Category Archives: Outreach

18Oct/17

Urgent! Public Engagement Awards – E-mail Problems

18th October 2017Outreach, Public Engagement, UncategorizedPublic Engagement AwardsSean Ryan

If you have submitted a nomination for the SEPnet Public Engagement Awards and not received a receipt from me, please resend the application to d.galliano@qmul.ac.uk.

There has been a fault with the outreach@sepnet.ac.uk address. Our most sincere apologies for this.

In lieu of the this technical error, the deadline for the Awards has been extended until 17.00 on Thursday 19 October.

If you’re unsure about your nomination getting through, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Dr Dominic Galliano

SEPnet Director of Outreach & Public Engagement

16Oct/17

Making Holograms – KS3 & KS4 Workshops – Central London

16th October 2017OutreachOutreachJacob Dunningham

There are still a few places left for schools to sign-up to Holography Workshops in Central London.

These will be run by the University of Southampton as part of their PHABLAB project.

Holography & the EM Spectrum: Making Holograms

Hands-on workshop in Photonics (laser technology) for KS3 students of all genders. Students will learn about and apply basic light theory to create holograms. They will be working with an experienced team of educators and researchers. Students will learn about Photonics, a key cutting-edge technology, important for solving societal challenges in the 21st Century, such as energy, medicine, telecommunications and manufacturing, in a creative & informal environment.

GCSE Students
Wednesday 1 November 2017
10-12pm or 1-3pm.

KS3 Students
Friday 3 November 2017
10-12pm or 1-3pm.

Location
Green Lab (3Space), Corner of Keeton’s & Collett Road, Bermondsey, London SE16 4EE.

Booking E-mail Pearl John: pj@soton.ac.uk

29Sep/17

SEPnet Outreach is looking for an Evaluator for Connect Physics

29th September 2017Outreach, UncategorizedConnect PhysicsJacob Dunningham

SEPnet is looking for an evaluator for Connect Physics, our new workshops looking to raise the number of Year 8 students considering physics as a pathway to their future. There has been some formative evaluation and initial testing on the workshops but we would like the evaluator to join us for this final phase of testing and summative evaluation.

Details for the project can be found here.

The evaluation brief can be found here.

SEPnet Outreach will accept proposals up to £7,000 which should include any travel expenses and VAT if applicable. Any proposed budgets above this amount should be justified within the proposal. Deadline for proposals is Monday 16 October 2017.

Contact
Please contact Dominic Galliano on 0207 882 5063 / 07702 363 731 or outreach@sepnet.ac.uk if you would like any further information.

04Sep/17

SEPnet launches 2017 Public Engagement Awards

4th September 2017Public EngagementPublic Engagement, Public Engagement AwardsJacob Dunningham

Have you been involved in an innovative, exciting or impactful public engagement project? Is there someone is your SEPnet department who has a long history of supporting and delivering public engagement projects? Or someone who’s just started out and whose enthusiasm is infectious and encourages others to take part? Is your research group fantastic in supporting public engagement?

Now’s your chance to celebrate these achievements! SEPnet is launching their 2017 Public Engagement Awards and needs your help recognising the best of public engagement across the network. We are recognising work across three categories, individuals, projects and research groups:

Projects:

Nominations for awards in this category should be for a single project run by an individual or a team. Projects would taken place within the last two years, with some form of output, outcome or long-term impact since September 2015.

Projects nominated in this category can include researchers from outside SEPnet and / or physics research, as long as at least one member of the project’s core team is based at a SEPnet Outreach Partner, including the associate members (Reading, St Mary’s and Oxford) and is carrying out physics research.

Innovation Project Award
This award recognises projects which have delivered interesting and innovative ways in which the public has engaged with physics research. Nominated projects will have had a target public, set aims & objectives, and an evaluation measuring outcomes and if appropriate long-term impact. Projects can include any form of engagement based on physics research with any audience.

Impact Project Award
Projects will have generated long-term impact from their research through any channel involving engaging with the public – including knowledge transfer, working with user groups, debates and many more.

Individuals:

The nominations for awards in this category should be for a single individual based at a SEPnet Outreach Partner, including the associate members (Reading, St Mary’s and Oxford) who is carrying out some form of physics research.

Communication Award
This award recognises an individual’s ability to communicate their own research through different channels including broadcast media (television, radio or film), writing for print or online journalism and public speaking (festivals, lectures, debates or panel discussions).

Achievement Award
This award recognises an individual’s record of sustained (at least ten years) of excellence in engaging the public with research through a range of engagement activities and audiences.

Newcomer Award
This award recognises an individual who is new to engagement and have made an impact that could include any type of engagement activity or project linked to their research.

Research Groups:

For the purpose of the awards a research group is defined as a collection of academics, normally based within a single department at one of the SEPnet Outreach Partners, including the associate members (Reading, St Mary’s and Oxford), working in an emerging or established area of expertise. This should line up with how your institution defines a research group. Nominations can be written by anyone within the research group but must have the approval of their head of group.

Research Group Award
This award recognises a research group that has a well embedded culture of public engagement based on their research.

Please note:

School’s Outreach activities not based on research are not eligible for any award.
Projects, individuals and research groups can be nominated for more than one award however a nomination form for each award is required.
Projects, individuals and research groups can be nominated in successive years for the same award. However winners will not receive the same award twice.
Each award has their own form.
Outreach Officers, Public Engagement staff and anyone working on Outreach or Public Engagement at 0.5FTE or higher are ineligible for the Individual Awards.
Deadline has now been extended until midday on Wednesday 16 October 2017.

Click here for full details on the criteria for all awards.

Awards will be presented on Wednesday November 29th at Prince Phillip House in central London, following the Student Expo.

For more details please see your local SEPnet Outreach Officer or email outreach@sepnet.ac.uk

15Jun/17

WANTED: Sessions and Exhibits for Interact – an engagement symposium for the physical sciences

15th June 2017Outreach, Public EngagementInteract, Outreach, Public EngagementJacob Dunningham

Thursday 14 September, University of Birmingham

Have you worked on an outreach, public engagement or science communication project based on the physical sciences? Are you looking to share your learning, celebrate your success and help others avoid your mistakes? If so then the Interact symposium is for you!

We are looking for all sorts of people to put forward sessions and share their experiences of working on outreach, public engagement or science communication projects. This includes community partners, outreach officers, freelance science communicators, the museum sector, creative producers, the arts community, media, and informal educators as well as researchers with public engagement experience.

Whether it’s a project that engaged a new audience, or an innovative way you raised science capital in schools, a new demonstration that encapsulates all the excitement of your latest research, a tested method of measuring impact or even that project that went so horrifically wrong; this is your opportunity to share!

The conference is targeted at physicists and physical scientists looking to share best practice, exchange ideas and meet some new colleagues for potential future projects. This conference gives them time for them to get out of the lab and think about the public and how to engage with them. The content for the workshop will be decided by those attending.

The STFC, IOP and SEPnet are co-hosting the event around the following themes:

Evaluation and impact.
Reaching traditionally hard-to-engage / underserved audiences.
Schools outreach.
Sharing both good practice and past mistakes.

There will be two different formats for sharing your experience:

Parallel session / workshop. We have many breakout rooms of different sizes that need filling with you and your knowledge! Do you know a few other people who have worked on a similar area? Invite them along and put on a session together. We really want as much variety as possible! We are open to all sorts of formats, lengths of time and audience numbers, at this stage simply let us know! Please submit your session ideas here.
An exhibition space. There will also be an exhibition space for you to demonstrate your activities in the marketplace. Here is your opportunity to show off your demonstration or that shiny exciting bit of kit throughout the day. If you would like to bring along your activity, please fill submit this form.

Deadline for applications will be Friday 30 June. If you are applying for a session, please do also register for the conference here.

Applicants will be told if their session and exhibition space has been successful by the end of July.

We are looking forward to hearing your ideas!

Neville Hollingworth (STFC)
Hannah Renshall (IOP)
Dominic Galliano (SEPnet)

12May/17

Interact – an engagement symposium for the physical sciences

12th May 2017Outreach, Public EngagementJacob Dunningham

INTERACT – an engagement symposium for the physical sciences
Thursday 14 September, University of Birmingham

Are you a physical scientist and doing outreach, public engagement and science communication? If so then the INTERACT conference is for you!

The conference offers a great opportunity to share your experiences, gain skills, learn new ways to engage with your audiences and see what others involved in public engagement are doing, all designed to help you develop and deliver high-quality engagement.

The STFC, IOP and SEPnet are co-hosting the event around the following themes:

Evaluation and impact.
Reaching traditionally hard-to-engage / underserved audiences.
Schools outreach.
Sharing both good practice and what not to do.

The detailed content on the day will be up to you decide by voting on proposals submitted by fellow delegates.

How do I register?
This event is free to attend but you will need to register in advance. If you would like to be able to vote on the contents of the programme, then please register here by Friday 30 June.

I’m more experienced. Can I share my work with others?
There will also be an exhibition space for you to demonstrate your outreach activities in the marketplace. If you would like to bring along your activity, please fill in this form in addition to registering your attendance by Friday 30 June.

If you are more experienced and would like to share your knowledge with others, why not consider running a session or workshop? Registered delegates will be asked to vote on which sessions they’d like to attend in July so if you’d like to run one, please fill in this form by Friday 30 June in addition to registering.

We look forward to seeing you there!

27Apr/17

Schools needed to test new SEPnet Year 8 Workshops – Physics: What, Why, How?

27th April 2017OutreachOutreachJacob Dunningham

SEPnet is currently developing a new set of Year 8 workshops: Physics: What, Why, How? These workshops are designed to complement the Year 8 science curriculum and build science capital in the classroom.

We are looking to do our first round of testing during May in London. At this early stage we are looking to see if the workshops are successful in communicating their key messages. We also would like feedback from KS3 science teachers.

Would your school be able to help us out? The school would need to have:

At least three Year 8 science groups (so we can test each workshop once) if possible with each these groups having science lessons on the same day.
A keen KS3 science teacher (or teachers) who are open to giving feedback and building relationships with University physics departments.

Teachers can sign up their schools here:
https://goo.gl/forms/RCR2eotnQKsJhOtE3

This is a fantastic opportunity to connect your school with the SEPnet Outreach programme and have a say in the content of the workshops which will be rolled out across the South East in September.

16Mar/17

Stargazing Live with SEPnet

16th March 2017Outreach, Public EngagementStargazing Live;Jacob Dunningham

Are you looking forward to Stargazing Live on BBC Two? Fancy trying it out for yourself? Come join us at events across the SEPnet region!

Thursday 16 March 2017 – Royal Holloway
18:30 – 19:30, RHUL, Egham.
Tickets are free.

On the occasion of BBC Stargazing Live and British Science Week, Professor Stewart Boogert, Royal Holloway Physicist, talks about his journey from being an amateur astronomer towards making complex measurements with the Royal Holloway teaching telescope. The talk will cover the faintest, furthest, biggest, coldest things which can be observed, or even measured with a small telescope.

Weather permitting, after the lecture Professor Boogert and his students will make real time observations with the telescope and discuss the observable night sky in spring.

Wednesday 29 March 2017 – Surrey
18:30 – 22:00, Universty of Surrey, Guildford,
Free tickets are available here.

An evening of stargazing, space activities, physics and astronomy talks.

Join physicists and astrophysicists from the University of Surrey, amateur astronomers from the Guildford Astronomical Group, and many more at this free event, exploring astronomy through space and time. During the event you will have the opportunity to take a look through a telescope, and find out more about our Universe.

Short talks will be given throughout the night on topics within stargazing, astronomy and space. There will be a range of activities to suit all ages, with plenty to do and see whether it’s clear or cloudy!

Friday 31 March 2017 – Hertfordshire
18:00 – 21:30, Bayfordbury Observatory
Tickets are already sold out sadly!

At this open evening, you will get to meet researchers who are investigating everything from the nature of brown dwarfs, the mysteries of star birth and our understanding of Dark Matter. It’s also stargazing live! So join us also for guided tours of the largest teaching observatory in the UK, make your own comet and see why we use infrared light to look into space. As a special treat, we will be breaking out our new 100 seater outdoor planetarium, the largest inflatable planetarium in the UK, for a whole host of 45-minute talks about the wonders of the Universe

Tuesday 4 April 2017 – Queen Mary
18:00 – 21:00, QMUL, Mile End, London

April is Global Astronomy Month; so join Queen Mary’s School of Physics and Astronomy for an evening of astronomical entertainment!

All welcome and family-friendly! Come and enjoy public talks about some of the research being carried out by astronomers in Queen Mary, exhibits outlining aspects of how we study the Universe, comet making demonstrations and (weather permitting) stargazing on the lawn.

08Mar/17

SEPnet Outreach highlights the importance of Shattering Stereotypes on International Women’s Day.

8th March 2017Diversity, OutreachDiversity, InternationalWomensDay, OutreachJacob Dunningham

This International Women’s Day, SEPnet Outreach is launching their Shattering Stereotypes Careers Evenings and Physics Graduate Case Studies resources. Across our Shattering Stereotypes Schools we will be holding networking sessions between Year 8 students, their parents and a variety of physics graduates of all genders who have gone to have amazing careers in business, industry and other sectors showing the breadth of opportunities available to them.

Students will be encouraged to look beyond gender and pick graduates they would like to network with based on their and the graduates Type of Scientist (previously developed for SEPnet / WISE’s People Like Me resource).

The evenings will also have a short talk highlighting the issues of Gender Stereotyping and Unconscious Bias. Gender Stereotyping in an issue which affects people of all genders at school. It has an influence on subject choices at GCSEs, which leads to fewer girls taking A-Level physics and therefore also at university. Additionally it affects boys taking up other subjects seen as more traditional girl subjects such as English and psychology. (See Closing Doors / Opening Doors reports by IOP).

If you would like to use these graduates as Case Studies in your own classroom or outreach activities, you can download the set here. The physics graduates in this set span gender, ethnicity, sexuality, career type and type of scientist. They have been developed to showcase the sheer variety of opportunities physics can open up. This could help embed STEM careers in science lessons, break the science = scientist link and help build science capital with students and their parents. (See Aspires Report)

If you studied physics at university and would like to take part in the project, please sign up here. If you can’t make one of our events, we are looking to expand the set of Case Studies and especially include graduates who identify as female and are also from an ethnic minority, so that we can explore issues around intersectionality in future workshops.

The Shattering Stereotypes pilot project is investigating how the SEPnet Outreach can help raise awareness of Gender Stereotyping in schools. The pilot project is taking place across five schools:

Charles Darwin School, Biggin Hill.
Lampton Academy, Hounslow.
Overton Grange, Sutton.
Preston Manor, Brent.
St Peter’s Catholic School, Guildford.

An evaluation report will be made available towards the end of 2017.

If you would like more information on the project, please do get in touch.

17Feb/17

Soapbox Science needs female Physicists!

17th February 2017Outreach, Public EngagementJacob Dunningham

Want to share your passion for your work with the public? Have you ever wanted to stand on a soapbox and talk about your research to passers by? Now is your chance! Soapbox Science is looking for physicists who identify as female to register!

With Soapbox Science, everyone has the opportunity to enjoy, learn from, heckle, question, probe, interact with and be inspired by some of SEPnet’s leading physicists. No middle man, no powerpoint slide, no amphitheater – just remarkable women in science who are there to amaze you with their latest discoveries.

Events are happening all over the country with two in the South East:
London – Saturday 27th May
Brighton – Saturday 29th July

Sign-up here. Deadline is Friday 24th February.

SEPnet Outreach officers will be able to help prepare material for the event.

SEPnet Outreach is sponsoring this year’s Soapbox Science Brighton.

Category: Outreach

Projects:

Individuals:

Research Groups: