Funding for school STEM activities...

Teachers & Head teachers please note this opportunity:

This is an exciting opportunity for students to take part in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) activity and help integrate STEM enrichment in school practice between February and July 2014, to be chosen from those listed on the STEM Directories.

STEM Directories?

The STEM Directories are an easy way to find Enhancement and Enrichment (E&E) opportunities to support your science, engineering, design and mathematics teaching. Some schemes bring exciting activities into your school, others can provide a memorable day out for your students or a nationwide competition to help motivate your science club. They might involve bringing a real scientist, engineer or mathematician into the classroom, give your students access to equipment not readily available or simulate real-life applications of science and technology. Many schemes can provide supporting teaching materials to help get the most of the activity.

You can also read comments left by other teachers who have used the scheme and rate schemes that you have hosted

The Royal Institution is currently administering a STEM grants scheme, generously supported by The Causeway Foundation. We are offering grants of up to £500 for eligible state-funded schools or academies in the UK to take part in an activity from the STEM Directories (www.stemdirectories.org.uk) before July 2014.

Round one is now open and will close on Friday 31 January at 5pm. For more information and to apply, visit the STEM Directories website.

Please ensure you have read the grant terms thoroughly, particularly the eligibility criteria and the guidance on what to include in your application. Please note that if you are successful, the grant will be paid directly to your chosen activity provider. Priority will be given to schools meeting certain criteria; please see the grant terms for more details.

If you have any questions that are not covered by the grant terms, please email maths@ri.ac.uk.

Best wishes,

Sam

Samantha Durbin

Clothworkers' Associate in Mathematics (Secondary)

Royal Institution of Great Britain, 21 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BS

e. sdurbin@ri.ac.uk

t. 020 7670 2915

www.rigb.org

www.richannel.org

"Yuri's Day" public event (Norwich Astronomical Society) on 12th April 2014

This may be of interest to Norfolk residents interested in Astronomy & Space:-
I am happy so say the Norwich Astronomical Society will be hosting a public event to celebrate the first ever trip into space by Yuri Gagarin.
Although celebrated across the world, “Yuri’s Night” is not generally recognised in the West and this will be the first time a UK Astronomical Society has ever celebrated Yuri Gagarin’s momentous flight.

Currently there are 357 affiliated Yuri’s Night star parties across 57 countries … we are proud to be one of them! Our event, “Yuri’s Day” is to take place on Saturday 12th April at Seething Observatory near Norwich.

The day is split into two parts. It will have a children’s’ day-time event from 2-6pm where schools and organisations will be actively involved providing activities and talks for other children with the Society acting as a ‘facilitator’ for the event. If possible we will provide solar telescopes for viewing the sun and there will be access to the conventional telescopes and facilities for demonstrations. Needless to say, the somewhat infamous rocket launching session is already booked!  In the evening from 7pm there will be a more adult approach with a lecture given by Dr David Balcombe, viewing of the stars through the Society’s telescopes and general access to the Society’s facilities.

More information will be forthcoming as the event develops.

Andy Gardiner
Chairman
Norwich Astronomical Society
(http://www.norwichastro.org.uk/)

Crowd-sourced Chemistry & Bill Bryson Prize drom Royal Society of Chemistry @RSC_Comms

Of Interest to schools:- ----------------------------- Global Experiment!

Our 2013 Global Experiment testing vitamin C content in fruit and vegetables has been a great success. The experiment has already been run over 10,000 times. Thousands of students, from Monterrey to Melbourne, uploaded their data during Chemistry Week, making this our most successful Global Experiment to date – and you can still take part! Watch our how-to video for more details.

Bill Bryson Prize 2014
		Where's the art in science? Where's the science in art? Students aged 5–18 are invited to submit creative answers to these questions in any format, from posters to puzzles to podcasts.
Winners will receive their prizes at a ceremony with Bill Bryson at the Houses of Parliament. The deadline for entries is 31st March 2014. Find out more and enter from January 2014.

Dr Who's 50th Google doodle!

Love todays Doodle (OK I'm a geek, but then you knew that when you visited this blog...)

Big Bang Fair School Science competition

Of interest to School Science teachers...?

The Big Bang Access All Areas

Don't miss out - there's still time to enter our competition!

Share science, technology, engineering or maths related facts with your class for a chance to win amazing QI prizes! (Including a signed pic of Stephen Fry and Alan Davies, tickets to see a live recording of the TV show - and many more!)

For more information and some facts to help get you started, check out: http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/interesting

interesting

www.thebigbangfair.co.uk

The Big Bang is the largest celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths for young people in the UK. Everything we do is aimed at showing young people just how many exciting and rewarding 

Mission X Train Like An Astronaut - Free programme for Schools - Deadline for Registration December 1 2013

May be of interest to schools seeking science/health enrichment activities:

Registration for the Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut 2014 programme is
now open! Budding young astronauts aged 8 to 12 from across the UK are
invited to take part in this international challenge and undertake
activities focusing on fitness and nutrition.  More details on how to
register are on
www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency/discover-and-learn/mission-x-in-the-uk

The <http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency/discover-and-learn/mission-x-in-the-uk>
Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut programme developed by the partners of
the International Space Station (ISS) uses astronaut training to teach how
good diet and exercise play an important role in human performance in space
and on the Earth. The programme is free and the activities can be used by
individuals, schools or community groups and are accompanied by
<http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency/discover-and-learn/mission-x-in-the-uk/
training-resources> student and educator guides.

The deadline for schools to sign up is 1 December 2013 and the international
challenge will start on 13 January 2014. Registration forms can be found on
the
<http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency/discover-and-learn/mission-x-in-the-uk/
mission-x-2014> Mission X 2014 UK webpage.

13,000 UK students from over 115 British schools have already taken part in
Mission X challenges since the programme started in 2011. Students have had
the opportunity to take part in live link-ups with the International Space
Station; visit the European Space Agency (ESA)'s science and technology
facilities,  visit the European Space Agency (ESA)'s science and technology
facility (ESTEC); learn alongside astronauts, space scientists, fitness and
nutrition specialists; work alongside universities; link up with other
schools internationally; and find out about life in space. The programme is
supported by British ESA astronaut Tim Peake and his fellow ESA astronauts
Andre Kuipers and Paolo Nespoli. It has also received support from NASA
astronaut Piers Sellers and private astronauts Richard Garriott and Per
Wimmer.

Jeremy Curtis, Head of Education at the UK Space Agency noted:

"The UK Space Agency is enabling children to access astronaut training and
nutrition regimes and learn about the science behind them. The children
taking part will also learn about space and could be the space explorers of
the future."

Tim Peake commented:

"Being fit and healthy is a key requirement for future astronauts.
Spaceflight can be physically demanding and part of my job is to train hard
so that I'm always ready to go into space. It's much easier to exercise on
Earth than in microgravity! The real mission is to encourage kids today to
exercise and eat a healthy diet, and astronaut training exercises are an
exciting, fun way to do it."

Please share this with your schools and local organisations who might be
interested in taking part.

Heather MacRae

Mission X Programme Manager

T 0781 5768699

T 01279 817370

Check out the Mission X Websites on  http://www.trainlikeanastronaut.org
<http://www.trainlikeanastronaut.org/>  and
http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency/discover-and-learn/mission-x-in-the-uk

Like Mission X on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/trainastronaut

Follow Mission X on twitter @trainastronaut and tweet about Mission X using
#MXUK

Mathematics E&E Grants Scheme 2013/14

Mathematics E&E Grants Scheme 2013/14

The grants scheme, administered by the Royal Institution (Ri,www.rigb.org<http://www.rigb.org>) and generously supported by the Clothworkers' Foundation, is an exciting opportunity to have a mathematics enrichment and enhancement (E&E) activity at your school and help integrate E&E in school practice.

This may be of interest to schools wanting a maths enrichment activity:

We are offering grants of up to £500 for eligible state-funded schools or academies in the UK to have a mathematics activity from the STEM Directories (www.stemdirectories.org.uk<http://www.stemdirectories.org.uk>) in 2013/14.

Please ensure you check the eligibility criteria and guidance on making an application in the grant terms, available on the STEM Directories website.  The scheme is very popular and there are a limited number of grants available. If you need assistance with your application, check the grant terms first as we have outlined what you should include.

Round two is now open for applications and will close on Monday 2 December at 5pm.

For full terms, eligibility criteria, extensive support and to apply, visit the STEM Directories website: www.stemdirectories.org.uk<http://www.stemdirectories.org.uk>.

Samantha Durbin
Clothworkers' Associate in Mathematics (Secondary)

Royal Institution of Great Britain, 21 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BS
e. sdurbin@ri.ac.ukahooker@ri.ac.uk>
t. 020 7670 2915

www.rigb.org
www.richannel.org<http://www.richannel.org>