Jo was voted the winner of the Green Chemistry Zone in March 2015. We asked her to tell us what she’s been up to over the last year with her £500 and here is what she said…
Answering questions from the students in I’m a Scientist was not only great fun – but it also got me to think about what I do in a different light. Despite stiff competition from the other scientists, I was delighted to find out I’d survived until the end and now had the opportunity to do something new with the prize money. So here’s what I did…
Click for the scheme’s website
I’m passionate about sharing my enthusiasm for science with others and especially keen to pass this on to the younger generations. I wanted to start something that would reach as many young people as possible and get them to think about science in a new light. With this in mind, I set up a new outreach scheme called ‘Leaders in Science’. The idea behind this was to have a scheme whereby A-Level and BTEC students design and deliver their own science workshops in local primary schools.
These workshop leaders have got their hands full developing activities.
I teamed up with the Da Vinci School in Stevenage and we advertised the scheme to A-Level and BTEC students, eventually ending up with a group of 8 students to pilot the scheme with. I led a series of workshops on science topics outside of their curriculum (‘How to Invent a Medicine’ and ‘Everyday Chemistry’, for example), as well as sessions on leadership, communication and presentation skills. Working in groups of 4, the students then set about designing their own workshops for 10-11 year olds based on this material.
After much discussion, planning and practicing, it was time for the first primary school visit. Both teams decided to do workshops on the pH scale, looking at pH properties of everyday household items. I’m delighted to say both teams smashed it – the primary school students loved it and learnt something new, and the Leaders in Science students did brilliantly to make it fun and engaging.
A workshop leader taking pH to primary schools
After the success of this pilot year, everyone is keen for Leaders in Science to continue. As I move into the next stage of my career next year, I’m passing the scheme over to six young GSK scientists and PhD students. Together, we are we are hoping to expand into more secondary schools and get the scheme accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
The prize money from I’m a Scientist has certainly made all of this possible, funding a website to advertise and share resources of the scheme and all the resources needed for workshops for the next few years. Thank you!
Visit the Leaders in Science website for free resources and to contact the team about getting involved in the scheme.
