Welcome to the latest STEM newsletter  for STEM Ambassadors in Wales  from your local STEM Ambassador Hub. 
We welcome all  offers from STEM Ambassadors to help with any enrichment opportunities - please contact us directly to discuss your individual needs.

May we take this opportunity to thank you for the time you have volunteered. Please make sure you remember to log all your activities including the preparation time that has gone into organising and arranging those activities. For those STEM Ambassadors who are still going through the registration process then please remember to complete your online induction and your DBS check.

If anybody needs any help or support with this then please get in touch hayley.pincott@see-science.co.uk.

See Science are still keen to offer as many enrichment opportunities as possible to learners across Wales.  Please ensure that  colleagues who are registered with STEM Learning have ticked the box to receive newsletters in their preferences in order to receive the See Science newsletter in the future using the link https://www.stem.org.uk/user/register and then opt to receive the newsletter in preferences.

See Science  have a facebook page where we will also be sharing lots of new ideas regularly - please like or follow the page.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if we can support the teaching of STEM subjects.

Best wishes
The STEM Ambassador Team
@See Science

LATEST NEWS

First Lego League 2023
Super Science Sunday - Swansea
PwC STEM Ambassadors at Marshfield Primary School

NATIONAL  EVENTS

Earth Day 2023
National Numeracy Day
Energy Quest
I'm a Scientist

LOCAL EVENTS

Green Power Goblin Event
Explorify- Celebrating Scientists
How to Engage with Schools and Colleges
Making Toothpaste - a STEM activity
STEM Ambassaors - This is Me
RSC - Enabling Careers into your Science Lessons

SECONDARY SCHOOL REQUESTS

Morriston Comprehensive School
Gwernyfed High School
Castell Alun High School
Porthcawl Comprehensive School
Ysgol Bro Dinefwr

OTHER REQUESTS

Henllys CiW Primary School
Windor Clive Primary School
Llangynidr Primary School
Usk Primary School
St Woolos Primary School

 

OTHER REQUESTS

WEST JAM - Scouts Regional Camp
Gold CREST Mentoring

Latest STEM news and updates

First Lego League 2023

See Science were proud to host 3 regional finals of the FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge over the past few weeks, one in Pembrokeshire, one in Ebbw Vale and the other for Welsh medium schools in Cardiff. Thank you to all the STEM ambassadors who supported the event

FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge is a global STEM programme for teams of young people, to encourage an interest in real world themes and develop key skills that are crucial for their future careers. Young people work together to explore a given topic and to design, build and program an autonomous LEGO® robot to solve a series of missions. 

Over the three regional finals, 40 schools competed and had a lot of fun on the day. Huge congratulations to the three Regional Champions and POB LWC as they go on to represent their regions at the FIRST® LEGO® League National Finals in Harrogate later this month!

  • Pembrokeshire Champions: Golden Grove School
  • South East Wales Champions: Ysgol Derwendeg
  • Cardiff Welsh Medium Champions: Ysgol Bro Edern


Thank you to Ysgol Harri Tudur, Willowtown Primary School and Cardiff Commitment for their hospitality and cooperation before and during the events.

Read more
  • Yamni and the Love a Maggot team were invited to Oriel Science’s Super Science Sunday in the Waterfront Museum on March 19th.
  • The Swansea University “Love a Maggot!” campaign has been launched to raise awareness of the use of living maggots as a clinical treatment to help clear and heal chronic wounds.
  • Many people are at risk of developing non-healing wounds, including people who suffer from diabetes, or those who may have vascular problems.
  • Medicinal maggots are tiny baby stages of the beautiful green-bottle fly. The maggots that are put onto wounds are the newly emerged teeny babies!

Search #LoveAMaggot on social media to join in with the discussions and find out more, you can also watch our latest animation.

Read more

British Science Week - PwC STEM Ambassadors at Marshfield Primary School

As part of British Science Week, Isobel Banfield and Geraint Worgan from PwC, attended Marshfield Primary School in Cardiff to deliver a lesson in Technology for Helping People to two Year One classes (approximately 60 children).  This was the first TechSheCan lesson for both Isobel and Geraint and it was great to work in partnership.  The lesson involved illustrating examples of technology to help the emergency services, healthcare, people with disabilities and the elderly.  The children especially loved hearing about the gravity jet suit and the magnetic slime robot!  We also watched one of the TechSheCan videos where Katie and Tex explore robotics and AI which the children really enjoyed.  The children designed their own robots to help people and we were so inspired and impressed with their designs including a snake robot and a dance teacher robot, which they presented back to their classmates at the end of the lesson.

Other news

Earth Day April 22nd 2023

 

Earth Day is an annual event  to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The official theme for 2023 is Invest In Our Planet.
The Earth Day 2023 theme is focused on engaging the more than 1 billion people, governments, institutions, and businesses who participate in Earth Day to recognize our collective responsibility and to help accelerate the transition to an equitable, prosperous green economy for all. We are focused on reframing the conversation, accelerating action, and bringing everyone together to understand that this is within our reach if we work together.  

Whether you are taking actions virtually or in person - you can join the largest environmental movement on Earth!

For more information on Earth Day 2023, the official theme, updates, and how to get involved, please visit: https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2023/

National Numeracy Day 17 May 2023
 

Building brighter futures through confidence with numbers.

Join our community of schools and organisations in time for the big day on 17th May 2023 to celebrate the numbers we use in our everyday lives!

Whether you’re promoting numeracy in a school, at home, workplace or other organisation, when you sign up you will receive a toolkit with all the free materials you need to get involved and help the nation get on with numbers.
 

This includes the chance to enter the Number Heroes Competition where there are prizes worth more than £6000 for schools, communities and youth groups to win. 

Find out more about training and workshops
 

National opportunities for STEM Ambassadors

Energy Quest Got Time To Give - 30 minute webinar on 20th April 2023 (1-1:30pm) to showcase Energy Quest’s offer. Looking for Engineers that work in Climate, Renewables, Energy, Sustainability etc. 


“Energy Quest is a 2-hour workshop designed for secondary students aged 11 to 14. Led by a trained facilitator, students put themselves in the shoes of engineers to design a solution to power a mobile phone. 
 

The volunteer role simply requires that in the allocated time, the volunteer would share a snippet of their journey into the field of Engineering and answer any questions the students may have in response. The aim of this is to give the students a practical insight into the world of engineering.

https://www.stem.org.uk/platform/activity/819bd667-44ce-464d-88c9-3846a6113943
Support school students to see research and innovation as relevant to them and their lives with I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here!
 
STEM Ambassadors are invited to connect with classes across the UK in live, instant messaging-style Chats, and answer their follow-up questions, in April and May 2023.
I’m a Scientist is an enjoyable, online, student-led engagement activity that requires no preparation and no travel time!
Engage students from over 30 schools, including those who, through location, are typically missed by face-to-face outreach activities.
 
STEM Ambassadors in research and innovation-related roles can find out more, and apply to take part, here: I’m a Scientist and STEM Ambassadors

Volunteering Opportunities in  Wales

 Green Power Goblin Event

The annual South Wales Goblin Greenpower race for primary school pupils (9-11yrs - School years 5-6) will take place on the 22nd of April at Renishaw, Miskin. 
 
The Goblin race day is a full day of fun involving drag, slalom and sprint events.  There are additional awards to be won at the event which count towards team’s overall score.  Teams submit a portfolio documenting their Goblin build journey, and other related activities such as deciding on team name, raising sponsorship and funding, designing bodywork and car testing.  Along with the portfolio award, children can win greenest bodywork, best bodywork, best presented team, and Spirit of Greenpower.   The charity Greenpower Education Trust (www.greenpower.co.uk) uses electric car building, designing, and racing to inspire students (9-25yrs) to take up STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects in school. 

If you are a STEM ambassador and would like to register your interest for volunteering to support a school building a car or on the race day, please contact See Science or ciara.doyle@siemens-energy.com or go here 

Read more
Explorify - Celebrating Scientists. Wednesday 26 April, 4-4.45pm. Online
Role models are vital if we want more children to consider STEM careers.
Join us to look at newly-created Explorify Resources - ‘Celebrating Scientists’ - providing teachers with easy-to-use resources which relate the work of scientists to the primary science curriculum. Without role models, many children (and adults) picture scientists as ‘mad professors with wild hair’ and engineers as ‘men in high visibility jackets and hard hats.’ Exploring the work of real scientists and engineers broadens this view. STEM professionals are diverse, in terms of their skills and interests, as well as what they look like. They showcase what careers in STEM might look like and how the science knowledge and skills that children are developing in school are directly related to STEM jobs.We now have a new activity type designed to introduce children to important STEM professionals by asking the question, ‘Who is…?’ In true Explorify style, we have made this question accessible to all by providing photographic clues. Each activity links to a range of videos in the ‘Watch’ section with at least one featuring the scientist. Explorify have also partnered with the Royal Society and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to create some new What’s Going On? activities based on STEM professionals. Book here.
Image: Kiara Nirghin (age 22), addressing the United Nations in New York on International Women's Day, 2019. Image credit: UN Women via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Read more
STEM Ambassador Wales Hub event: How to engage with Schools and Colleges. Wednesday 3 May 11-12 noon. Online

Education in Wales is devolved and we want as many STEM Ambassadors in Wales to engage with as many schools as possible.

Please join to this event online to learn:

  • Phases of Education in Wales
  • How you can link with Schools and FE Colleges
  • What type of activities are most appropriate to each age group.

This session is being run by Louise Thomas, who is the Schools and Colleges Liaison Coordinator for the STEM Ambassador Hub (Wales). Book here.

Read more
Making toothpaste - a STEM activity for Primary teachers. Wednesday 3 May, 4-5pm. Online

This session will be repeated in Welsh on May 15th. Bring some chemistry into your primary classroom with this fun, straightforward practical activity.

You will see just how easy it is to make your own toothpaste and we will suggest how your pupils can then investigate the toothpaste to test whether or not it actually works!

Making toothpaste could be a stand alone activity or we'll show you how it could be the start of your pupils' CREST Awards journey.

All those who register will receive an ingredient list beforehand so that you can opt to do the experiment along with us. You will also receive a video of the session afterwards.

Book here for the English session.

Book here for the Welsh session.

Read more
STEM Ambassadors: This Is Me. Wednesday 10 May 3.45-4.30pm. Online

This Is Me sessions are an opportunity for teachers to see the benefits of bringing a STEM Ambassador into the classroom.

Teachers will have the opportunity to meet a few STEM Ambassadors and find out about the types of activities they can bring into the classroom. It will offer a chance for teachers to discuss the benefits of bringing STEM Ambassadors into the classroom to support topics and projects that could be covered in the new curriculum for Wales.

*If you are unable to attend this live event but have registered, then a recording of the session will be made available to you.

Book here.

Read more
RSC: Embedding careers into your science lessons. Tuesday 6 June, 4–5pm. Online

Would you like some ideas about how to bring chemical science careers into your teaching? Come along and explore some of our resources and discuss different ideas about how to use them and make chemistry careers relevant. During this interactive session we will highlight some of our career resources and present different approaches about how to bring careers into different topics within progression steps 4 and 5 in the Curriculum for Wales.  There will be an opportunity to discuss with other teachers what methods work and what other information or resources would be useful in the classroom.

Details and booking here.
 

Your local STEM Ambassador Hub requests

Morriston Comprehensive School, SA6 6NH
Bottle Rockets or Robot Workshop
26th April

A STEM based workshop activity for pupils and parents to work on together to increase Science Capital. To express interest contact ambassadors@see-science.co.uk or click here

Read more

Gwernyfed High  School, LD3 0SG
Energy Quest
16th June - 7 July
Energy Quest is a 2-hour workshop developed by Engineering UK to promote Engineering in all its forms to KS3 pupils. It will be running at Gwernyfed High School on 4 consecutive Friday afternoons: 16th, 23rd and 30th of June and 7th of July. If a STEM Ambassador could support one or more of the sessions, that would be great. A facilitator will run the workshop. The STEM Ambassador would be required to support pupils doing the practical activity (fruit battery) then give a brief 5 minute talk on their own role followed by a Q&A session."
To express interest contact ambassadors@see-science.co.uk or click here

Read more

Castell Alun High School, Wrexham LL12 9PY

STEM Club

9/11/22 - 12/7/23

The STEM club is in its infancy and so I am looking for ambassadors willing to interact with students about the importance of their jobs and to give insight into the STEM world of work. I will be running specific activities in accordance with the Science Calendar but currently am looking for willing community members happy to be a contact and to possibly get involved with more specific activities to be planned.

To express an interest contact ambassadors@see-science.co.uk or click here

Read more

Porthcawl Comprehensive School, CF36 3ES
Mock Interviews 

4 July 2023

 

To provide students with life skills they can take into their work life.There will be a series of mock interview sessions held at Porthcawl Comprehensive School which STEM Ambassadors are invited to attend to support and offer advice to students. Please do get in touch if you wish to find out a little more or to register your interest.To express interest contact ambassadors@see-science.co.uk or click here

Read more

Henllys CiW Primary School, NP44 6JA
The Environment
9 May 2023

The pupils are going to investigate how man's actions are having an impact on the environment, both on a local and global scale.We are looking at the issues of stainability and global footprint. We want the children to understand the impact man is having and the choices we can make and how they can make a difference locally and globally. Any workshop for presentation from a STEM Ambassador would be welcome
To express interest contact ambassadors@see-science.co.uk or click here

Read more

Windsor Clive  Primary School, CF44 6LA
Forces and Pulleys
Flexible Dates
One of the year three classes has  a request. They are studying the Lighthouse Keepers Lunch - forces - pulley system. They would like an end of term project in the playground around May time. To express interest contact ambassadors@see-science.co.uk or click here

Read more

Llangynidr  Primary School, NP8 1NY
Renewable Energy
Week beginning 17 April
We would like an Ambassador to  provide the children with an insight into renewable energy and electricity, sound and light. A whole school topic on energy looking at electricity and electricity generation from renewable sources. It also covers sound and light, so it is very diverse.

To express interest contact ambassadors@see-science.co.uk or click here

Read more

Usk Primary School, Usk NP5 1SE

STEM Based Curriculum

7/11/22 - 21/7/23

This year (2022-2023), our school are delivering a curriculum that is STEM based:  Making a Difference project (Apr-May) Be Healthy, Be Happy project (Jun-Jul). If you think you could be involved with any of these, please get in touch. We are looking for people to enthuse and engage our learners, show them that a career in STEM is possible for them and most of all show them that STEM is meaningful and enjoyable. We are trying to pack our curriculum with visitors and visits to make science and technology come alive. If practical and hands on then all the better. Direct contact: Alice Dougal dougala1@hwbcymru.net

To express an interest contact ambassadors@see-science.co.uk or click here

Read more

St Woolos Primary School, NP20 4DW
Women in ICT
24th April
 

This activity could be delivered ONLINE OR IN PERSON. We are looking to promote this day through guest speakers, a whole school competition and in class activities to develop an understanding of the role of computing in the wider world and the different pathways into such roles. We want to give learners hands on experiences and activities that will develop their understanding of these roles. We aim to provide our learners with access to aspirational STEM Ambassadors from a variety of backgrounds who can enhance our learning. The sessions could be a presentation/ Q&A session or a more practical session- we are happy to work with any STEM providers to plan these activities.

To express interest contact ambassadors@see-science.co.uk or click here

Read more

WESTJam - Scouts Regional Camp NP11 4QZ
Camarthenshire County Showground
23-25 June 2023
Vikki Phillips (Scouts) is arranging a regional camp in June 2023 -  we are looking for activities for the Saturday and Sunday. She is organising the adventure zone and would love to include activities that the young people don't usually take part in. The activities will be for ages 4years through to 18years but we are aware that not everyone will get to do everything due to suitability. Activities will run from 10am until 4pm on Saturday and 10am until 1pm on the Sunday. The organisers are looking for activities around the adventure theme but more than happy for this to include Stem activities, particularly with Army or forces activities, the ICE bridge, any outdoor type activities that may include Stem, activities can be flexible. Organisers can offer an area for providers to camp with own equipment for free and also for catering for a small additional charge per person..
To express interest contact ambassadors@see-science.co.uk or click here

Read more

Online/Ysgol Bro Dinefwr, SA19 6PE

Gold CREST Award mentoring

25/1/23 - 19/7/23

To support small groups of pupils in completing the Crest Gold award. I have 5 groups of MAT pupils completing the Crest Gold award at post-16. I would like each group to have a mentor they could contact to support them with the completion of their projects. The projects are: • Measuring the efficiency of different aeroplane wing shapes • Investigating crash damage • Investigating aerodynamic sails • Designing and making a roller coaster • Investigating food fraud

To express interest contact ambassadors@see-science.co.uk or click here