IAS Event

Using I’m a Scientist to enrich our curriculum – A teacher’s view

After taking part in I’m a Scientist in June 2012, Ellie Russell, a science teacher from Trinity CE High School in Hulme, told us about other ways she uses I’m a Scientist resources. Here’s what she said… I can’t remember who first told me about I’m a Scientist last year, but straight away I knew it was a concept that would appeal to our students. Since then we have signed up for several zones with different classes and the students have truly enjoyed engaging with real scientists and finding out a bit more about what they do. To be honest, even though I’ve been really keen, it’s taken me a few more months to realise just how useful some of the other resources are for us too. We teachers are never very keen to read through all that useful support information! The Debate Kits for Drugs in Sport and IVF … Continue reading →

Posted on November 28, 2012 by in IAS Event, News, School, Science Education | Comments Off

Thanks for Applying

We now have our new mods for this year’s first I’m a Scientist event, and the first ever I’m an Engineer! While we welcome our six new team members, here is some short feedback for those who applied but didn’t get to interview. There were loads of excellent applicants this year and we were especially impressed by all the amazing science communication work you had all been doing. From writing to volunteering at festivals, it’s great to see people who are passionate about communicating science, especially to young people. In this job, being able to handle groups of excited teens is definitely a plus. We interviewed people who stood out because of their proven passion for the subject, but also based on their cover letters. This is the best way to try and get to a feel for what a candidate is like. So we like letters that get your … Continue reading →

Posted on March 8, 2012 by in IAS Event, News | Comments Off

Job Vacancies

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here is an award-winning online event allowing teenagers to interact with real live scientists. We’re looking for 5 moderators to work on the next event which will run from the 12th to the 23rd of March. I’m an Engineer is launched at the same time and also needs moderating! Your job would be hosting/moderating live chats, approving questions, checking the site for errors and inappropriate content and helping to run the site. It’s actually a lot of fun as the young people are sparky and funny and full of energy. And hey, promoting science engagement is a good thing. You should be bright, pick stuff up easily, ideally with an interest in science engagement. You’ll have great attention to detail and will enjoy being online. The site is all built on WordPress, so if you’ve used that the techy stuff will be pretty … Continue reading →

Posted on February 27, 2012 by in IAS Event, News, Science Engagement | Comments Off

We've cut our teacher survey from 41 to 18 questions

This morning I cut down the survey we ask teachers to fill out after taking part in I’m a Scientist. The old survey was a hefty 41 questions long, and the new one has just 18 questions. By looking at teachers’ previous responses to the 41 questions we were able to identify the questions which worked, and the questions which didn’t. Using this information we’ve made the survey simpler. It’s also more quantitative. Funding from the Wellcome Trust for the next 3 years allows us to improve the way we evaluate I’m a Scientist, and move to evaluating outcomes through more quantitative measurements. My next task is to do the same for the scientist and student surveys, and cut them down from 28 and 25 questions.

Posted on November 23, 2011 by in Evaluation, IAS Event, News | Comments Off

Evaluating the Impacts of engagement

How can we evaluate the impact on students taking part in I’m a Scientist? Can we measure if they’re more likely to take a STEM subject at A Level? If they’re more likely to study science at University? How should we use the large amounts of data generated by online projects? How can we share our evaluation in a more useful way? These are just some of the questions we’re trying to answer about evaluating I’m a Scientist and other Gallomanor run projects. Judging from the first in a series of seminars looking at Evaluating Impacts of Public Engagement and Non-Formal Learning, last Friday 4th November, others are thinking along the same lines. The Core Issues & Debates seminar kicked off the series at the Dana Centre in London, and bought together a range of researchers, evaluators and learning and communication practitioners. Future seminars focus on areas such as how … Continue reading →

Posted on November 9, 2011 by in Evaluation, IAS Event, News, Science Engagement | Comments Off

Choose themed zones for June I’m a Scientist

It’s time to choose the themed zones for the June I’m a Scientist event. Here’s a list of suggested topics (these include ones we’ve used before, but there’s no reason not to use them again!). Teachers, please vote for which themed zone(s) you’d most like your class to take part in. There’s more explanation about zones under the poll. If there’s another theme you’d really like to see, then email us (rosie@gallomanor.com) or let us know in the comments. [poll id=”6″] Further explanation about zones How do I decide what themed zone to pick? It’s not a huge deal. The main point of the I’m a Scientist event is that students get an insight into How Science Works/HSW (particularly, how it really works). They are talking to real scientists, getting to see scientists are real people. They get insight into issues like science funding. So don’t get too caught up … Continue reading →

Posted on March 30, 2011 by in IAS Event | Comments Off

Exciting changes here at I’m a Scientist

On Monday we’re faced with the daunting task of selecting 30 scientists out of over 200, to take part in the March 2011 event. Whilst looking through the list of scientists this morning I was struck by how many volcanologists have registered, given my background in Geography and Natural Hazards. I also realised that I’ve been working here at I’m a Scientist for a whole month now and, despite regular reminders from Shane, I still haven’t introduced myself. So, here goes! I’m Rosie and I’ve joined the team as ‘Project Executive’ so I’m dealing with the day-to-day running and admin of I’m a Scientist. Sophia is still producing I’m a Scientist but she’s now working part-time, giving her time to get involved with other exciting projects. I’ll be taking over as the main point of contact for the event, so you’ll be hearing a lot more from me! Sophia and I will both … Continue reading →

Posted on February 4, 2011 by in IAS Event | Comments Off

6 Easy Steps to Win I’m a Scientist!

Thinking about taking part in I’m a Scientist, but wondering how to increase your chances of winning? Wonder no more, we’ve done some analysis of last year’s winners and here are our top tips on how to win I’m a Scientist… 1. Change your first name to Jo (or Joe). It seems that if you are named Jo in any way you are more likely to win! Five of our winners from 2010’s events were called Jo or Joe. Out of the 125 scientists who took part in the events only 6 were named Jo or Joe. 2. Change your surname to one beginning with C, M or S. 32% of our winners from both the March and June events had surnames starting with C or M. This is closely followed by those with who begin with S who won 12% of the zones. Out of everyone that took part … Continue reading →

Posted on December 10, 2010 by in IAS Event | Comments Off

Choosing themed zones for next year

You’ve given us quite a few suggestions for themed zones for next year. Along with the ones we used last year, there’s a good list here for you to vote on. Please vote for the zones you think you’d like to take part in. HOWEVER, you’ll see that some suggestions I haven’t put up. This is because I wasn’t quite sure how they’d work, or they were a bit vague and I wasn’t sure what the right specific suggestion would be. I’m explaining why (i.e. rambling on about this) below the poll. Please can you help me work this out?! Use the comments to add your thoughts and when we’ve worked out more suggestions I can keep adding things to this list. [poll id=”5″] A discussion on How Science Works (HSW) zone topics One suggestion was a HSW zone. The problem with this is, who would we put in it? … Continue reading →

Posted on November 26, 2010 by in How Science Works, IAS Event, Science Education | Comments Off

Suggest topics for themed zones

Last year we had themed zones in the I’m a Scientist event, for the first time. They worked well and we plan to do the same next year. Here’s your chance to suggest what themed zones you would like to see. To start you off, below is a list of the themes from last year, plus some other suggestions. Please suggest themes in the comments, this week. Next week we will put up a list of all the suggestions, for you to vote on. At the bottom there is also a short FAQ about themed zones, to help you decide. Themed zones used in 2010 Brain Genes Are we too clean? IVF Imaging Evolution Cancer research Sports Science Drugs Development Use of chemicals in everyday life New suggestions so far Energy generation Climate Space Ecology Further explanation about zones How do I decide what themed zone to pick? It’s not … Continue reading →

Posted on November 15, 2010 by in IAS Event | Comments Off

Dates chosen for IAS2011!

Drumroll… I’m delighted to announce that the dates for the two I’m a Scientist 2011 events will be:- 14th – 25th March 13th – 24th June This is based on votes from teachers who’ve applied to take part. Let it never be said we don’t listen to teachers! For the March event, these two weeks were the most popular with teachers. For the June event, starting one week later would have been marginally more popular, but would have excluded the majority of Scottish schools, who break up on 24th June. As the most popular week in June was 20th-24th (which we are still hitting) we’ve decided to go with 13-24th to exclude as few schools as possible. Now the hard work begins in earnest. We’ve got to actually plan and organise them! If you would like to take part, please use the links below to find out more and sign … Continue reading →

Posted on November 8, 2010 by in IAS Event | Comments Off

Help choose dates for I'm a Scientist 2011

What dates would work best for you for the I’m a Scientist events next year? Like this year, we’ll be running a small, warm-up event in March, then the main event in June. This is based on research we’ve already done with teachers. We’d just like to confirm what dates in June and March will work best for you. Please select on the poll below, the two best weeks in March and the two best weeks in June, for you and your classes. [poll id=”2″] [poll id=”3″] Just to be clear National Science and Engineering Week (NSEW) runs from 11 – 20 March 2011.

Posted on November 1, 2010 by in IAS Event | Comments Off

I'm a Scientist: A student speaks

Here is an article written for a school newsletter by a teenager, about the experience of taking part in I’m a Scientist. I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! Sound familiar? One small change – we’ve swapped a group of celebrities trying to eat the entire jungle for a group of buzzing scientists – each in a jungle of questions and comments. Another textbook science lesson? Maybe not! I’m a scientist is a website aimed at all teenagers – interested in science or not (but believe me, by the time you finish the project, science will have taken over your brain and made you love it for the rest of your life). Each pupil is given a login, leading to their individual area which can be personalised with pictures of famous scientists, exploding chemicals and swine flu particles. The login works for a specific zone. In each zone, there … Continue reading →

Posted on October 12, 2010 by in IAS Event, School, Science Education | Comments Off

Read about our session at Science Online conference

We’d never been to the Science Online conference. And we’d never given a presentation about I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! But when the organisers asked if we’d like to do a session on the event we jumped at the chance. We then closed the office for the whole of August, so we had to write and organise our highly interactive, possibly risky session in 2 days when we got back last Wednesday. At the same time as do all our catching up from the holidays. Last week was an interesting week… So here is a summary of our session (last Fri, 3rd Sept) and what we, and others, said. Our presentation At Gallomanor we like to walk the walk, as well as talk the talk. So we wanted to make the session as interactive and audience-led as possible. After a short (2 min) intro, we showed the … Continue reading →

Posted on September 7, 2010 by in Evaluation, IAS Event | 1 Comment

How DOES magnetism work?

Last year I saw A C Grayling talk on happiness and it’s importance. He said that he bans his students from using the word ‘happy’, that it’s a lazy portmanteau word. He thinks that if you are forced to choose a different word – hopeful, exhilarated, content – you’ll think about what you really mean far more clearly. I think the same can sometimes be true of jargon. Scientists taking part in I’m a Scientist have told us before that explaining yourself without using jargon is hard work, but unexpectedly rewarding. It means you have to think through what you mean and it exposes your mental shortcuts. We saw a great example of this in Imaging Zone. A fairly innocuous-seeming question (Why do magnets attract and repel?) pretty much lead to the scientists realising that they don’t actually know how magnets worked. Not really. Not when they tried to actually explain it to … Continue reading →

Posted on July 13, 2010 by in Evaluation, IAS Event, Scientists | 2s Comments

Press announcement: IAS2010 winners

I’m a Scientist, Get Me Out of Here! has found its very own kings (and queens) of the laboratory, as chosen by 5,000 school students from across the UK. For two weeks 100 scientists, in 20 different zones, have been answering questions from school students and having online live chats with them. The students have now voted for who they think should win and the final votes have now been counted. It really does give us the most enormous pleasure to announce that the winners are… Zone Winner Beryllium Ian Sillett Boron Hywel Vaughan Nitrogen Joanna Buckley Oxygen Tom Hardy Fluorine Mark Roberts Neon Jon Copley Sodium Ben Still Magnesium Dean Whittaker Aluminium Katy Mee Silicon Andrew Maynard Clean Panos Soultanas Brain Joanna Brooks Cancer Joanna Watson Chemicals Joe Cook Drugs Deuan Jones Evolution Ceri Thomas Genes Steven Kiddle Imaging Stephen Curry IVF Vicki Onions Sports Sally Fenton This has … Continue reading →

Posted on June 25, 2010 by in IAS Event | 1 Comment

Don't Panic! More advice for our scientists…

OK, judging from Twitter you are all getting worried about what you’ve let yourselves in for and fretting about getting evicted. I’m writing this to reassure you, although, I’m afraid most of you are going to get evicted and there’s not much I can do about it. Sorry! The moderators and I do hate the evictions. It’s excruciating having to say goodbye to people who’ve put in lots of effort and been great contestants. But evictions are a big part of what makes the event exciting for young people, they create a buzz and a tension. And I guess we should all remember that it’s the taking part that counts (tell that to my Dad on pub quiz night…). However, these are my top tips on surviving evictions, based on running events in this format over 6 years. I think the things that make students vote for someone are:- 1. … Continue reading →

Posted on May 18, 2010 by in IAS Event, Scientists | Comments Off

Advice to our scientists

We’ve had a lot of emails asking practical questions about taking part in June, and I think the best thing is to put the answers here for everyone to see. I suspect many of you who haven’t written would still like to know the answers! Zones There will be 20 zones on June. The last event in March only had 5 zones, so this time is a lot bigger! In each zone there are 5 scientists, competing for a prize of £500. There are 20 classes of students per zone, usually this will mean about 400 students. Only those students can ask questions, have live chats and vote in that zone, although everyone can read the questions and answers and so on. Themed zones 10 of the zones are themed. The themed zones are:- Brain Genes Are we too clean? IVF Imaging Evolution Cancer research Sports Science Drugs Development Use … Continue reading →

Posted on May 17, 2010 by in IAS Event, Scientists | 1 Comment

Latest event news: Who's taking part in March?

I’m sure you are all on the edge of your seats to find out who’s taking part in the next I’m a Scientist event, so here they are! We are having five ‘zones’ in March (in each zone there are five scientists, talking to 20 classes of students, with one prize up for grabs in each zone). Two of these zones have a theme (the Genes Zone and the Brain Zone) and the other are general, with a broad mix of scientists. The general zones are named after elements. The themed zones are a new thing we are trying out for this event, and teachers seem to really like the idea, so I think they’ll turn out well. The event runs 15th – 26th March, and you can watch everything that happens on the website. Only the students taking part can ask questions, chat to the scientists and vote, but … Continue reading →

Posted on February 25, 2010 by in IAS Event | 1 Comment

Latest event news: Schools chosen, scientists next week

We’ve now chosen the schools to take part in I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! March 2010. 70 teachers, in every setting from selective grammar schools to young offender institutions, will be logging on with their students and talking to real scientists. Then those students will be choosing which scientist gets a public engagement grant of £500. Nothing engages young people like giving them some power. Choosing the schools has been agonising as we’d love to include everyone but we’ve been very over-subscribed with five classes wanting to take part for every space. We’ve tried to ensure a mix of types of school, types of class and school location. Many teachers wanted to take part with a whole year group (or two or three whole year groups in some cases!), which is great. We know from I’m a Councillor that getting the whole year group involved really adds … Continue reading →

Posted on February 12, 2010 by in Event News, IAS Event | 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.