News

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here will run for two weeks during British Science Week from Monday 9th to Friday 20th March 2015. With 14 different zones, we’re looking for 70 scientists and have space for almost 5,000 students. Here is a list of the zones we will be running, or if you want to jump straight to the application, teachers apply here:  imascientist.org.uk/teachers and scientists here: imascientist.org.uk/scientist-apply. Evolution Zone In this zone we’ll be looking at everything evolution. We’re after five scientists to talk about what fossils tell us about the living things that inhabited our planet millions of years ago and about evolutionary adaptations and how animals and plants are adapted to suit their different environments. From how best to explain the giraffe’s long neck to why bugs that are resistant to antibiotics are in the news, this zone aims to give children an appreciation of how evolution … Continue reading →

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here is back this November with 50 scientists, and more than 140 schools from Orkney to Cornwall, and 4 schools from France and Spain. The scientists will be competing for the school students’ votes in two weeks of fast-paced live chats and questions on everything from cells, to robots, to space, to pizza. For the latest news and announcements, find us on Twitter, @imascientist, and follow the hashtag, #IASUK. Let’s meet the scientists and schools taking part…   Antibiotics Zone This zone is funded by e-Bug. The Scientists Sally Cutler | Lecturer at University of East London Bacterial infections of humans and animals – “bad germs” of the UK and beyond. Robert Hampson | PhD Student at University of Nottingham I make chemicals that make bacteria less nasty. Matt Bilton | PhD Student at University of Oxford By zapping cells with lasers, infecting them with bacteria and peering at them down powerful microscopes, I study how … Continue reading →

This November we are so oversubscribed with teachers wanting to take part with their students, that we’re running an extra General Zone, the Gadolinium Zone! As of this morning we had around 150 teachers ask for 431 classes between them. But we only had space for 240 of those classes in our 9 planned zones. Running the Gadolinium Zone gives 25 more classes of students the opportunity to engage with 5 more scientists, who will be working on all areas of science. With 10 zones, this is the biggest November event we’ve run. We’re still oversubscribed, so are limiting the number of classes per school, to allow students at as many schools as possible to take part. It also means that we can’t offer places to schools outside of the UK, as our funding prioritises UK schools. The updated list of all November zones: Antibiotics Zone – funded by e-Bug, for students age 15+ Big … Continue reading →

Of all the emails we get from prospective scientists, the most common are probably: “how will I know if I’ve been selected?” and “how does the application process work?”. So — in our never-ending benevolence — we wanted to give you a peek at the how we choose scientists, and what happens once you send us your application. When do we select scientists? I’m a Scientist runs in March, June, and November every year. We select scientists around a month before each event. What’s the most important part of the form? The most important part is the box that asks for a one sentence description of your work the part into which all your creativity and communication skills should be poured. We email the descriptions to students and teachers who’ve taken part before and they rate the scientists. They get a survey containing only the descriptions. So it’s really important that it (a) concisely … Continue reading →

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here will run for two weeks from Monday 10th to Friday 21st November 2014. With 9 different zones, we’re looking for 35 scientists and have space for more than 3,000 students. Keep reading for details of the zones, or if you want to jump straight to the application, teachers apply here: imascientist.org.uk/teachers, and scientists here: imascientist.org.uk/scientist-apply. Antibiotics Zone What are super bugs? How do antibiotics work and why are some bacteria developing resistance to some of the treatments we use today? Is there a way to stop this? We’ll find answers to these and many other questions around humans’ historic battle against pathogenic bacteria. This zone is funded by e-Bug, and is open to students age 15 and up. Big Data Zone Computers and the data they handle have changed the world immeasurably in the past half century. From the Large Hadron Collider to radio … Continue reading →

After every event we ask the scientists and moderators to select the students who stood out for them; the students they thought asked the best questions, or engaged most in the live chats. Well done to all of the student winners, and everyone who took part. There were so many interesting questions, and comments, but there could only be one winner in each zone. So, for fantastic engagement during the event, for posting brilliant questions and comments, the student winners below will each receive a certificate and a gift voucher. Agriculture Zone Winner: n7tom, Mary Webb School Animal Behaviour Zone Winner: ecosystemthethird, Lucton School Astronomy Zone Winner: littlesnade, Haven High Bioinformatics Zone Winner: miggymonster123, Gresham’s School Diamond Zone Winner: kaboomi, St Bartholomew’s School Drug Development Zone Winner: maddyplows, Fitzharys School Extreme Energy Zone Winner: onyeari, King Henry VIII School Genomics Zone Winner: taffy123, Bluecoat Academy Infectious Diseases Zone Winner: terry123, Abingdon … Continue reading →

By tomorrow afternoon, scientists and students will have taken part in more than 200 live chats across the event; live chats are the bread and butter of the I’m a Scientist competition, so what better way to end the two weeks than with an afternoon-long open-chat? On Friday afternoon we’ll be opening up the live chats in all the zones to any students who want to chat with the scientists. The live chats will be open from 12 pm to 3 pm, when scientists and registered students are invited to drop in and out for one final live chat! Keen students will be able to log in in their own time to chat with the scientists, get in some last minute questions, and give the finalists a chance to pick up those all-important eleventh-hour votes, before the winners are announced at 3 pm. We’re always really impressed to see how many evicted … Continue reading →

It’s difficult to talk—as we normally do—about I’m a Scientist returning this November while we’re gearing up for the June event, but in our tireless endeavour to be more organised, and help you plan ahead, here goes… I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here is returning later this year, from the 10th to 21st November 2014!! Christmas really is coming early, huh?! Six weeks early… Which Zones? We’ll announce the list of zones in early September. They’ll be announced first here on the News Feed. Shortly thereafter we’ll email all the teachers and scientists on our lists asking if they would like to take part, with instructions on how to do so. If you want to make sure you don’t miss the email announcement, make sure you’re signed up at one of the links below… Teachers apply at: imascientist.org.uk/teachers Scientists apply at: imascientist.org.uk/scientist-apply The deadline for scientist applications to take part this November … Continue reading →

For the week before our June 2014 event kicks off we’re handing over control of the @imascientist twitter account to some favourite faces of I’m a Scientist Alumni. We’ve lined up four teachers and six past winners to entertain us 140 character stories of their antics in the zones, hints and tips for the fresh-faced June scientists, and new teachers. We’ll kick off on Monday morning at 11am, handing over the reins to Sam Geen. All takeover tweets will be marked #IASTO. Monday 9th Sam Geen Sam won the Extreme Speed Zone in June 2013. Twitter: @eegnsma Jess Hamer Teacher at Lampton School @DrJessicaHamer Tuesday 10th Pete Etchells Pete won the 11–19 In the Zone in 2012. Twitter: @PeteEtchells Dan Hannard Teacher at Woodkirk High School @Woodkirkhannard Wednesday 11th Sarah Pannell Teacher at Lingfield Notre Dame School Twitter: @MrsDrSarah Suze Kundu Suze won the Energy Zone in June 2011 Twitter: … Continue reading →

£10,000,000 PRIZE!!! It makes our £500 for the winning scientist look positively small-fry. The Longitude Prize 2014 was launched this month with a huge fanfare and a Horizon BBC programme special to get the public to choose the challenge. But we think there is a missing element. Your chance to ask the challenge champions why you should vote for their challenge and not another. Here’s the plan. Starting on Monday 16th June we will run a special public zone featuring 6 scientists and engineers each championing their challenge. You get to ask them questions, take part in live text chats and vote for the Challenge you want to win. Your vote will take through to the official Challenge site to cast your vote in that too. All students in our June event will automatically be able to ask questions and members of the public can register via social media or … Continue reading →