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A STEM Ambassador's involvement can engage and enthuse both students and teachers. If you are interested in asking a STEM Ambassador to assist you can make your request here. We’ve created brief guides to encourage both STEM Ambassadors and educators to use the self-service. 

At more than 20 stands, pupils were asked to guess which animal certain skulls belonged to, shown how important vaccines are, how mathematical models can help protect against pandemics and how the Ceredigion landscape has changed over centuries.Academics and University outreach staff were on hand to show pupils how science is at the heart of some of life’s most spectacular phenomena and affects our everyday lives in positive ways. Interactive stands were built by the University’s departments of Biological, Environment and Rural Sciences, Computer Science, Geography and Earth Sciences, Mathematics, Physics and Psychology.In-person Science Week outreach events at the University have not happened since 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Professor Tim Woods, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, said: “We were delighted to host pupils for our British Science Week events again. It really is a vital part of our calendar, showcasing the quirkiness and fun of the world of science, from exploring grasslands to the importance of probability.“These events can be the spark of a child’s imagination that leads to a career in science. We want to inspire boys and girls of all backgrounds and demystify the university so we worked hard to put inclusivity at the heart of these events. Our staff was equally imaginative in coming up with ideas that have excited pupils.“I was delighted to see such high numbers from schools across west Wales and we are all looking forward to hosting more pupils next year.”

Be part of a brighter energy future

To tackle the growing climate crisis, we need to move away from fossil fuels and embrace electrification. A crucial part of this journey is bigger and better batteries. We need them to be a sustainable storage solution to ease our energy transition.Taking part in our global battery experiment will allow your students to explore the science behind batteries – and why they are such an important part of our bright energy future.

• batteries are made of layers, and each layer is made of different materials
• to create the most efficient battery, you need to find the right combination of materials 
• we need to make a lot of batteries, so where we get those materials from really matters 
• the best materials are those that are abundant and easy to source

Energy Quest
 

It was a pleasure to deliver the Energy Quest workshops to KS3 pupils last term. The content was well received as young people explored different energy sources and investigated energy transfer as they designed a solution to power a mobile phone.

Energy Quest is funded by Shell and delivered by Engineering UK. All state schools can apply for at least 2 workshops. Get in touch to find out how many we could offer your KS3 classes.

This event can be delivered in the classroom or online and is a great way to revisit core curriculum content and to bring relatable role-models into the classroom.

We will be delivering the workshop FREE of charge throughout this academic year. Dates are already filling up so if you have a preferred date in mind, contact llinos.misra@see-science.co.uk to book or to find out more.

Llanelli Wetland Centre: Supporting you and your school. Wednesday May 11th 4pm – 4.45pm. Online

Webinar for Ambassadors and Teachers from STEM Education with Welsh Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

STEM Ambassadors will gain insight into outdoor learning experience and resources for engagement.

Hear from the WWT learning team how a visit to Llanelli Wetland Centre can bring your science curriculum to life with hands-on learning sessions for all ages and abilities. 

You will also find out about Generation Wild, their new nature connection programme for schools in economically disadvantaged areas. This includes FREE school visits (including FREE transport), FREE visits for families and a specially designed website to encourage continued nature-connection activity at school, at home and in local greenspaces.

As an added incentive, they have kindly offered to provide a free family visit ticket for all teachers that attend the session.

Come and find out the range of visits and resources they have to offer.

Book here.

Teachmeet: Take Charge - be part of a brighter future. Wednesday 11 May 4 - 5pm. Online

This month’s Welsh chemistry teachers network meeting is a joint session for primary and secondary science teachers. In collaboration with SeeScience and ASE it is all about getting involved with Take charge: a global battery experiment, Engineering UK’s Energy Quest and the Great Science Share campaign. Energy Quest is a programme that has been developed to unlock the learner’s inner engineer whilst exploring sustainable energy sources. The Great Science Share campaign promotes young people’s scientific curiosity and communication.

This event is an online session for KS2 and secondary teachers organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry as part of our secondary series.

Details and booking here.

RSC Science and the Senedd. Tuesday 17 May 12.00 noon–7.30pm. Senedd, Cardiff Bay

The Royal Society of Chemistry’s 18th annual Science and the Senedd event will be held at the Senedd and the Pierhead, Cardiff Bay, on Tuesday 17 May 2022.

This year’s theme will be Building our Future: Research and Innovation in Wales. 

Designed to foster close relations with policymakers and key stakeholders, Science and the Senedd is organised on behalf of, and in cooperation with, the Welsh science and engineering community.

Details here.

The Young Coders Competition

The Young Coders competition is back again for 2022 bringing to you an amazing opportunity for you and your students to gain hands-on experience in coding with Scratch.

Originally just for primary schools years 4-6 we listened to last year’s feedback and have opened up the entry criteria to now include secondary years 7 & 8.

This year's theme is ‘My World, Our Planet’. We are looking for participants to create a reactive game which encourages children to take care of natural resources and improve the environment. The opportunities are endless and you are in charge of creativity!

Closing date 27 May.

All details here.

UKBC Biology Challenge 2 - 20 May 2022.

Biology Challenge stimulates curiosity for the natural world and encourages students to take an interest in biology outside of school.

Biology Challenge is open to 13 to 15 year-old students.

The competition consists of two, twenty-five-minute multiple choice papers to be taken online under staff supervised exam conditions.

Questions will be set on the school curriculum, but the competition will also reward those students whose knowledge of the subject has been increased by reading books and magazines, watching natural history programmes, taking notice of the news media for items of biological interest, and are generally aware of our natural flora and fauna.

Schools will be able to conduct Biology Challenge in whatever way best suits their pupils, ensuring that they enjoy participating and have a reasonable expectation of recognition for their achievements. As well as being able to submit their pupils’ scores to the national competition, schools will be encouraged to award their own prizes and to make use of certificates provided for them. Details here.

Nominations are open now for Royal Society of Chemistry Education prizes 2022

Would you like to recognise a science educator who is doing amazing work in inspiring the next generation of scientists or supporting colleagues with their development?

There are two main categories:

Excellence in Education Prizes celebrate educators in primary, secondary, further education and higher education – including, teachers, technicians and more. These prizes recognise a wide range of skills – from curriculum design to effective teaching, and from personal development to working culture. 

Horizon Prizes for Education highlight recent initiatives that are set to make a real impact within the field of education, and are open to teams and collaborations as well as individuals. These initiatives could include teaching programmes or techniques, research breakthroughs, innovative technologies and more. 

Closing date for nominations is 22 June. Details here.