I'm a Scientist, Get me out of here!

Evaluating the impact of online engagement

Moderator - Shane — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:00:21 +0000

Today I ran a session with Karen Bultitude at the Science Communciation Conference about how to transform the mass of data online events like I’m a Scientist generate into meaningful information and evidence of impact.

http://prezi.com/lduq7xzkj1ht/evaluating-the-impact-of-online-engagement/#

Here is the Prezi we gave. Please continue the conversation in the comments.

Update – 4 weeks until the June events kick off

Moderator - Rosie — Thu, 10 May 2012 09:03:55 +0000

The two June events are fast approaching. This morning I realised that there are just 19 working days left until the start of I’m a Scientist on June 11th. Let’s blame all these sneaky bank holidays.

On the plus side we’re well on the way planning for the events.

Teachers

We’ve selected teachers to take part in the two events. We’ve let them know how many classes they’ve got in which zones . Both the ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘Los Angeles’ events are full and we’ve got teachers on the waiting list for classes.

The artwork for the teacher packs is designed and is being printed. We’ve updated the teacher notes by removing the Information Sheets and Project Analysis lesson plans, as they weren’t used by many teachers. We’ve replaced the debate kit with the new ‘Drugs in Sport’ version, giving teachers a new debate to run with students.

Scientists

We’ve had lots of scientists apply and we’re going to make the first selections tomorrow. However we are still looking for scientists to fill some of the themed zones listed below. Apply here.

Zones

In addition to funding from the Wellcome Trust to run the event, the Institute of Physics and also The Royal College of Pathologists are sponsoring zones. The Pathology Zone replaces one of the general zones we were going to run during the ‘Los Angeles’ event. Sorry folks, you’ll have to wait until next time to see the Molybedenum Zone in action. Each extra zone gives 5 more scientists the opportunity to take part, developing their communication skills while having fun at the same time.

The zones in June are:

11th – 22nd June: ‘Amsterdam’:

4 general zones: Bromine, Krypton, Rubidium & Strontium
Animal Behaviour Zone
Genes Zone
Materials Zone

25th June – 6th July: ‘Los Angeles’

3 general zones: Yttrium (pronounced ‘it-tree-um’ apparently), Zirconium & Niobium
Earth Zone (sponsored by the Institute of Physics)
Laser Zone (sponsored by the Institute of Physics)
Nanotechnology Zone
Organs Zone
Pathology Zone (sponsored by The Royal College of Pathologists)

The themed zones are still broad. The Earth Zone is open to any physicist studying our planets. Geophysicists, volcanologists or meteorologists. Or even scientists working on exoplanets, looking for ‘new Earths’. And the Materials Zone is equally broad. From aerogels to zeolites, from agriculturalists to X-ray crystallographers. You could even be a composite of them all (boom, boom).

We’ll be adding more posts in the run up to the event. Partly to keep you updated on progress, but also to help us make sure we’ve done everything we need to.

Apply now to take part in June 2012 events

Moderator - Rosie — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:14:25 +0000

We’ve now chosen the 15 zones running in our two I’m a Scientist events this June, and we’re looking for scientists and teachers to take part.

Teachers, apply here by Monday 30th April: imascientist.org.uk/teacher-registration

Scientists, apply here by Tuesday 8th May: imascientist.org.uk/scientist-apply

We’re running two events in June, ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘Los Angeles’ because, with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and different term dates in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, there’s no fortnight that fits all schools.

The zones in each event will be:

11th – 22nd June: ‘Amsterdam’:

4 general zones: Bromine, Krypton, Rubidium & Strontium
Animal Behaviour Zone
Genes Zone
Materials Zone

25th June – 6th July: ‘Los Angeles’

4 general zones: Yttrium, Zirconium, Niobium & Molybdenum
Earth Zone (sponsored by the Institute of Physics)
Laser Zone (sponsored by the Institute of Physics)
Nanotechnology Zone
Organs Zone

We’re looking for all types of scientists - industry scientists, academic scientists, UK scientists, scientists working abroad, whoever. We want to be able to show students the breadth of opportunity within science. We are looking for 5 scientists for each zone. The themed zones are open to any scientists working broadly in that area and there’s also lots of space in the general zones for scientists whose research doesn’t fit so neatly into the themed zones.

And as Probash Chowdhury of GlaxoSmithKline says, “It was a great experience and I got really addicted!… I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone”. Thanks, Probash.

Congratulations to the March 2012 student winners

Moderator - Emily — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:23:07 +0000

We would like to congratulate the following students who have been named as the student winners in their zones for the March 2012 event. The moderators thought there were lots of great questions and excellent engagement with the event overall.

Zone	Student winner	School
Electromagnetic	jabbathepizzahut	St Benedicts
Energy	amthystxgen4	Kingsmead School
Gallium	ogoldfinch09	Dover Grammar School for Boys
Germanium	stellastar	Chichester High School
Quantum	11sofdel	Backwell School
Selenium	jammiedodger	Pates Grammar School
Space	purplebug123	Howell’s School
Sports	indianchicken	Henlow Middle School

Well done to all the students above! They will soon be receiving their student winners certificates and WH Smith vouchers.

We would also like to thank all the other students who participated. Everyone contributed to the brilliant chats and thought provoking questions which often challenged the scientists.

As one scientist said

“I hugely enjoyed it. There are clearly some smart kids out there”.

And we agree.

Update on 2 I’m a Scientist events in June 2012

Moderator - Rosie — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:35:44 +0000

After barely catching our breath after the March I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer events we’re straight into planning the next events in June.

We’re running 2 I’m a Scientist events back to back in June 2012 because, with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and different term dates in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, there’s no fortnight that fits everyone.

The June dates are:

‘Amsterdam’ event: 11th – 22nd June

‘Los Angeles’ event: 25th June – 6th July

For anyone wondering what the names ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘Los Angeles’ are about, rather than simply naming them events 1 and 2, or A and B, we’ve had a bit more fun.

The 2 events in June will be the 9th and 10th I’m a Scientist events we’ve run since the first in 2008. Seeing as 2012 is the year of the London Olympics and Paralympics the events are named after the 9th (Amsterdam) and 10th (Los Angeles) Olympic Games. This should make it easier to differentiate between the 2 June events.

We will run around 20 zones split between the 2 events. The Amsterdam event will probably have fewer zones than the larger Los Angeles event.

We haven’t decided what zones we’ll run yet, but there will be a mix of general zones with a broad range of scientists, and themed zones.

Teachers should specify which event they want to take part in when they apply. We’ll ask scientists nearer the time when we’ve decided on the zones.

Day 10 – Congratulations to the winning scientists!

Moderator - Katie — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:40:11 +0000

It’s been a very intense two weeks of animated live chats and thought-provoking questions, with lots of topical issues up for debate.

Students and scientists have had over 120 live chats and scientists have answered over 3,350 student questions.

The eight winning scientists have made it through four nail biting rounds of evictions. Each student vote counted and in some zones the evictions came down to just a few votes.

It’s time to reveal the winner in each zone. Congratulations to:

Zone	Winner	Where they work
Electromagnetic Zone	Sam Vinko	University of Oxford
Energy Zone	Jack Snape	University of York
Gallium Zone	Sean Murphy	Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Germanium Zone	Katherine Haxton	Keele University
Quantum Zone	Martin Austwick	University College London
Selenium Zone	Vicky Young	Edinburgh University
Space Zone	Adam Stevens	The Open University
Sports Zone	Fiona Hatch	University of Hull

The winning scientists all receive £500 to spend on science communication, and we can’t wait to see their wonderful ideas put into practice!

Thank you to all the scientists who have taken part. You’ve been great contenders; each and every one of you has contributed to making this event a success.

We’d also like to thank teachers for your enthusiasm and involvement. And students for your questions and live chats, which have been a mixture of challenging, funny, thought-provoking and sometimes quite bizarre. We hope you’ve enjoyed taking part! Teachers and students, please remember to fill in our feedback surveys, so we can make future I’m a Scientist events even better!

Scientists and schools can sign up now for the June I’m a Scientist and a special event we’re running: I’m a Scientist, In the Zone.

And finally, a BIG thank you to our funders, the Wellcome Trust. Wellcome support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities, and are dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health.

Thank you also to the Science & Technology Facilities Council for sponsoring the Electromagnetic Zone, the RCUK Energy Programme for sponsoring the Energy Zone, the Institute of Physics for sponsoring the Quantum Zone and Space Zone, and The Physiological Society for sponsoring the Sports Zone.

Here are some highlights from what people have been saying about the event:

In live chats students said: “Wow thanks for that, I just learnt somthing really amazing”

“i REALLY ENJOYED THIS WAS VERY INTERESTING!!!” and “thank you for the really good answers“.

Scientists have been very positive too:

Audra in Sports Zone said: “I’ve had a blast, Leila in Space tweeted: “… my typing fingers are sore.Exhilarating! #IAS2012”

and Ezzy in Electromangetic Zone said: “I wish I did this all day but I am off to a dull meeting now!“

Day 9 – Round 3 Evictions: the final countdown!

Moderator - Katie — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:05:58 +0000

It’s now under 24 hours until we’ll be announcing the zone winners!

Today it was game over for one more scientist from each zone and the third set of scientists to go are:

We hope you’ve enjoyed taking part! Thank you for all the time and effort you’ve put into answering student questions and taking part in live chats.

One student said in a live chat: “I still can’t get Over I am talking to real SCIENTISTS”

The final scientists in each zone are stepping up the game. Tactics include the comedy facial hair (or teamtash): Vicky in Selenium Zone, and Leila and Adam in Space Zone.

Scientists are also frantically answering the last student questions.

In Quantum Zone Suzanne and Rob give explaining “What is quantum mechanics?” their best shot.

While in Energy Zone scientists discuss one student’s bright idea of harnessing the power of lightning.

And in Gallium Zone scientists give some evolutionary theories on “why it is that people have feelings?”

Good luck to all the final scientists tomorrow, may the best scientists win!

Day 8 – Round 2 Evictions: the competition’s hotting up!

Moderator - Katie — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:52:00 +0000

Only one scientist can win each zone and so today we had to say goodbye to more scientists.

The second set of scientists to go are:

We hope you’ve enjoyed taking part! Thank you for all the time and effort you’ve put into answering student questions and taking part in live chats. Students are getting a lot out of the event.

With evictions happening everyday, the tension is building. After yesterday’s eviction Vicky Young tweeted:

“Phew – made it through the first round of ‘imascientist Really really want to win!“

Despite the pressure, there’s still lots of camaraderie between scientists.

Highlights from student questions include:

The philosophical: “Do you think that all of our achievements may be in vain like the achievements of Ozymandias?”

The creative: “If you had the opportunity to design a rocket what would it look like..?”

And the one that got us thinking: “If I can close my eyes why cant I close my ears?”

Day 7 – Round 1 of Evictions

Moderator - Katie — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:28:44 +0000

It’s been a great event so far!

Scientists have been working hard to answer over 2,700 questions and have taken part in over 80 live chats collectively. But as only one scientist can win in each zone it’s time to announce the first to be evicted.

The first scientists to go are:

We’d like to say thank you to all the scientists for all the time and effort you’ve put into answering student questions and taking part in live chats. We hope you’ve enjoyed taking part.

Students are getting a lot out of the event. In live chats students have said:

“thank you guys amazing chatting with you”

and “i REALLY ENJOYED THIS WAS VERY INTERESTING!!!”

There’ll be more evictions every day and on Friday we’ll announce the Zone winners, who win a £500 prize to spend on science engagement!

Day 7 – Hot topics for debate

Moderator - Katie — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:50:16 +0000

At the beginning of the second week and students haven’t just been asking big questions, they’ve been debating them!

In Selenium Zone Indi and Vicky discuss with students the ethics behind animal testing. Indi defends her animal research as necessary for preventing disease and ill health.

While Germanium Zone have been having a conversation about how their research can involve physically or emotionally hurting living things. Answers include Daphne bleaching microalage and Darren giving mice in his experiments plenty of food, water and shelter, which they don’t get in the wild.

Energy Zone scientists decide whether time is an illusion or a dimension. Student stanners69 commented:

“i think that we exist in a 4 demensional universe where are future is already set out.”

And in Gallium Zone students ask if people are born gay, straight, bisexual or do people choose.

It’s great to see such topical issues like these being discussed in both questions and live chats.