Here's what's coming up...
- ASSOCIATION FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION ANNUAL MEETING 2006
- BA CREST SCIENCE FAIR COMING UP
- NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK UPDATE/ILLUMINATE COMPETITION
- ACTIVITIES
- RECOMMENDED WEBSITE
- IMAGINE BEYOND THE LIMITS – SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING COMPETITION
- OECD PROGRAMME FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ASSESSMENT (PISA) 2006
- SIGN UP FOR FREE BA COMMUNICATIONS
- FINAL WORD – INCLUDING DATES FOR YOUR 2006 DIARY
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1. ASSOCIATION FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION ANNUAL MEETING 2006
It’s not too late to book your place at the Association for Science Education Annual Conference which runs from Wednesday 4 to Saturday 7 January 2006 at the University of Reading.
The Young People’s Programme team will have a stand at the conference. Please come along and say hello to us at stand BO2.
To find out more about our award schemes, you may wish to sign up for the following workshops:
1) Citizen Science: Resources to Discuss and Debate Contemporary Science Issues
Date: Thursday 5 January 2006 at 09:30
2) Creative Investigations with BA CREST Awards
Date: Friday 6 January 2006 at 09:30
3) Fizz Pop Bang! Activities for Science Week and Science Clubs
Date: Saturday 7 January 2006 at 11:30
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2. BA CREST SCIENCE FAIR COMING UP
The BA CREST Science Fair 2006 is fast approaching. The Fair is a national showcase of 70 - 100 science and technology projects from students aged 11 – 19. It will be held at the Royal Society in London on 27 February 2006. At the fair judges select the best projects and young scientists for a range of prestigious prizes, including cash, iPods and international trips.
Caroline Clark, 19, from Bexhill-on-Sea, impressed judges at the BA CREST Science Fair 2005, where she won the QinetiQ Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar Prize for her project 'Development of Hepatitis B Virus Genotyping Tool'. Caroline will fly to Stockholm on 4 December for a week of scientific events and lectures, centred around the Nobel Prize Awarding Ceremony. Since 1976, highly gifted students have gathered in Stockholm each December for this exciting and enlightening seminar. The program brings together young people from all over the world with similar interests and aims to promote international understanding and friendship.
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3. NSW UPDATE
National Science Week (10-19 March 2006) is steadily approaching! Remember to register online as an organiser to be kept up-to-date.
Once registered, please add your event online before Friday 13 January to ensure its appearance in the printed programme. The National Science Week team is currently developing its regional, printed programmes. The programmes will be distributed to schools, libraries, tourist information centres, museums and beyond. You can register a National Science Week event for the programme free of charge.
As an organiser you can access many resources for yourself and for your event. For example you can now download the new activity pack “Colour Chaos!” and the National Science Week 2006 Key Stage 3 Quiz available this year to test your groups’ science knowledge. Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 versions will also be on the website soon.
For National Science Week 2006, goodies can be purchased to use for your event, for yourself, or for prizes at our not-for-profit online shop. All items are at cost price to make them affordable. This will be on the National Science Week area of the website very soon.
FOR SCHOOLS IN GRAMPIAN
The BA is inviting all schools in the Grampian area to participate in National Science Week by taking 45 minutes to run ‘The next Great Egg Race’ – suitable for all ages but particularly recommended for P4-S2.
The challenge is for teams to create a tree using only card or paper within a given time limit.
ILLUMINATE COMPETITION
In the run-up to National Science Week, the BA is running Illuminate, a photography competition for all ages. Use your imagination to capture colour in science, whether it’s the blue of a flask of copper sulphate solution, brilliant white of snow on a winter’s morning or the spectrum of oil on the surface of a puddle. Budding photographers can submit their pictures from Thursday 12 January to win fabulous prizes.
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4. ACTIVITIES
With Christmas on its way, children may need encouragement to eat those Christmas dinner vegetables…
Eat your greens activity (PDF 191KB)
This activity was taken from the National Science Week challenge pack ‘Domestic Science’.
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTS ARE CONNECTED AND CONTROLLED?
This is just one of over 200 project ideas developed for students interested in completing a BA CREST Award. BA CREST is a nationally recognised, project-based scheme for students aged 11-19. BA CREST Awards encourage students to develop their scientific curiosity, problem-solving, communication and practical skills for use in the ‘real world’.
To help students get started, the BA has developed a online resource of practical ideas that students can use as starting points for their own investigations in topics relevant to their everyday lives. The inspirational project ideas span all areas of science, engineering and technology and are grouped into 10 themes, including Fashion, Sport, Environment and Space.
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5. RECOMMENDED WEBSITE
Funology is dedicated to the science of having fun. The website includes riddles, projects (how to make an ice cream sandwich), boredom busters (projects like making clay dough), brain drains (puzzles, codes, etc.), and abracadabra (home made magic tricks). There is enough fun here to keep you or your students busy in the Christmas holidays.
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6. IMAGINE BEYOND THE LIMITS – SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING COMPETITION FOR STUDENTS
Can you imagine what life will be like in the year 2020? If you've ever dreamt up any gadgets or inventions that could be used in the house of the future then you could win a fantastic prize. If you're 18 years old or under, enter the Siemens 'Imagine Beyond the Limits' competition.
The inventors of the three best creations will each win a fabulous Fujitsu Siemens Computers laptop and have their suggestions professionally drawn up into a futuristic design by a top illustrator.
If you want to combine your brainpower you can team up with your friends and submit a group entry and win a prize for your school instead. The winning school will receive £500 to spend on science books and equipment, as well as having their idea drawn up by an illustrator.
To request an entry form and teacher pack email imagine@beyondthelimits.co.uk
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7. OECD PROGRAMME FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ASSESSMENT 2006
Towards the end of January 2006, around 180 schools across England will be invited to participate in an international survey of 15 year olds run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Around 58 countries, including the UK, will be taking part in the OECD PISA study which assesses the performance in science, mathematics and reading of pupils who are coming to the end of compulsory schooling.
The study will also relate their performance to factors such as home background, and schools will receive individually tailored feedback on their pupils’ attitudes to school and science which should provide useful information for the purposes of self-evaluation.
Participating schools will be asked to choose a convenient date for them between 16 October-17 November 2006, and the whole session will take around half a day. For each school, the session will involve testing about 30 pupils from Year 11 using specially developed questions, both multiple choice and open-ended, focusing on science. Some pupils will also be asked to answer questions on mathematics and reading. There will also be a background questionnaire for pupils to complete, and a school questionnaire to be completed by, for example, the head teacher or head of science.
The Department for Education and Skills has appointed the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to oversee the study in England. In order to reduce the workload for schools, NFER will be providing test administrators to visit the schools. NFER will also carry out all the marking.
A representative sample of schools in England has been drawn independently by the OECD. Unfortunately, schools cannot ‘opt in’ to the study and only those schools drawn in the national sample will be able to participate. NFER will be writing direct to those schools which have been drawn in the sample, so please look out for an invitation at the end of January.
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8. SIGN UP FOR FREE BA COMMUNICATIONS
The BA provides a variety of free communications including the Science News Digest which comes out every week and features highlights from the science news as collated by the BA's Press Officer. You may wish to use this as resource for discussing current science issues with your students.
View supporter communication options here
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9. FINAL WORD – INCLUDING DATES FOR YOUR 2006 DIARY
Here is just a reminder of important dates for those new 2006 diaries:
ASE Annual Meeting – University of Reading
4-7 January
BA CREST Science Fair - Royal Society, London
27 February
National Science Week - Across the UK
10-19 March
BA Festival of Science 2006 – Norwich
2-9th September
The next YPP e-newsletter will be out on Friday 3 March.
URGENT REQUEST: We have a shortage of images of young people engaged in science activities. We would be extremely grateful if you could send in any images of your students’ involved in science clubs/lessons (please seek permission from the students’ parent/guardian first). These images will be used on the BA’s website and marketing materials. Please email jpegs to ypp@the-ba.net, if you have any questions please call 020 7019 4943.
Finally the BA wishes you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year
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