Monday, July 28, 2014

Showing children industry to help them understand science in context and as a route to a career really works


The long summer holiday is not the time to be thinking about next term’s science work!

However – in a broader sense it may be a good idea to think in the round about helping your school to interact with science in a more useful and meaningful way for the children. At CIEC the long running Children Challenging Industry project has been shown to increase understanding of scientific principles, understanding of how science is happening in industry and how many jobs there are in the scientific industries.

The Children Challenging Industry project involves one of our Advisory Teachers going into schools and delivering science activities with an industrial context. The last session involves a site visit to a local industry. The lessons in school are always very enjoyable for the children – and importantly very much appreciated by the teacher who is able to observe (and join in!) an experienced primary science teacher in action.

The whole experience is remembered positively by the children many years after the event and it is often the site visit that is remembered most fondly.

Below are some comments collated by Advisory Teacher Jenny Harvey following a visit by St John the Evangelist RC Primary School, Billingham, to the Johnson Matthey site in Billingham.

The thing that you enjoyed doing the most;

The experiments

I enjoyed learning more things about industry and doing all the experiments. I felt very professional

The liquid nitrogen

Was when he put liquid nitrogen on the floor and it turned straight away into a gas

Going to Johnson Matthey. I especially liked the nitrogen gas

I enjoyed doing experiments and learning about catalysts and how important industry is

I have learnt many new things at Johnson Matthey and it has given me a great interest in science. I had lots of fun here

Filling the balloon with coke

I enjoyed the part where the balloon was popped with diet cola

I really liked talking about catalysts

I found it a treat that we were allowed in to see how they make stuff

 

 

The thing that you enjoyed doing the least;

Leaving

Nothing, it was fantastic

I didn’t enjoy the liquid nitrogen bit that much

Nothing

Nothing

It was all fantastic

Nothing I loved everything

 

 

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

How Industry can make a difference: Children Challenging Industry Celebration Day in the North East


Jenny Harvey, Advisory Teacher for the North East, hosted her first Children Challenging Industry (CCI) Celebration Event on the 1st July at the Wilton Centre, Redcar.

Leilla Elliott of the Cleveland Scientific Institute with children from  Billingham South Primary School
 
Mark Kenrick, CEO of LOTTE Chemical UK, opened the event by passionately endorsing Children Challenging Industry, stating the benefits to the teachers, children and the companies involved in hosting the visits. Jenny talked about the CCI project, what it involves and how it is implemented and all her statistics for the year (including the number of children, teachers and schools involved). Pupils from Mill Lane Primary School spoke about CCI in their own words and Dr Stan Higgins, NEPIC, closed the speakers by presenting some facts and figures about the impact and benefits of CCI across Teesside. There was a positive buzz of excitement all around and five new bookings were made and interest from new companies voiced.

 
Children from five different primary schools (Billingham South Primary School, Breckon Hill Primary School, Mill Lane Primary School, St Helens Primary School and St Therese of Lisieux RC School) who have already experienced CCI demonstrated various CCI activities on different tables.  Four companies exhibited; Chemoxy International, Johnson Matthey, TTE and Spearhead Interactive. Sembcorp had a display of photographs from a CCI visit.

In all sixty seven people attended the day. Jenny was delighted, “It was great to have speakers like Stan Higgins and Mark Kenrick to enthuse new companies about CCI and to have so many pupils here to show CCI in action.”