Planet Science outreach initiative
The Planet Science Outreach Programme has awarded grants worth a total of nearly £1 million to support projects that reach out to maintained schools in England that have low levels of achievement in science and that have not benefited from other science education initiatives.
Projects are targeted at Key Stages 2, 3 or 4 and aim to be sustainable and to be able to support participants with further information after the project ends.
Following a period of piloting last spring, six projects have been successful in winning funding to run their project during the school year 2003/4.
- Sport by Design - SCIENCE BY DESIGN
Targeting KS3 pupils, teachers and parents in Birmingham in collaboration with the Thinktank science centre.
- The Association for Science Education (ASE)
- RED HOT SCIENCE
Working with Sheffield Hallam University to target KS3 pupils, embedding science in activities pupils already find interesting.
- International Centre for Life - SURPRISING SCIENCE
Delivering an exciting programme of of demonstrations, 'hands-on' investigations and extra curricular visits.
- The National Space Centre - E-MISSION 'OPERATION MONSERRAT'
Using distance-learning technology at e-learning centres to bring a simulation of Challenger missions to pupils at schools in a number of English regions.
Institute of Education - ENHANCING SCIENCE UPTAKE
Using Science PGCE students in challenging London schools bringing activities to enthuse and motivate pupils.
- Sheffield Wildlife Trust - THE NATURAL WORLD OF SCIENCE
Using a nature reserve to improve teaching and learning in the transition from KS2 to KS3.
sport by design - SCIENCE BY DESIGN
This project uses the science of sport to engage pupils and teachers at Key Stage 3. Run by the midlands-based company Sport by Design, this project is targeting schools in the Birmingham area. It offers interactive workshops, lectures and a visit to the ThinkTank science centre as part of a co-ordinated programme designed to raise awareness of the role that science and scientists play in top level sport and the career opportunities that are available. Aiming to reach twenty five schools, Science by Design should allow 3,000 pupils to experience this integrated programme of activities.
contact:
Geoff Parsons
Director
Sport by Design Ltd
49 Kepler
Lichfield Road Ind. Est.
Tamworth
Staffordshire B79 7XE
Tel: 01827 316297
Email: geoffparsons@sportbydesign.co.uk
www.sportbydesign.co.uk
Back to Top
the Association for Science Education (ASE) -RED HOT SCIENCE
This partnership project between the Association for Science Education (ASE) and Centre for Science Education (Sheffield Hallam University) is designed to engage ‘reluctant learners’ in science in a number of areas across England.
This will be achieved by embedding science within contexts that pupils already find interesting such as interactive games, role-plays, scientific investigations or model making. A suite of 11 activities will be produced between December and July focusing on physical science. Examples in the pilot stage included the Terminator films and rollercoasters. Up to 100 schools are expected to participate in the main stage of this project.
contact:
Marianne Cutler
Director of Curriculum Development
Association for Science Education
College Lane
Hatfield
Hertfordshire AL10 9AA
Back to Top
international centre for life - SURPRISING SCIENCE
The Life Science Centre in Newcastle has developed a programme, run by young graduate scientists, that delivers an exciting programme of demonstrations, ‘hands-on’ investigations and extra-curricular visits. These are designed to enthuse students about science, provide them with role models and to demonstrate what they have learnt in novel and exciting ways.
This grass roots project links curricula needs (as defined by teachers) with student interests. The Life Science Centre team will develop bespoke schemes of work for each school. . In total sixteen schools from across the North East will take part in the main stage project.
contact:
Noel Jackson
Education & Outreach Manager
Life Science Centre,
Times Square
Newcastle NE1 4QP
Tel: 0191 243 8211
Email: noel.jackson@life.org.uk
www.centre-for-life.co.uk
Back to Top
the national space centre - E-MISSION 'OPERATION MONSERRAT'
The National Space Centre has successfully run “Challenger” missions at its Leicester base. The missions are interactive problem-solving exercises that allow pupils to use real scientific data to complete a mission. This project will make Challenger missions available through video conferencing, thus making them accessible to many more schools, including those that could not consider travelling to Leicester. Delivered through e-learning centres in a number of English regions, the project will not rely on schools having their own infrastructure. The main stage of the project will see some sixty missions delivered.
contact:
Joy Horton
Education Manager
The National Space Centre
Exploration Drive
Leicester LE4 5NS
Tel: 0116 2582132 (extension 351)
Email: joyh@spacecentre.co.uk
www.spacecentre.co.uk
Back to Top
institute of education - ENHANCING SCIENCE UPTAKE
The objectives of this project, managed by the Institute of Education, University of London, are primarily:
To enthuse and motivate pupils from groups which have traditionally lost interest in school science while at secondary school and
To increase the attainment of such pupils in science and to identify activities which are particularly successful in this regard.
The route by which these objectives will be achieved involves reshaping the summer term of the Science PGCE course at the Institute. All the 90 or so PGCE Science Beginning Teachers at the institute will be working on the project and will work with challenging schools in London to develop and organise a series of activities that will help to enthuse and motivate pupils. The long-term plan is to embed this activity in the course offered by the Institute to ensure that new science teachers are equipped to help pupils understand the relevance of science, whilst teaching the curriculum.
contact:
Dr Jenny Frost
Senior Lecturer in Science Education
Institute of Education, University of London
20 Bedford Way
London WC1H 0AL
Tel: 020 7947 9522
Email: j.frost@ioe.ac.uk
www.ioe.ac.uk/mst
Back to Top
sheffield wildlife trust - THE NATURAL WORLD OF SCIENCE
The project managed by the Sheffield Wildlife Trust aims to deliver a series of learning activities through school visits and out of school hours activities. The programme is targeted at the Year 6 and 7 curricula and aims to support pupils during the transition between Key Stages 2 and 3.
Using the Blackburn Meadows reserve, pupils will explore different habitats and investigate how the habitat conditions affect the animals and plants that live there and how the different organisms are adapted. They will also explore how forces work in the natural world. From studying migrating birds to designing their own solar-powered vehicles, pupils will be able to investigate a wide range of forces and their effects. Finally they will look at how light conditions can affect a habitat and how plants absorb light. The overall programme will support learning about: living systems, interdependence and adaptation, how we see things, energy resources, the solar system and beyond.
Targeting the Sheffield area, this project will provide a “model” that other Wildlife Trusts may be able to build on across the country.
contact:
Katherine Packer
Education Manager
Sheffield Wildlife Trust Education Centre
Magna
Sheffield Road
Templeborough
Rotherham S60 1DX
Tel: 01709 723127
Email: Katherine@sheffieldwt.cix.co.uk
www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/sheffield
Back to Top
At the pilot stage of the Outreach initiative there were also two other projects:
- The Open University - 'ROBOCUP'
A robotics challenge for KS2 and KS3 pupils based in the Portsmouth and Havant areas.
- Lancashire County Museum Service - RENT-A-ROCK
An earth sciences project for KS3 pupils and teachers in the Lancashire region.
the open university - 'ROBOCUP'
This project was a collaboration between the Open University and The Pompey Study Centre. The project aimed to formally evaluate (in both the short-term and the long-term) the potential of robotics challenges to engage children's interest in scientific experimentation.
The project encouraged schools to participate in local and regional schools challenges in science and engineering, and to develop children's skills in applying their research findings to the solution of particular robotics related problems.
Back to Top
lancashire county museum service - RENT-A-ROCK
Rent-a-rock was an Earth Science outreach project for Key Stage 3 pupils in schools that underachieve in science. It was a collaborative project between Lancashire County Museum Service, Manchester Museum, SETPOINT and the Earth Sciences Education Unit (ESEU). The project aimed to improve the quality and enjoyment of studying the Earth Sciences elements of the National Curriculum by providing pupils with resources tailored to their learning needs, and by providing teachers with training and resources to develop their teaching of Earth Science
The pilot project will create two sets of three ‘topic boxes’ containing geological samples and teaching resources which relate to Earth Science for years 7, 8, and 9, and provide INSET training for teachers. These services will be piloted through Manchester Museum and Lancashire Museum Service.
Back to Top
Any Questions?
All questions should be directed to the project administrators, People Science and Policy Ltd, on 020 7554 8634 or via email to info@peoplescienceandpolicy.com