Superheroes, Sun storms and the science of success
Event organisers around the country put on some fantastic events for National Science and Engineering Week 2009, which ran from 6-15 March.
Our own regional network came into its own – with our Regional Officers coordinating a number of brilliant bee events around the country to support the Save Our Bees campaign for National Science and Engineering Week, and British Science Association branches running a huge range and breadth of events. Here’s a brief run-down of what our branches have been up to recently:
The Plymouth branch got off to a great start just before NSEW started. Their launch event on the ‘Science of everything’ on the 28th February attracted around 200 members of the public and got a lot of local media coverage. The branch also ran a very successful bee-themed National Science and Engineering Week event in conjunction with the University of Plymouth, which was aimed at local schools.
The London Branch held their first event on the 12th March – a Science Book Club with Armand LeRoi, the author of Mutants.
The Bristol Branch held a Public Forum on Options for Renewable Energy from the Severn Estuary called ‘Barrage or What?’ on the 7th March and also held the ‘Meet a Medic’ at Bath University as part of Bath Taps into Science.
The Oxfordshire branch sponsored ‘Wow! How?’, a hands-on exhibition at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and passed out information about their new SciBar series launching in late Spring.
Other National Science and Engineering Week branch events in the South included a talk by our Chief Executive, Roland Jackson, to the Richmond Scientific Society on science and the public. Hampstead Scientific Society ran a jam packed programme of lectures and their Observatory was open to the public throughout the week.
The Northumbria branch offered a diverse set of activities including 'Building your own Heart Rate Monitor', a K'Nex Engineering Challenge and a visit to the Cavitation Tunnel and Hydrodynamics Lab in Tyneside, all linking in with Newcastle Science Festival.
Sheffield had a very packed programme. They had large numbers of schools committing to their schools programme and also had a public programme during which you could test your brains during an Institution of Engineering and Technology quiz night, discuss with experts 'what we know and how we know it' on the topic of evolution, and take an 'energy challenge'.
The Cumbria branch had a 'Fun Science' day for primary school students in the Ulverston area. They also hosted a physics-themed lecture for 6th form students in Barrow.
Tuesday 3rd March saw the launch of the new Merseyside SciBar. The first speaker discussed the plight of the bees to link in with the Save our Bees campaign.
The Scottish branches were also busy organising events for NSEW. The Tayside and Fife branch hosted a lecture on the 11th March called ‘Storms from the Sun’. This lecture was about our nearest star, the Sun, which is vital to our life on Earth.
The ‘Angina Monologues’ – a play that covers the science behind obesity, diabetes and coronary heart disease – ran during NSEW on behalf of the West Scotland branch. The branch also held a lecture with the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow by Dr Martin Hendry from the University of Glasgow called ‘Why are we here? Current cosmology thinking in a wider philosophical context’.
Members of the Caithness branch were involved in the organisation of Caithness International Science Festival, a week-long event held annually for all the local primary and secondary schools. The four-day Festival kicked off just after NSEW on the 16th March, and involved workshops, science drama, motivational speakers and competitions based around different aspects of science and technology. Each year the Festival engages with over 3000 people to promote a positive attitude towards science and technology and its possibilities.
The Aberdeen Branch ran their Science Discovery Days at Satrosphere and Aberdeen Maritime Museum on the 14th March 2009.
The Moray Branch ran a daytime schools event at Ardnamurchan and activities at the Floral Hall in Inverness; along with evening talks in the Orkney islands of North Ronaldsay and Stronsay.
Over in Wales the Pembrokeshire branch held ‘Darwin's discoveries’ on the 10th and 12th March. There was a presentation on the work of Charles Darwin and his links to Pembrokeshire by Professor Anthony K Campbell of Cardiff University. There was also an art/science hands-on workshop where the different organisms Darwin studied on the Galapagos Islands were discussed and then created in a variety of art forms including 3D sculptures.
In the Midlands the Leicestershire branch supported the ‘Recycle for Health’ project being run by Dr Audrey Matthews at De Montfort University. This imaginative project enabled valuable lessons to be shared between primary school children and older people. The U3A, the Women’s Institute and other community bodies were involved.
The University of Derby ran a Festival of Science during National Science and Engineering Week comprising an exciting series of events to bring science alive and celebrate Derby’s evolutionary history. The huge range of activities available for people to take part in from 9-14th March included the science of superheroes, the ethics of diagnosing genetic diseases, how life began on planet Earth and whether Derby was really the birthplace of the theory of evolution.
And last but not least, the West Midlands branch held ‘The Science of Success’ on 13th March about the role of technology in sports performance. Birmingham University’s Dr Claire Davis, a previous British Science Association Award Lecturer, talked about the influence of design and materials on various aspects of sporting performance including the aspects of perception, safety and marketing.
Find out more about branches in your area.
Our own regional network came into its own – with our Regional Officers coordinating a number of brilliant bee events around the country to support the Save Our Bees campaign for National Science and Engineering Week, and British Science Association branches running a huge range and breadth of events. Here’s a brief run-down of what our branches have been up to recently:
The Plymouth branch got off to a great start just before NSEW started. Their launch event on the ‘Science of everything’ on the 28th February attracted around 200 members of the public and got a lot of local media coverage. The branch also ran a very successful bee-themed National Science and Engineering Week event in conjunction with the University of Plymouth, which was aimed at local schools.
The London Branch held their first event on the 12th March – a Science Book Club with Armand LeRoi, the author of Mutants.
The Bristol Branch held a Public Forum on Options for Renewable Energy from the Severn Estuary called ‘Barrage or What?’ on the 7th March and also held the ‘Meet a Medic’ at Bath University as part of Bath Taps into Science.
The Oxfordshire branch sponsored ‘Wow! How?’, a hands-on exhibition at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and passed out information about their new SciBar series launching in late Spring.
Other National Science and Engineering Week branch events in the South included a talk by our Chief Executive, Roland Jackson, to the Richmond Scientific Society on science and the public. Hampstead Scientific Society ran a jam packed programme of lectures and their Observatory was open to the public throughout the week.
The Northumbria branch offered a diverse set of activities including 'Building your own Heart Rate Monitor', a K'Nex Engineering Challenge and a visit to the Cavitation Tunnel and Hydrodynamics Lab in Tyneside, all linking in with Newcastle Science Festival.
Sheffield had a very packed programme. They had large numbers of schools committing to their schools programme and also had a public programme during which you could test your brains during an Institution of Engineering and Technology quiz night, discuss with experts 'what we know and how we know it' on the topic of evolution, and take an 'energy challenge'.
The Cumbria branch had a 'Fun Science' day for primary school students in the Ulverston area. They also hosted a physics-themed lecture for 6th form students in Barrow.
Tuesday 3rd March saw the launch of the new Merseyside SciBar. The first speaker discussed the plight of the bees to link in with the Save our Bees campaign.
The Scottish branches were also busy organising events for NSEW. The Tayside and Fife branch hosted a lecture on the 11th March called ‘Storms from the Sun’. This lecture was about our nearest star, the Sun, which is vital to our life on Earth.
The ‘Angina Monologues’ – a play that covers the science behind obesity, diabetes and coronary heart disease – ran during NSEW on behalf of the West Scotland branch. The branch also held a lecture with the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow by Dr Martin Hendry from the University of Glasgow called ‘Why are we here? Current cosmology thinking in a wider philosophical context’.
Members of the Caithness branch were involved in the organisation of Caithness International Science Festival, a week-long event held annually for all the local primary and secondary schools. The four-day Festival kicked off just after NSEW on the 16th March, and involved workshops, science drama, motivational speakers and competitions based around different aspects of science and technology. Each year the Festival engages with over 3000 people to promote a positive attitude towards science and technology and its possibilities.
The Aberdeen Branch ran their Science Discovery Days at Satrosphere and Aberdeen Maritime Museum on the 14th March 2009.
The Moray Branch ran a daytime schools event at Ardnamurchan and activities at the Floral Hall in Inverness; along with evening talks in the Orkney islands of North Ronaldsay and Stronsay.
Over in Wales the Pembrokeshire branch held ‘Darwin's discoveries’ on the 10th and 12th March. There was a presentation on the work of Charles Darwin and his links to Pembrokeshire by Professor Anthony K Campbell of Cardiff University. There was also an art/science hands-on workshop where the different organisms Darwin studied on the Galapagos Islands were discussed and then created in a variety of art forms including 3D sculptures.
In the Midlands the Leicestershire branch supported the ‘Recycle for Health’ project being run by Dr Audrey Matthews at De Montfort University. This imaginative project enabled valuable lessons to be shared between primary school children and older people. The U3A, the Women’s Institute and other community bodies were involved.
The University of Derby ran a Festival of Science during National Science and Engineering Week comprising an exciting series of events to bring science alive and celebrate Derby’s evolutionary history. The huge range of activities available for people to take part in from 9-14th March included the science of superheroes, the ethics of diagnosing genetic diseases, how life began on planet Earth and whether Derby was really the birthplace of the theory of evolution.
And last but not least, the West Midlands branch held ‘The Science of Success’ on 13th March about the role of technology in sports performance. Birmingham University’s Dr Claire Davis, a previous British Science Association Award Lecturer, talked about the influence of design and materials on various aspects of sporting performance including the aspects of perception, safety and marketing.
Find out more about branches in your area.
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