Glow Scotland

Pupils across Scotland will have the chance to take part in activities and Glow Meets about five hot science topics in the Too Hot to Handle? series in the next few months, starting next week with Space for P6-S1 on 25^th March.

Cathy Southworth from Edinburgh University is heading up this development and is keen to involve as many youngsters as possible. She says, “Too Hot To Handle? is here to support the Topical Science organiser of a Curriculum for Excellence from P6-S3. It provides access to current scientists in Scotland that work on a range of hot topics, through a vidcast, teaching materials and a discussion board for questions about the topics that are answered by the scientists, and a GLOW meet where you can grill the scientists with questions.”

As well as learning about the science, pupils will get a flavour of the excitement of being a scientist.

Visit the Too Hot to Handle Glow Group. Have a look at the wealth of materials for the Space topic, show your class the videos, post some questions for the scientists on the discussion board and come into the Glow Meet on 25^th to grill the space scientists – Noe Kains from The University of St Andrews and Duncan Forgan and Chris Evans from The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh.

There will be a competition challenge on the day and members of your class could win a prize.  

Other topics in the series:
Flu Fighters for 2nd level (P6-P7) ready for after the Easter break; Glow Meet 20th May
Biodiversity Buzz for 2^nd & 3^rd  levels (P7-S2) ready for after the Easter break; Glow Meet 25th May
Doable Renewables for 2^nd & 3^rd  levels (P7-S2) ready for May; Glow Meet 15th June
Me and my Brain for third and fourth levels (S1-S3) ready for May; Glow Meet 17th June

This week too, we have another two science based Glow Meets:
Dr Bunhead’s Spoofbusters on 16^th (1.30 – 2.30) for upper primary and secondary pupils,
Industrial Chemistry on 18^th (1.45-2.45) for Higher and AH Chemistry pupils.

All these Glow Meets use the same Science Glow Meet webpart in the National Sciences Glow Group. 

Higher Chemistry pupils need to know about the Chemical Industry.
Unit 3, part a, is all about the Chemical Industry.
Other chemistry classes will want to hear about career prospects.

Chemical Engineers, Gavin Smith and Gordon Hardie, will be covering this Higher Chemistry topic, and giving a flavour of the life and rewards of a chemical engineer on Thursday, 18th March at 13.45 in a Glow Meet in the National Sciences Glow Group.  Last year, 8 schools took part in the live Glow Meet. Many more are able to take advantage of this Glow Meet opportunity this year. Make sure your pupils can benefit!  If you are not familiar with using Glow Meet, click here.

A career in the chemical industry is exciting and well-rewarded, but both the study required, and the job itself, can be hard work and dangerous. Listen to Gavin, who has decades of experience, and Gordon, a recent graduate recruit, retell their experiences. Kincorth Academy, Aberdeen, is hosting the event, so pupils there will be able to ask Gavin and Gordon questions directly, but classes from around the country will also be able to see and hear the engineers, and ask questions of them via Glow Meet’s tools. Ask them questions about the chemistry, and their jobs.

If you think you will be able to bring your pupils into the Glow Meet, leave a note in the National Sciences Glow Group.

  What pupils need to know:

• The UK chemical industry is a major contributor to both the quality of our life and our national economy.
• Stages in the manufacture of a new product can include research, pilot study, scaling-up, production and review.
• A chemical manufacturing process usually involves a sequence of steps.
• A feedstock is a reactant from which other chemicals can be extracted or synthesised.
• The major raw materials in the chemical industry are fossil fuels, metallic ores and minerals, air and water.
• Chemical manufacturing may be organised as a batch or as a continuous process.
• Process conditions are chosen to maximise economic efficiency.
• Manufacturing costs include capital costs, fixed costs and variable costs.
• The UK chemical industry is, by and large, capital rather than labour intensive.
• Safety and environmental issues are of major importance to the chemical industry.
• Both historical and practical factors affect the location of chemical industries.
• The efficient use of energy is significant in most chemical processes.
• Factors influencing the choice of a particular route include cost, availability and suitability of feedstock(s), yield of product(s), opportunities for the recycling of reactants and marketability of by-products.

The Positive about Science campaign is Scottish Government led and aims to increase interest in studying science, showing children that you can do interesting and exciting things with science e.g. diverse careers/fun activities. The campaign aims to take science ‘out of the classroom’ and show children how science is all around them. The website has a range of great resources for exploring careers in science.

The Big Experiment

Part of the campaign is The Big Experiment which this year is Dr Bunhead’s Spoof Busters.  In a Glow Meet, Dr Bunhead will present and discuss the skills needed for evaluating ’science’ videos posted on the internet, and classes across Scotland will investigate one of these videos for themselves and decide if it is true, partly true or false.  This activity will suit a wide range of ages.

To find out more, go to the National Sciences Glow Group and check out the Glow Meets tab, or click here to go to the Dr Bunhead’s Spoof Busters Glow Group.  Have a look round the Glow Group and sign up for the Meet (1.30pm 16^th March).  You can download teacher notes with instructions, an equipment list and background information from the Glow Group, and there will be discussion opportunities to explore science myths.

Competition

There will be a competition in the Glow Group, where classes can post a link to a hoax science video and the most convincing one will win a great prize.

The Glider Challenge Glow Meet took place on 15th December live from the Concorde hangar at the National Museum of Flight, East Fortune. The Glow Meet was run by the central Glow team in collaboration with the sciences and technologies team. Mr Cain’s Primary 6 class from Pencaitland Primary school were live at the Museum carrying out the challenge.

Earlier in the day they had been in the museum’s Fantastic Flight interactive gallery where they had explored a range of hands on exhibits to help them learn more about flight and the training needed to become a pilot.
Through Glow,  30 classes took part, with over 500 pupils and teachers taking part in the challenge. The Glow Meet kicked off with a representative from the museum presenting on the four forces of flight and then the classes were presented with the challenge and began drawing and discussing their ideas. At the Glow Meet and in classrooms around the country gliders were built, tested, adjusted and retested. One class managed to get their glider to fly 15 metres! Adam Love Rodgers, the programme and Learning Officer answered questions on Glow Chat as people carried the challenge.

The event was great fun and many classes had learnt about flight in the run up to the Glow Meet.

Resources and reflective questions are posted in the glider challenge tab on the national Glow science site; why not take a look? A photograph competition is being run where classes can send their photographs to Wendy French, w.french@LTScotland.org.uk The best photograph will win a prize for the class and will be announced in January.

Explore the Science of Flight