Carys won the Scandium Zone in June 2011. It looks like she’s been pretty busy spending her prize money…
I was so happy to have won ‘I’m a scientist’ as it meant I could more effectively do something I think is crucially important – educating young people about climate change from a scientific perspective. And this is something that I have since been able to achieve! Along with two colleagues, we have recently established Earthclass, an outreach event based in the Department of Earth Sciences and Engineering at Imperial College London.
Earthclass is a free event where students from schools around London can come to Imperial College, and learn about geosciences in fun and interactive ways. We are primarily inviting schools that took part in the IAS event I took part in, as they seem to be keen about learning more about science!
James gave a brief introductory talk about earthquakes and how we measure them, and students were given blow-up globes and seismograph readings, and became amateur seismologists by identifying the exact epicentre of actual earthquakes!
Earthclass is based around the research being carried out in our department at Imperial College, including climate change. The idea is that students get to visit various ‘research hubs’ around the department, where scientists show off the cool and interesting research they do. Students learn about how geosciences are integral to all aspects of their lives, and about how a better understanding of the science behind these types of research gives us a better ability to be more aware of our impact on our planet.
We held our first Earthclass event on the 28th of March, 2012, and invited students from Sacred Heart school in Hammersmith to take part. Students learnt about meteorites, earthquakes, mineral ore processing, climate change and oceanography, and got to carry out experiments, as well as getting the opportunity to ask resident university students about studying Earth Science and Engineering sciences. From a personal perspective, I really savored the opportunity to talk to the students about climate change! The students from Sacred Heart gave us some wonderful feedback, and really seemed to find the event enjoyable and informative. This is great, as we are now planning an even larger Earthclass event for September, where we will invite several schools from around London! Watch this space!
