Author Archives: modemily

Moderator Vacancies

Do you love STEM, do you love being online? If so, I invite you to join our team of dedicated online moderators, guiding students through the captivating world of STEM.

This is an opportunity to engage with curious young minds while contributing to their educational journey in a meaningful way.

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! is a platform for students aged 10 to 18 to interact with real STEM professionals through text-based chats. As an online moderator, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring that these interactions are informative, respectful, and enjoyable for all participants.

Continue reading →

Posted on October 18, 2024 by modemily in News. Comments Off

Moderator Vacancies: 2024

Do you love STEM, do you love being online? If so, I (Emily) invite you to join our team of dedicated online moderators, guiding students through the captivating world of STEM.

This is an opportunity to engage with curious young minds while contributing to their educational journey in a meaningful way.

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! is a platform for students aged 10 to 18 to interact with real STEM professionals through text-based chats. As an online moderator, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring that these interactions are informative, respectful, and enjoyable for all participants.

Continue reading →

Posted on January 30, 2024 by modemily in News. Tagged Moderator. 2s Comments.

Moderator Vacancies: November 2023

We’re looking for online moderators to work with us on our March 2023 activities and beyond.

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here is an online STEM enrichment activity for school students in the UK and Ireland, where students of all abilities aged 10 to18 can ask scientists their questions in live, text-based Chats, and get to know what real scientists are like.

Find out more about the activity at: I’m a Scientist

We are looking for moderators to work from the 6 to 31 March 2023.

First rule of moderator club… This is a paid job, working from home.

You need to be free 8:30am – 4:30pm every weekday. Continue reading →

Posted on October 12, 2023 by modemily in News. Comments Off

Funders, can you support I’m a Scientist

The I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! project is getting better.

The I’m a… enrichment programme engages school students with people working in STEM. It reaches the students that are often left underserved and supports all students’ science capital. It’s also an opportunity for your staff or members to develop their engagement skills through an effective, efficient and high-quality public engagement programme.

Continue reading →

Posted on September 28, 2023 by modemily in News, Project News. Comments Off

The I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here project is getting better, to suit teachers

The I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! project is getting better. From January 2024, you can choose a theme for your class’ activity at any time during the year.

Genetics in October ✔ Radiation in February ✔ General Chemistry in British Science Week ✔.

Whatever you want, whenever you want.

You can select a theme based on your current curriculum topic or from a broader range of scientific subject areas or special events.

The core benefits of the student-led activity haven’t changed. Every class can:

Learn about up to 30 relevant scientists through their profiles, including their CVs
Connect with researchers in 30-minute, text-based online Chats

…

Continue reading →

Posted on September 28, 2023 by modemily in News, Project News. Comments Off

The I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here project is getting better for STEM professionals

The I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! project is getting better. From January 2024, you can take part in the online STEM outreach activity I’m a Scientist whenever suits you best across the year.

Teachers and students will be able to connect with you at the time that is most relevant to their learning – so when a class studies genetics in October, teachers can request a Chat with geneticists and technicians working with DNA.

Your conversations will help students understand how their learning applies to the real world, but also that people working in STEM are just like them. It helps them see that they, too, could have an interesting career in STEM.

Continue reading →

Posted on September 28, 2023 by modemily in News, Project News. Comments Off

A year-round STEM enrichment activity

The I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! project is getting better.

The I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! project is getting better.

From January 2024, teachers can decide on a theme for their I’m a Scientist activity throughout the year. No more waiting for a particular zone, they can choose their preferred subject at the time that suits them.

Their theme might be linked with their current learning, to show students how the curriculum directly relates to the real-world, or it might be a more general science topic.

Scientists whose work relates to the theme will be invited to a real-time, text-based class Chat and to answer students’ follow up questions.

Continue reading →

Posted on September 28, 2023 by modemily in News, Project News. Comments Off

Royal Institution Online Youth Summit 2022 – Report

A screenshot of the report Since 2020 the RI have commissioned an online youth summit on a subject related to the CHRISTMAS LECTURES.

The Summit takes place at the RI and consists of a series of talks, and provocations in the Faraday Theatre interspersed with breakout sessions in various rooms around the building.

Continue reading →

Posted on March 2, 2023 by modemily in Evaluation, News. Tagged Royal Institution Online Youth Summit. Comments Off

Darwin Tree of Life activity Report March 2021 to July 2022

The Darwin Tree of Life activity ran from March 2021 to July 2022 and was funded by the Wellcome Trust.

The activity featured 8 teams of scientists working on the Darwin Tree of Life project with the goal of sequencing the genomes of all eukaryotic species in Britain and Ireland.

Continue reading →

Posted on January 30, 2023 by modemily in Evaluation, News. Tagged Darwin Tree of Life. Comments Off

“Easily the most enjoyable and rewarding STEM event I have taken part in”- March 2020 Winners’ blog posts

After every event we ask the winning scientists to write a short post to be sent to all the students who took part in the zone. It’s the perfect way for the scientists to reflect on all the engagement of the previous weeks, thank all the students for voting for them, and talk about how they plan to use their £500 prize money.

Greg Heikel, City Hospital Nottingham, Antimicrobial Zone

“Thank you all so much for taking part, we had so many great questions and I hope you all enjoyed it! I had a great time, it was really heartening to see the enthusiasm you all had for science and I hope that we have inspired some of you to enter science as a career. I still can’t really believe I won, especially with some amazing scientists in our zone, so thank you to everyone.”

Continue reading →

Posted on March 31, 2020 by modemily in News. Comments Off

Moderator Vacancy: 9th – 20th March 2020

We’re looking for online moderators to work with us on our March 2020 activities.

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here and I’m an Engineer, Get me out of here are online STEM enrichment activities for schools students in the UK and Ireland, where students of all abilities aged 8-18 can ask scientists their questions in text-based live chats, and get to know what real scientists are like.

You can (and should) find out more about the activities at: I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer Ireland.

I’m a Scientist UK will run from the 9th – 20th March 2020. Continue reading →

Posted on February 3, 2020 by modemily in News. Comments Off

Moderator Vacancy: 2nd – 27th March 2020

We’re looking for a moderator to work with us from our offices in Bath on our March 2020 activities.

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here and I’m an Engineer, Get me out of here are online STEM enrichment activities for schools students in the UK and Ireland, where students of all abilities aged 8-18 can ask scientists their questions in text-based live chats, and get to know what real scientists are like.

You can (and should) find out more about the activities at: I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer Ireland.
Continue reading →

Posted on January 28, 2020 by modemily in News. Comments Off

Learning quality engagement principles in IAS Academy

“Taking part in both activities allowed me to engage in active, reflective learning… Learning about science capital has really changed my mindset.” — Katie Fala, PhD student and IAS Academy alumna

Katie believes taking the course ‘really added value’ to her experience: “The IAS Academy was of interest to me as I haven’t had the opportunity for much formal training in outreach and felt that my skills could be improved by doing it alongside the IAS activity.” Continue reading →

Posted on January 20, 2020 by modemily in News, Scientists. Tagged Case Study. Comments Off

Are Single Sex schools more likely to take part in I’m a Scientist?

Slightly. A recent request for help resulted in a surprisingly large number of girls schools responding. We wondered if participating schools were biased along single sex education lines. A quick analysis gave us the following percentages of UK schools taking part: 20.4% of secondary schools 19.9% of mixed schools 27.7% of Girls Schools 19.0% of Boys Schools So we have a slight bias towards girls schools, but as they constitute only 7% of secondary schools, we can live with that bias. And here’s the Venn diagram that illustrates the figures, and illustrates how dreadful venn diagram generators are.

Posted on January 15, 2020 by modemily in Evaluation. Comments Off

“One of the most rewarding, inspiring and engaging things I’ve done all year” – November 2019 Winners’ blog posts

After every event we ask the winning scientists to write a short post to be sent to all the students who took part in the zone. It’s the perfect way for the scientists to reflect on all the engagement of the previous weeks, thank all the students for voting for them, and talk about how they plan to use their £500 prize money.

If you’re a scientist, whether in the public, private or academic sector, and you’re keen to experience the ‘best crash course in scicomm’, apply now for the next event, 9th – 20th March: imascientist.org.uk/scientists Continue reading →

Posted on December 16, 2019 by modemily in News. Comments Off

Transforming perceptions of public engagement

“I love that students have power. It made me think ‘ Oh that’s interesting, how do you manage to even the playing field in engagement activities?’” — Julian Rayner, Director, Cambridge Institute of Medical Research; Director, Wellcome Genome Campus Connecting Science

Julian is an active malaria researcher. He also leads a programme of learning and engagement around genomics for scientists, healthcare professionals and public audiences.

In 2011, Julian took part in the Argon Zone of I’m a Scientist and describes it as a ‘transformative moment’ in his public engagement career:
“On my office wall I have a couple of papers that have made the covers of certain journals. Right next to them is my certificate from I’m a Scientist” Continue reading →

Posted on December 4, 2019 by modemily in News, Scientists. Tagged Case Study. Comments Off

Highlighting technician roles in industry

Fitting the I’m a Scientist activity around my job was fortunately quite a success: I was able to fit the live chats around my shift pattern.
Jess Leung, Quality Technician at Kerry Ingredients

Jess Leung took part in an I’m a Scientist general zone along with five other scientists from a range of industries and career stages.

School students were very interested in her work “testing flavours that go into food and drinks” and she found the whole experience rewarding, fun and flexible enough to fit in around her work schedule. Continue reading →

Posted on October 10, 2019 by modemily in News, Scientists. Tagged Case Study. Comments Off

Moderator vacancies: November 2019

We’re looking for five moderators to work with us on our November 2019 events.

I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer UK, and I’m a Scientist Ireland will run from the 11th to the 22nd November 2019.

First rule of moderator club… This is a paid, 10 day job.
If you aren’t free from 8:30–4:30pm on all 10 days, please don’t apply. Continue reading →

Posted on September 30, 2019 by modemily in News. Comments Off

Extending the I’m a Scientist experience

“’Raising questions’ appears in the National Curriculum Programmes of Study from KS1, and involving the whole school in I’m a Scientist gave a much wider scope for all children to ask questions and share information… it was a chance to encourage enquiry and curiosity throughout the school.” — Catherine Dixon, teacher

Catherine is a teacher at Hodthorpe Primary School in Derbyshire: a small school with just four classes from Nursery to Year 6. “We pride ourselves on our holistic approach to education and our family atmosphere, everybody knowing each other and sharing experiences,” says Catherine.

Catherine applied to take part in I’m a Scientist with one class of students, but then realised it was a great opportunity to get the whole school discussing STEM subjects and careers. “We started with a whole school assembly, where we informed the children about the activity and shared the scientists’ profiles and pictures. We discussed their work and explained how the scientists would use the prize money for research projects. The stereotypical image of a scientist as a middle-aged man in a lab coat with wild hair was quickly dispelled!” Continue reading →

Posted on July 30, 2019 by modemily in News, Teachers. Tagged Case Study. Comments Off

Which devices and browsers are UK schools using?

Every year we try to look at our data to see what devices and browsers UK schools use to visit the site. This is data up to 2019.

Taking into consideration how visitors access the site, what they use to access it, and then see how much has changed over the past couple of years.

Our sites are mobile-device and tablet friendly, which is necessary as you can see the trend for using tablets in class is growing.

View previous years’ analysis: 2018, 2015, 2014.

Continue reading →

Posted on July 29, 2019 by modemily in News, Project News. 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.