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Examples of how the funding is being
used will be included in this section
of ASE's Science Year CD ROMs. We
hope they will be helpful and inspiring
should you be planning your own event
in school. Information on how to obtain
funding for school projects and events
is provided in the BA Science Week
information pack, which is available
from the BA. A separate leaflet on
fund-raising is also available. To
receive the leaflet and/or pack contact
the BA at: nationalscienceweek@the-ba.net
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South Molton Community College,
their nine feeder primary schools,
and South Molton Infants School
all enjoyed a science fair held
on March 21st, 2002.
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South Molton science fair
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Up to forty pupils from each
school presented displays and
experiments that they had been
working on in the preceding
weeks to parents, members of
the community and other pupils
from the participating schools.
Over one thousand participants
and visitors attended this significant
event, and the choice of venue
was seen as an important factor
as it provided easy access for
a wide range of relevant organisations
throughout the area, which also
provided displays and presentations.
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Bishops Nympton Primary
School - alternative energy
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Arthur Symons, Head of Science
at South Molton Community College,
summed up the benefits for all
involved:
"For the teaching staff,
the pre-event meetings gave
opportunities to meet and share
ideas on science teaching with
colleagues. We have also made
valuable contacts with outside
organisations and individuals,
which will continue. The event
gave us a showcase to present
the work of our pupils and ourselves
to their families and the community.
Many visitors expressed surprise
at the scope and variety of
the activities and appreciation
for the insights gained into
science and science teaching."
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Barn Owl Trust - conservation
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"The benefits for the
pupils were self-evident - great
interest in all that was on
offer and a desire to share
and communicate ideas and knowledge
both with their peers and with
the adults. Our science fair
fulfilled our aim of generating
and sharing enthusiasm for science
between our teachers, our pupils
and their families, those whose
work is science-related and
the wider community. We intend
to build on the network that
has been created and hope to
plan a similar event in the
near future."
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South Molton Community College
- electromagnets
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A wasted courtyard has been
transformed into a vibrant science
resource, which is available
not only to the pupils at Torquay
Girl's Grammar School, but also
to pupils of nearby schools
that will be visiting the site.
A number of topics are being
investigated, including:
- Variety of energy resources
- Renewable vs. non-renewable
resources
- The Sun as the source of
most of the Earth's energy
- Electricity generation
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Examples of questions under consideration
include:
- The wind turbine can be used to
power a fountain directly. Pupils
will calibrate the fountain as a
wind gauge. How fast is the wind
blowing if the fountain is 90 cm
high?
- How much wind is needed to power
a kettle, a monitor, a hi-fi?
- What happens if the area available
for solar power generation is reduced?
- Does the voltage or the current
drop more?
- How much of the Sun's energy can
we capture this way?
- The Victorians used heat from
compost to cook salmon. How much
heat is available?
- The hydro-power taps supply water
from different heights. How can
we tell which one is which?
- Can we measure the energy available
from each column of water?
- How efficient is the pump raising
the water?
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In the future:
- These facilities will be
offered to other schools from
next April onwards.
- Development of a weather
station for accurate measurements
of wind speed.
- Building solar water heaters.
- Development of the scientific
questions into student activities.
- Shelter for homeless arthropods
with the opening of a Ladybird
Sanctuary.
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