while ticket stocks last! NORTHERN IRELAND GETS WEB-W.I.S.E. WISE (Women Into Science and Engineering) in Northern Ireland would like to welcome you to their new website, which can be found at http://www.wiseni.org . Careers information and female role models feature prominently on the site, but there's also a noticeboard and discussion forum to encourage networking online. AND TALKING OF WEBSITES ... Shaun Allison emailed earlier this week to ask for help from any fellow science teachers. He says, "In an attempt to make the life of the science teacher a little easier, I have recently launched a new website: http://www.science-education-resources.co.uk . However, if the site is to be a success, it needs as many science teachers as possible to contribute to it. This way there will be a range of different styles and ideas." His plan initially was to put resources like worksheets and spreadsheets on his own school intranet, but then realised he might as well make them available to a wider audience on the internet... "It always seems daft to me that most schools (certainly in West Sussex) follow the AQA modular GCSE Science course, however, we all produce our own resources. This seems very repetitive - hopefully, this will provide a place for practising teachers to share resources." If it's successful for GCSE resources, then he'd like to expand it to include KS3 and even AS/A2 resouces in the future. The site itself contains all the details about how to contribute to it, so have a look... WINTER OLYMPIC SCIENCE The US organisers have spent the best part of a decade getting ready for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics ... and it's gonna be big. BIGGER than big. The opening ceremony is tonight, and from then on, it's head down, ski-tips up for the next 14 days. The official site is http://www.saltlake2002.com, and for UK news etc we recommend the BBC's site at http://news.bbc.co.uk/winterolympics2002/ But even if your last flickering memory of winter-sport excitement was Eddie the Eagle and Ravel's Bolero and you're thinking I HATE SPORT ON TV!!!!, we're pretty sure you're going to love the following dedicated sport science site, with it's groovy animations and explanations of all things freezing and physical, muscular and corpuscular... 'The Science of the Winter Olympics' can be found at: http://btc.montana.edu/olympics/ The use of video clips is great (watch out for luge man zooming back and forth to demonstrate the physics and biomechanics of that terrifying sport.) There's also a wealth of info on sports nutrition, athletes to watch, and physiological and psychological endurance profiles. The site was made in 1998 to chime in with the last winter Olympics, but has stood the test of time. PS lingo tip recently learned: at all times, say "x-c ski-ing" with a casual air instead of "cross-country ski-ing". POP IDOL SCIENCE Gareth or Will? Will or Gareth? Will you be watching? Will you be VOTING? Pop Idol has whipped the nation into a frenzy and the final's tomorrow. As with the Winter Olympics, Pop Idol may not be everyone's cup of tea (though recent tabloid sales round the otherwise high-minded SY office would suggest this number may be small!) Anyway, we can still bring you some science to divert your attention - or indeed enhance your enjoyment of the show. First of all - for Gareth fans, we have information about the science of hair gel in the aka science room. And if you've not tried it already, check out our science of sound area – and our interactive mixing desk in games. But, at the end of the day, it’s all about singing … so here’s the best site we could find on how we sing – and how to do it better (not that Will or Gareth need that, we hasten to add!) http://www.dogandponysound.com/sing_tipb.htm . Now when’s that next set of tv auditions…? SCIENCE LINE QUESTION OF THE WEEK On a non-related note, Science Line have come up with the following question from their files: "Why do I remember the scary parts of movies so clearly?" And the answer can be found at http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Social/Senses/s00188c.html But if you’ve got another question that’s been perplexing you, give them a ring. There's no charge for Science Line’s service. All you need to know is that 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 and post your question there. RECOMMENDED WEBSITE OF THE WEEK Is 'Pieces of Science' at: http://www.sln.org/pieces/ Our web reviewer Katie Walsh has explored every corner of it, and this is her verdict: "This is a very neat site. It has an attractive and easy to use home page that gets you right into the content, with 16 coloured pictures of the 16 chosen museum pieces - click on any one to go to the content. It's aimed at teachers from younger to older school pupils, and each object has been meticulously researched and the educational content provided by dedicated teachers and 'online educators'. It's a joint Anglo-American venture from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and the Science Museum in London, but will be useful as a teacher resource internationally. Each object is explored in text, picture and some have video too". JOKE OF THE WEEK While driving down a steep and curvy logging road, a biology field crew lose control of their 4-wheel drive and career down the hill. The truck smashes up at the bottom of the canyon, and everyone aboard perishes. Suprisingly, they all go to heaven. At an orientation they are asked, "When you are in your casket and your friends and family are mourning about your death, what would you like to hear them say about you?" The first guy, a well known botanist says, "I would like to hear them say that I was one of the greatest botanists of my time, and left an eternal contribution to the botanical world." The second guy, an ornithologist, says, "I would like to hear that I was a wonderful birder and made a huge difference in the recovery of our bird populations." The last guy, a scruffy mammalogist, replies, "I would like to hear them say...... "LOOK, HE'S MOVING! ! ! ! !" A.O.B. As we're always mentioning, this newsletter is YOURS and, space permitting, we're keen to feature all contributions of value to other people interested in science and Science Year. And we are hereby offering a £25 CD voucher to the best example we receive each week of people putting their science-imagination to work in relation to a science year event... We'd like to know what you did, how you did it, what the idea was and what the results were. Any quirky details will be particularly well received. Just a paragraph or two will do. And as ever, all web contributions should be sent to: anne.mcnaught@scienceyear.com Bye - and have a great week.