Two scientists out, three to go!

We’re almost halfway through! Two scientists – Christine Cooper and Scott Grandison – are already gone, and the others are shaking in their boots. Who will the students evict next?

The surviving contestants – Mark, Caroline, Gillian and Nizar – are battling to stay on the website and win the final prize: £500 for science communication!

All over the site, the students want to know all about what our scientists do…

How is your research on tuberostemospironine going? Do you have any clear results yet?

How long does it take to get a new medicine cleared to be used by the public?

are you trying to code the growth of plants and people into equations or trying to map the growth pattern or the shapes the cells change into?

… what a career in science research is like…

How did you begin doing science? Did you enjoy it when you were at school?

How did you decide on what scientist you were going to be- did you always have an interest in biology?

What do you think about young people interested in science and those not interested in science?

… and other topics

Who inspires you- is it a scientist or family member etc.?

why does dog pooh smell strange?

If given the opportunity and if you knew that there would be no repercusions, would you like to hit Tim Westwood? *

Scott Grandison, biologist from the University of East Anglia, was voted off the site yesterday: he wrote to us to say goodbye…

I got a tremendous amount out of it [the event], and I think I probably learnt a lot more from the students than they learnt from me! The questions they asked were challenging and stimulating and in some cases they have made me think about science in a different way. The live chats were exhausting, but I had a lot of fun doing them, and it’s going to feel like there’s a big hole in my schedule from now on!

Scott is right – live chats are exhausting, but great fun! Every year we run this event, and its sister event “I’m a Councillor, Get me out of Here!”, the live chat sessions get superlative feedback. Last week, for example, a question about funding led to a full (and gritty!) debate between the students and scientists about how research is funded, by whom, and for what reasons. It’s exciting to watch students chucking all their knowledge and enthusiasm at scientists, live and online.

To watch a chat session, to read question and answer sessions, or just to check out the event, go to http://www.project.imascientist.org.uk and click “Guest Access”. The event is going great guns, so check back here on Friday when we’ll announce the winner!

*NB: neither the I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! team, nor Gallomanor Communications, Ltd., condone violence against Tim Westwood

Posted on March 11, 2009 by in IAS Event. Tagged evictions, funding, IAS 2009, live chats, questions. Comments Off

What can you do?

I want to take part with my class ❯

I want to take part as a scientist ❯

I want to find out about funding I’m a Scientist ❯

What is I’m a Scientist?

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here is an online activity where school students get to meet and interact with scientists.

It’s a competition between scientists, where the students are the judges.

Students challenge the scientists over intense, fast-paced, online live Chats. Then they Ask the scientists all the questions they want to, and Vote for their favourite scientist to win a prize of £500 to communicate their work with the public.