SCIENCE YEAR NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 58 Week ending Friday, 15th March 2002 Happy Friday – and welcome to another edition of the newsletter. It’s been a big week – or a big Science Week to be precise. And as ever, we have a battery-farmsworth of online events, projects, teaching ideas, offers and activities to tell you about. And as it’s the Ides of March today, we go Roman in the Gloamin’ for our joke, question and recommended websites of the week this week… What’s coming up: • Message from NIGEL PAINE • Pfizer’s Pfascinating SCIENCE JAMBOREE • HELEN REYNOLDS’ Science Year lecture • Free tickets for Simon Singh’s PROBABILITY lecture • SCALING EVEREST in the name of science • Free ASTRONOMICAL POSTERS for schools • DNA DAY sets a new world record • Win a MOLECULE-BUILDING KIT • FOOD TECHNOLOGY explained • Know any GOOD SCIENCE ACTIVITIES? • COOL SCHOOL Inspirational Ideas • FEMALE ROLE MODELS for Science & Engineering • BULLET POINT right on target • SCIENCE TEACHERS Discussion Group • MNEMONIC • IDES OF MARCH QUESTION OF THE WEEK • QUESTION OF THE WEEK • RECOMMENDED WEBSITES of the week • IOCUS (Joke) of the week • ANY OTHER BUSINESS We begin, though, with a farewell message from Science Year's outgoing director, Nigel Paine, who leaves us today. As you read this, he's very likely 35,000ft in the air, flicking through the movie options and looking forward to touching down and beginning a long-awaited holiday in Australia. But he has a few things he wants to pass on to everyone who's supported Science Year in thought, word, deed, ideas and enthusiasm. He says, "Can I thank you all for your splendid support during Science Year and hope that you will be enthusiastic to continue the relationship right to the end. I am moving on to a post in the BBC which is unfortunate timing but an opportunity not be be turned down. I will miss the great team here in the Science Year offices and the great number of you who have entered into the spirit of the year and done all the things and more that this newsletter illustrates and draws attention to. We really have made a huge impact and that is very much down to your efforts to spread Science Year everywhere and make it resonate. There is still a lot to come and much of the news will be through this medium. I have been added as a subscriber to the newsletter now so I will reading it, as you do, every Friday with bated breath. All personal emails will be forwarded on to Nigel in his new job, so if you’ve emailed him lately, don’t worry, he will receive it and will no doubt be in touch soon. Meanwhile, Science Week continues to rock and roll, with activities throughout the country. Congratulations to everyone who has been involved in hosting successful events - there have already been way way way too many to mention, so we'll just cover two here: > top PFIZER PFASCINATING SCIENCE JAMBOREE Why is that young lad holding his head like that, as though the end of the world was nigh? Surely the Science Jamboree wasn't that traumatic?! Well - it IS traumatic when you've already had your go at whisking the egg whites in the Meringue Challenge and all you can do now is watch your team-mates not... going... quite...fast enough. The Egg-stravaganza was without a doubt the noisiest demo at the Jamboree at Pfizer's HQ in Kent yesterday - but the level of enthusiasm was the same throughout the building. Live bats, forensic mysteries, pinning-the-organ-on-the-skeleton, and cycling like fury to make a model car race round its track were just a few of the educational-but-fun activities available. Over 3000 kids, 250 volunteers, 30 demos … and the man with the plan. John Adams was the organiser of the whole event, and was also the MC with the roving microphone as he attempted to ensure that all activities kept strictly to their 15 minute allocation. No simple matter. But very successful – and a most enjoyable two days was had by all, including visiting Minister for Schools, Baroness Cathy Ashton. Cup of tea for you now John?! > top BUBBLES AND DRY ICE Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the UK in Bristol, a tableful of dripping dry ice, gigantic bubbles, red spaghetti and a stardust explosion were on the scientific menu. The occasion was Helen Reynolds' hugely successful Science Year Schools Lecture, ‘Scientriffic – the Way The World Works’. Beginning with microscope images of bedbugs and athlete’s foot fungus, she then took the audience down to the atomic level of observation… Then, with multitudinous demonstrations, she went on to explain how understanding a bit about how things work on this level enables you to makes sense of some otherwise weird observations in the human-scale world. For example, she showed how you can stick a bluntish needle into a balloon without bursting it (NOT using sellotape – in case you’re thinking you know that old trick!) – it’s all in the twisting action, it would appear! Thank you very much to Helen for that brilliant lecture – the transcript of which will appear on the Science Year website shortly. > top MORE FREE LECTURES… If you’re a science teacher in London, we have two lots of free lectures to tell you about – and the tickets are ready and waiting to be sent out to you NOW! Simon Singh, the broadcaster and bestselling author of ‘Fermat’s Last Theorem’ and ‘The Code Book’ is giving a two schools lectures on the subject of probability and risk. The lectures are entitled ‘What are the Chances of That Happening?’ and they’ll be taking place at the Soho Theatre in London on 17th and 24th of April, at 5pm. They’re aimed at 16-19 year olds, and as with all of the Science Year lectures, the student audience will be very much encouraged to ask questions and have a dialogue with Simon at the end. The lecture will range across subjects from global warming and the efficacy of medicines, to card games and your chances of winning the lottery. As Simon says, "We live in a risk society, one in which there are no surefire bets. But mathematics may be able to help us live longer, beat the dealer, and predict the future..." If you’d like tickets for yourself and your class, please send an email to keynote@scienceyear.com And if you’d like to go, but you’re not a teacher – how about this as an option? Simon, together with Richard Wiseman are also doing four evening lectures together, Simon on probability, and Richard on ‘mental trickery’ – or the science involved in performing magic. The shows, called ‘Theatre of Science’ should be highly entertaining, as well as informative – and evoke the spirit of Victorian times when a night out at a scientific lecture was as hot a ticket as front row at a Eric Clapton concert … Find out more by visiting the Soho Theatre website at: http://www.sohotheatre.com - and click through where it says ‘Comedy’. > top SCALING THE HEIGHTS - LIVE ON A SCREEN NEAR YOU Meanwhile, over in the Himalayas - a technological first or what? Almost 50 years since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first conquered Everest, a UK physics teacher, Chris Mothersdale is about to set off to follow in their footsteps to the summit. But with one key 21st Century difference. Chris is going to have a range of physiological sensors attached to his body, and as he climbs, schools back in the UK will be able to monitor in real time how his heartrate, blood pressure, breathing, skin temperature and other physical variables respond as he faces the challenges of the climb. The technology needed for this incredible global-spanning physiology experiment is being provided by New Media, with support from OCR, WJEC, the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, and Edexcel. It’s free to take part, and all schools are invited to register. Registered schools will receive the data feed of physiological measurements AND atmospheric and altitude measurements as their man reaches for the summit. (And the New Media 'heart software' package which is offered as a free download on the Science Year website can be used as part of the project.) Find out more and register by clicking to our Everest page at: http://www.new-media.co.uk/scienceyear/everest.asp > top OUT OF THIS WORLD – FREE POSTERS And still on the subject of opportunities for schools… If you're a teacher, you should already know about the specially-created ASE CD-Rom 'Is There Life?' (This is also available online in the Teaching Resources area of the Science Year website. And at http://www.sycd.co.uk If you've explored the contents of the CD, you'll know that PPARC (the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council) have begun the production of a new series of cartoon-style wall posters, to support the KS3/4 science curriculum. Teacher Notes and Worksheets have been compiled to complement the posters, and the packs can be ordered with a set of 15 A3 size copies for class use. And they're completely free! What's more, a second installment in the series, entitled 'Dream Journey into the Atom', is now also available. It follows the adventures of our heroine ( as she travels deep into the atom... 'Dream Journey' is aimed at the 11-16 age group (English KS3/4) and is linked to the National Curriculum. And again, if you're a teacher, you're invited to order your free pack right now. All you have to do is contact: The P.U.S.T. Team, PPARC, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1SZ. Tel: 01793 442123 Fax: 01793 442125 E-mail: pr.pus@pparc.ac.uk. And they're very generous at PPARC - and highly committed to education. (You may remember they were offering the loan of lunar rock samples a few months ago?) So it may be well worth your while checking out other free PPARC materials for schools on their website at http://www.pparc.ac.uk . > top DNA DAY SETS A NEW WORLD RECORD Last Saturday saw another world record being set by a Science Year event, as Keele University raced against time to construct the world's biggest-ever DNA molecule. In a feat of endurance lasting more than 6 hours, scientists from the university (assisted by contributors from all over the country) pieced together a complex series of 'base pairs' to form a giant double helix. The giant molecule is on display at the Potteries Shopping Centre in Stoke On Trent until the end of the week, so if you're in the region we suggest you pop along and check it out. There's a host of other genetics-related activities on offer including the chance to make your own molecule, extract onion DNA, check out some GMOs and try a range of other hands-on science activities. For those who can't make it to Stoke, never fear - a report of the World Record attempt, some handy web links, photos from the day and all sorts of comments about the impact of gene science will be posted on the Science Year website next week... further DNAtails coming soon. > top MAD MOLECULES – YOUR CHANCE TO WIN SOME! AND – keeping it genetic… Following on from the success of last week's Dorling-Kindersley 'Human Genome' book competition, we now have five 'Make It Molecular' molecule-building kits to give away. The kits come from Molymod, who supported the DNA Day event with their crafty, high-quality molecule-building gear. And to win a kit, all you have to do is send an email to ideas@scienceyear.com saying what your favourite molecule is and why. The five most creative entries will win, and we'll post the best up on the website. Five runners up will also receive a small molecule-related offering...so get moleculating! > top WHAT’S THAT ON YOUR PLATE? Food technology, that’s what. Just a quick mention for a new area on the Science Year website which aims to explain what’s going on with a few of those foods that you’d never have seen on the shelves, say, during Roman times… Such as bio-yogurt, de-caffeinated drinks and seedless grapes. Ever wondered what they are, or how they came to be? If so, we have the answers! > top KNOW ANY EXTRORDINARILY GOOD SCIENCE ACTIVITIES? And another quick one, to say: if you have up your sleeve an exciting science activity you’d like to share, we want to know about it! This is for possible inclusion in a forthcoming publication, so there’s everything to play for. All activities should be sent to one of our own in-house scientific demo-gurus, Sophie Duncan on sophie.duncan@scienceyear.com … and talking of good activities, here are another handful from our bulging email inbox of contributions sent in by ideas-monsters throughout the country. Thank you for all of these – we can’t include them all here, so we’ll save the others for future weeks. > top COOL SCHOOL INSPIRATIONAL IDEAS ... 1. 60 SECOND SCIENCE Frances Waters from St Ebbe's C of E First School in Oxford has been in touch to tell us about her school's Science Day. They based their day on a theme suggested by the BA, '60 second science'. She says, "First we held a short assembly beneath a projection of a clock ticking the seconds away, and to give them a feel for how long 60 seconds last, bombarded them for exactly a minute with facts such as world records for number of skips on a unicycle in a minute (169 in case you were wondering), how many times around the Earth light travels in 60 seconds, and the age of the 60 year-old headteacher in seconds (around 2 billion)." For the rest of the day, the children moved around the school visiting seven 'zones', like the Puzzle Zone, Liquid Zone, Marble Run Zone and the Tubular Sculpture Zone, each of which contained a range of serious science/serious fun type activities. If you'd like to read more about what went on in each of the Zones, and a few tips for running a similar event, we'll be posting all the details up in the Cool School Science Ideas area of the Science Year website shortly. 2. ME AND MY EGG Meanwhile, perhaps in anticipation of Easter - but more likely just because it's a great activity for teaching children about the concept of responsibility, Julie Gan, a Science Technician gave her Year 7s the challenge of taking care of an egg for a week. A 'normal' egg, that is, not a chocolate one, for obvious reasons. (Teachers nick them.) Egg-nannying may seems like a very simple activity, but it involved making and decorating robust containers, keeping a log of care, and - on a morbid note - preparing a Death Certificate should anyone's egg, heaven forbid, be dropped. There were various rules in place for the week (eg Eggs must be in bed by 8pm, and not allowed to come to school) and the project was a major success. Again, you can find the full version of the project instructions in our Cool School Science Ideas area very soon. 3. BEAUTY SCHOOL SCIENTISTS And the winner of this week's £25 prize voucher is Sharon White for her innovative approach to teaching what's meant by 'endo' and 'exo' thermic reactions. She explains, "For some reason I've ended up with a single science class of 15 girls and one boy! A minority, but a loud one, of the girls is always asking 'why do we need to know this?'. So, when exploring the beauty counter in Marks and Spencers I found heating and cooling packs, and I thought I might be able to make at least this lesson more relevant. "They sell foil packs of beauty treatments; the pack that cools down once crushed is a soothing foot treatment and the pack which heats up on crushing is a type of heat treatment for all over the body. Obviously there are implications for safety if you are to allow the class to put the treatments on their skin, and I only did this one after a discussion to check known allergies etc. However, the class were really interested in how the reaction could have happened and now know their endo from their exo !!" As Sharon points out, the packs are £3.50 each, so not a resource most schools could afford to be too generous with, but still perhaps a one-off possibility? (NB we phoned M&S to ask whether the packs were still available as we could have offered a few as prizes – but in Oxford St, London, at least, they no longer stock them. So we suggest you phone first or try somewhere else if you’re wanting to copy Sharon’s idea.) > top FEMALE ROLE MODELS FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING And Sharon’s class amongst others may be interested to know that WISE (Women Into Science and Engineering) has published a set of profiles of women scientists and engineers, called 'The Living Proof'. This comes as a folder containing eleven profile sheets of female role models working in a range of professions from mechanical engineering and materials science to electrical engineering and genetics. The project's aimed at girls in secondary schools and at teachers, and the objective is to inspire anyone thinking about a career in science and engineering. To order free copies of the folder, ring WISE on 020 7227 8421 or send an email to wisecampaign@emta.org.uk. > top BULLET POINT RIGHT ON TARGET Our friends at Bullet Point Presentations, the part of the Digitalbrain group specialising in computer-based presentation products and services for the education sector, have put together a new special offer for the Science Year Kit Pot. In fact there are four different offers, featuring hefty discounts on Mimios, LCD projectors, Smart interactive whiteboards and 'Boardworks', their powerpoint resources covering over 50% of the National Curriculum. Full details of the offers will be available shortly in the Kit Pot section of the Science Year website. > top SCIENCE TEACHERS DISCUSSION GROUP You may remember a few weeks ago, Shaun Allison's request for contributions to her resource site at http://www.science-education-resources.co.uk . Thanks to everyone who’s followed up on this, the site has grown gratifyingly. And as a result, Shaun has launched another new initiative she'd like to alert you to - a discussion group. She says, "Linked to the site, I have opened an email discusson/information sharing site for science teachers at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scienceeducation/ . It would be great to get as many people signed up for this as possible - to discuss ideas, ask each other questions, seek advice etc. There is also the possibility of hosting varying databases there as well. So a plug for this would be great." Plug duly executed - please go and have a look… > top OSCAR NOMINATED MNEMONIC (well, in a manner of speaking!) Yes, bet you thought we’d finished with the mnemonics. But that was before we got this one which will help you around the home – and links in nicely to the forthcoming Oscars too. With it, you’ll never forget again how to wire a 13-amp plug correctly. He writes: "To the familiar ways to remember Bottom Left wire = BLue (note the capital B and L there), and Bottom Right is BRown, can I add the more recent (today's inspiration for me, but probably known by others for ages) the 'MIDDLE EARTH', which should by now have become memorable from Lord of the Rings." Many thanks to Dave Hall who emailed in with this electrical aide-memoire. He certainly has some good connections. * * * * * * * ECCE ROMANI! And - Beware the Ides of March. Which are today, in case they’d hitherto slipped by you unawares. This year though we've decided to celebrate - instead of run scared of - the Ides of March. So, from here on in, you’ll find two special Roman-related Science Line Questions of the Week, a Roman Joke of the Week - and a couple of Recommended Rome-related Websites too. The Romans, after all, were a very clever people. How do we know? Because they all spoke Latin! OK, that was just a little joke to get you in the mood, but it's true all the same - they were exceedingly ingenious and hard-working. To borrow a well known rhetorical question: what did the Romans ever do for us? Apart from aqueducts, sanitation, roads, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, a fresh water system and public baths… ? Exactly. > top IDES OF MARCH QUESTION OF THE WEEK First of all, what are the Ides of March anyway? And were they always something to be ‘bewared’? Find out a bit more here: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/ides1.html Oh – and remember their Latin name is: ‘Ides Martium’ in case you ever time-travel back to those days and want to blend in. > top SCIENCE LINE QUESTION OF THE WEEK Not so much the science and technology of ancient Rome, but the mathematics. Here are two questions from the Science Line files – and links to the answers. I. How did the Romans do multiplication? Find out at: http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Maths/9810/m00078d.html II. How, in Roman numerals, are numbers larger than 4,000 written? Find out at: http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Maths/9609/m00033d.html And if you have any science questions of your own – for matters past or present - you can send them in to be answered by the Science Line staff. You can do it on their website at http://www.sciencenet.org.uk - or you can phone them on their free 0808 800 4000 number. The lines are open from 1pm - 7pm Monday to Saturday and they're standing by for your call... > top RECOMMENDED WEBSITES OF THE WEEK 1. For a round-up on Roman Technology, check out THE ANCIENT ROMAN TECHNOLOGY HANDBOOK from the University of North Carolina. A few areas are still under construction, but you’ll still find a wealth of material – and illustrations. The url is: http://www.unc.edu/courses/rometech/public/frames/art_set.html 2. If you’re searching for something suitable for 7-10 year olds, or fun adults who want to start from scratch (!) we recommend ‘WHO WERE THE ROMANS?’ an interactive site for 7-10 year olds. At the press of a button, it’ll tell you a randomised ‘fascinating fact’, and reveal what Roman soldiers wore under their kilts. It also takes pleasure in revealing/claiming eg. that Roman soldiers didn’t have toilet paper, so they used sticks instead. Can that be true?! Have a look at: http://www.brims.co.uk/romans/ 3. And on a similar note – we think you’ll enjoy ‘DAILY LIFE IN ANCIENT ROME’ at http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/Romelife.html . It looks like a pure ‘fun zone’ but in fact contains a book-worth of everything you might wish to know about everyday life in Roman. Couldn’t seem to get a confirmation on the alleged Roman invention of the toilet-stick, but other than that … 4. And concrete – not even mentioned by Monty Python, but a crucially important contribution nonetheless. Here’s a site with all you ever needed to know about Roman Concrete - http://id-archserve.ucsb.edu/AH152K/concrete.htm 5. And a smaller site from the BBC’s Science Shack which discusses how come concrete sets so hard: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/scienceshack > top IOCUS <JOKE> OF THE WEEK A drunk Roman is driving home from Pompeii one night and, of course, his chariot is weaving violently all over the road. A city guard waves him over. "So," says the guard to the driver, "where have you been?" "Why, I've been to the taverna of course," slurs the drunk charioteer. "Well," says the guard, "it looks like you've had quite a few flagons of wine this evening." "I did all right," the drunk says with a smile. "Did you know," says the guard, standing straight and folding his arms across his chest, "that a few intersections back, your wife fell out of your chariot?" "Oh, thank heavens," sighs the drunk. "For a minute there, I thought I'd gone deaf!" > top ANY OTHER BUSINESS First of all, a reminder that we do welcome all contributions to the newsletter, so please send in any news, events, ideas or jokes you have to us at: anne.mcnaught@scienceyear.com . And, finally, we’d all like to wish Nigel P the very best holiday possible, and a brilliant, rewarding time in his new job at the BBC… Thanks for all your newsletter contributions, Nigel (usually last minute – but hey, we forgive you!) and for your great energy and enthusiasm around the place. That’s all for this week. Bye for now – and have a great one! > top