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. 

Reaching out online: STEM Ambassadors inspire at Ysgol Harri Tudor 

Teacher Ed Male piloted the school’s first online event with STEM Ambassadors to celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 10^th February.

Girls of years 10 – 11 were keen to discover diverse career paths in STEM and specifically wanted personal accounts from Ambassadors of their experiences and decision making.

Using Google classrooms as a secure platform, the session was by invitation only with the teacher acting as moderator for question and answers ensuring both the privacy of pupils and safeguarding online.

6 female Ambassadors offered a valuable hour of their time. They were sent prepared questions from the girls, addressing a wide area of interest. This helped the session tackle the most relevant queries:

How they made their career decisions

• Did they change careers
• What their qualifications were
• Daily life at work
• Challenges and rewards
• Opportunities in their field
• Earning potential
• Flexible working hours

3 STEM Ambassadors were local Pembrokeshire at Valero, Digital Technology, Psychology and Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum, 3 were from other counties working at BBC weather forecasting, Dwr Cymru and JN Bentley Newport

Ed Male commented

 ‘It was a fab event. Thank you all for taking part last night.
I received very positive feedback from students that attended.
So much so that the word has spread!
Thank you all for giving up your time to encourage girls into stem careers.’

Ambassadors added
‘It was great to present and hear from everyone else in the group’ Zoe
‘Great to hear the talks were well received and hopefully will be beneficial to the girls too.’ Alec

First Lego League Challenge - Online June / July

 Experience is invaluable not forgetting that many of these opportunities can also contribute to their UCAS statements. But it is also important to think that supporting pupils to enter competitions have a positive impact on  teachers: networking, raising the science department profile, and more. Click here to read  an article by Annabel Jenner  to learn what exactly what teachers adn pupils can gain from participating in STEM competitions beyond winning and find links to competitions you might be interested in entering in 2021.

Cardiff Science Festival STEM Stars

The Science Festival takes place during February Half Term, a visible feature in Cardiff city centre: on shopping precincts, street science busking, talks and activities in popular locations.
The organisers were determined to sustain engagement with family audiences and the public during the pandemic. A full week of events was organised online including the popular ‘STEM Stars’ which was hosted by the STEM Ambassador Coordinator Wales.

https://www.cardiffsciencefestival.co.uk/en/events/stem-stars

4 STEM Ambassador starred in a stellar event takin the audience through lively presentations. Following themes of 
Science of the Covid 19
Technology
Astronomy and the search for Alien Life
Robotics
Science of Nature

Joining us online were many families safeguarded by the well controlled protocol laid down by the Festival. 

It was a different experience to face to face engagement but there were outstanding benefits, such as the ‘dwell time’ for families, no queuing to see the activity and a close up look of what each Ambassador was demonstrating.

Joining the panel from his workplace abroad STEM Ambassador Chris commented how enjoyable it was to take part in an event at a distance.

Start planning now for British Science Week 2021!

Its not too late to get your pupils involved in British Science Week 2021, happening 5 – 14 March.

Science is all around us every day and there are lots of ways we can still engage and celebrate the role that science plays in all our lives. And with the backdrop of a global pandemic, now it is more important than ever that we embrace and explore it.

The British Science Association have produced Activity packs with lots of ideas for activities that children can do at home, from practical ones such as splitting light and identifying different types of plastics to research-based ones such as producing a fact file on a STEM Person of the Week.

And don’t forget the Poster Competition! This year’s theme is Innovating for the Future. Schools can enter up to 5 posters and the closing date is April 30^th. You can find all the details here.
 

TeenTech Live brings the exciting world of science and technology to your school or home.

Hosted by well- known science and technology reporters, our interactive sessions are fun, engaging and provide real context to learning, helping young people understand more about careers and the way exciting emerging technology is shaping all aspects of our lives.

TeenTech Live meets Gatsby benchmarks and has been highly praised by teachers, parents and students.

Our virtual sessions last an hour and students then have the option to work on short challenges or projects and participate in a follow-up feedback session with industry experts. We have sessions suitable for all ages, interests and abilities.

TeenTech Innovation Live sessions and TeenTech City of Tomorrow Live sessions begin the week of 1st March 2021. You can register for these sessions here

We will be flexible in how we deliver these workshops, depending on COVID restrictions - delivering face to face in schools or virtually via live links on platforms to suit the schools. This engaging programme from Engineering UK, funded by Shell, aims to increase the number of young people from underrepresented audiences choosing Engineering as a career. For more information or to register your interest, contact Llinos here

Tallest Paper Tower - 2021 Fluor Engineering Challenge!

Reach for the Sky with the Tallest Paper Tower Challenge

With only paper and tape, the 2021 Fluor Engineering Challenge asks students to build a tower, as tall as possible, that can successfully support a can of food at the top for a full sixty seconds.

This challenge is fun for all ages and can be done in the classroom or with students at home. The materials are deliberately simple. We want as many students as possible to build a paper tower and enter the challenge!

Submissions for the Fluor Challenge will be accepted February 14-March 12, 2021, but you and your students can start planning, designing, and building now! Details here.

BP Ultimate Challenge: A Home for Nature

The Ultimate STEM challenge is back and this year it aims to immerse pupils in the theme of biodiversity! The decline of biodiversity has a dramatic effect on all living creatures, including humans, and the way they interact. That's why this year’s Ultimate STEM Challenge invites young people across the UK to get creative and design a home for nature, using natural and technical solutions, to improve biodiversity in their local community.

The competition is open to ages 11-14 and can be entered individually or as a group. There are fantastic prizes for the winning pupil(s) and their school. The pupil/team with the most creative and innovative design will win £3,000 to bring that home for nature to life, while the runners up will receive £1,000 each to make their designs a reality. Competition closes on 3 March 2021. Details here.