In March 2020, I’m a Scientist, Stay at home was launched to allow school students to stay connected with STEM during the school closures due to coronavirus. Students could log in and take part whether they were at school or at home, reconnecting with their teachers and each other.
The Medical Research Zone ran over 12 weeks as part of the Stay at home activities and was funded by the Medical Research Council with additional funding from UKRI.
- 135 scientists created profiles in the Zone. 121 engaged with students in live chats and answering questions.
- 104 of the scientists were new to the I’m a Scientist activities.
- Scientists from a broad range of areas and career stages took part. For example, Kim Liu is a Chemical Biologist, Anabel Martinez Lyons is a Liver Cancer Researcher and Luke Bryden is a Neuroscience PhD student at the University of Oxford.
- 91 live chats took place during the activity. On average, 7 researchers attended each live chat session.
- 229 posted questions were approved and sent to the researchers who responded with 636 answers.
- 1,248 students from 53 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. 33 of these schools had taken part in a previous I’m a Scientist activity.
- 8% of active students were from widening participation schools, and 55% from underserved schools.
