Vicki Onions, IVF Zone winner

I think I need to say, first of all, how much I enjoyed taking part in IAS – although the number of e-mailed questions was fairly daunting and the speed of the live chats left me physically and mentally exhausted (ok, I may be exaggerating a little here), it was amazing to see the diversity of questions and views on such a wide range of scientific (and not so scientific) areas.

I never ever expected to win it; there were some fantastically knowledgeable and engaging scientists in my zone, so I was totally overwhelmed by it all.  So thankyou for giving me that opportunity and experience.

So, on to the prize winnings!  In the original information that I had read on the scheme, the winnings could be spent on communicating science or science education.  I decided from the start that I would spend my money more on the education side of things and I had found a charity called KIND which I thought a very worthy recipient.  Their tag line is “because every child deserves the same opportunities” and this is something I believe very strongly in.

The charity is based in Merseyside and provides additional social and scientific education for disadvantaged children, and their families.  They have a learning centre where children and their families can go to learn in a fun and imaginative way; they also run volunteer programmes and weekends away.  The general ethos, I found, was to allow less privileged children to realise that there can be a better life out there for them and to provide them with the skills and motivation to go out there and achieve that.  That ethos, I believe, is truly worthy of the donation from the IAS scheme.

Whilst not all the children that interacted with us during the course of IAS may feel particularly inspired by science and may baulk at the idea of extra science lessons, an understanding of the subject and practical experience in it can lead into so many different paths – doctor, gardener, science research, chef (think of Heston Blumenthal), vet, electrician, building demolition expert…the list goes on and on.  And so by providing that little bit of extra guidance and experience, in a fun and practical way, it can open up countless avenues of opportunities for these children and their families.  I hope you approve of my decision to fund communicating science in the wider sense and feel it was a worthwhile choice.

Many thanks again and best wishes

Vicki Onions

(Winner of the IVF zone )

We're listening! Anatomy of the outer ear. Credit: Medical Art Service, Munich / Wellcome Images

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Survey is here http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/307117/i-m-a-scientist-june-2010-tell-us-what-you-think-

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This battle was also fierce, but through the sweat, blood and tears* one victor emerged, (well 41 technically) to be crowned champions of I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! June 2010.

Thank you so much to all those that took part. This has truly been an amazing event with record participation, so we can’t thank you enough for making it so much fun! We only hope you had as much fun as we did in the office!

So without further ado, it is with my pleasure to announce that the winners of I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! June 2010 are:

We hope your tired hands are enjoying the rest and look forward to seeing you again next year! (Click below for your online application for IAS 2011!)

Teachers

Scientists

*No Scientists were harmed in the making of this event.

With at least two evictions in each zone- and in some, three- the end is drawing close for this round of I’m A Scientist, Get Me Out of Here!

But that just means things are getting really exciting! Our scientists still want your questions- and votes- so keep sending them to us, students, and we’ll announce our winners this Friday.

Nonetheless, we’d like to thank all our scientists for taking part. Just because some have been evicted doesn’t mean that they’re completely gone. You can still check out their profiles, and read their answered questions. And remember you can still leave comments for each scientist in their zone.

Check out our evicted scientists here- remember the answers, the science, the laughs- and maybe leave them a message!

But how do the scientists feel, being bombarded with questions and then facing eviction? One of the scientists who took part in I’m a Scientist in March, the lovely Louise Buckley, has agreed to tell us about what the scientists taking part are REALLY thinking…

Louise Buckley

Hey there! I am Louise one of the scientists from the last “I’m a Scientist….” event. This competition is looking even more exciting than when I took part – I cannot believe how many questions are getting asked. It’s a total mash-up of questions – these scientists are going to need to take a holiday afterwards to recover!

I bet the scientists are starting to feel nervous now about who’s going to get evicted. We get labelled ‘the scientists’, but we are only human too. I know I was worried that you guys wouldn’t like me, that I’d get evicted because my science was crap or you thought I was a weirdo. Nobody likes to be evicted first. It’s kinda embarrassing. A bit like being a member of McKinley High’s Glee team

LMAO – my major fear was that you would ask me loads of questions that I didn’t know the answer too. I was terrified. And you did – and I coped and I learnt loads along the way. I can see from the questions asked at the moment that the scientists at the moment are getting asked loads of challenging questions. Keep ‘em coming. It reminds us that there is soooooo much more to science than our narrow fields of research. We sometimes forget that.

The scientists will be learning at the moment that it is okay to be wrong or not know the answers to every question. Sometimes you guys will know more than us, other times we will know more. You guys taught me that rainbows are circular – and I was like, nah, rubbish, wind-up, but it was true. Today’s scientists are learning all sorts of new things and they are learning them because of you.

But the most important thing that the scientists are learning at the moment is how to communicate our science to young people. Many of us don’t get that opportunity often. I know I was excited but scared that I wouldn’t be able to describe my work in a way that wasn’t total gobbledegook. These scientists are trying to manage it too.

We need to learn how to make our stuff sound interesting. So if you don’t think they have made something clear,  ask and ask and ask again. Don’t “Yeah, checked out of this conversation a minute ago…” (sorry Sue Sylvester!) Give ‘em feedback, show interest, and you can make today’s scientists better. Remember they are all terrified of being evicted so DON’T be too tough on them personally – but DO give them a hard time scientifically. And that’s how Sue Louise sees it!

Football! Credit: John Wildgoose. Wellcome Images

Well no, OK, funnily enough FIFA aren’t changing their match times because of I’m a Scientist evictions. But we do have an eviction planned for 3.30pm on Wed, during the England vs Slovenia game. Because we are kind, caring people here at I’m a Scientist, we have decided to bring the time of Wednesday’s eviction forwards to 3pm.

This means that you (and the moderators, who’ve been working very hard, and deserve a break) can relax and watch the match, with your eviction worries behind you.

Apologies to those of you not supporting England, but we would move evictions for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland matches too. If there were any.

Also apologies to those of you who don’t like football. Me either. I and the two non-English mods will be looking after the site on our own while the match is on. Please try not to break anything.

Other evictions this week will be at the usual time of 3.30pm.

Beryllium Treasure Hunt

Daniel Mietchen, from Beryllium Zone, is planning to share a bit of it (£50!) with the first student to work out his scientific puzzle. This is open to all students, not just in Beryllium Zone, so get your thinking caps on if you think you’d make a good scientific detective!

Scan your Teacher

Tom Hartley, in Imaging Zone, would use the money to scan one class’s teacher’s brain. While the teacher does a task chosen by the class. No, rude things not allowed I’m afraid. But you might be able to see inside your teacher’s head!

The Cheesiness of Science

Stephen Curry, also in Imaging Zone intends to make a video about what science is really like, and how you don’t have to be a genius to be a scientist. He’s made a trailer for you and called it the Cheesiness of Science.

Schools underwater explorer

Jon Copley, Of Neon Zone, is going to spend the money on special computer equipment, so that school classes can take control of one of his team’s underwater vehicles and use it to explore the bottom of the sea! If your class finds a new creature down there, then you’ll even get to name it:-)

That’s just a taster of the plans some of the scientists have for the money you are awarding them. What do you think of those ideas? Remember if you like a scientist but think they should have a different plan for the money, you can suggest it to them!

No, you can’t suggest giving the money to you. It has to be for communicating science!

We have been super-busy reading and replying to all of your questions, remember that you can comment on them too. Just go to the zone that you asked your question in and comment on the scientists answers as much as you like! You can also post questions for the scientists there as well.

We hope that you have enjoyed the first week as much as we have and are looking forward to Monday; remember though if you want your favourite scientist to stand a chance of winning you need to VOTE by Tuesday!

Who will win? Only YOU decide!