The North West Science Alliance is back with a bang
Written by Louise Bird, United Utilities
The COVID pandemic may have stopped the North West Science Alliance (NWSA) from meeting but it certainly hasn’t stopped members from sharing their enthusiasm for science.
The NWSA brings together the many organisations in the region who work to raise the profile of science. This week there was a good turn out to hear four speakers provide updates on the innovative and exciting work that’s been happening on our doorstep.
Paul Vernon (Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Executive Director, Business & Innovation Directorate, and Head of Daresbury Laboratory) kicked things off with an overview of the world leading research STFC Daresbury Lab and his recent visit to CERN. He also shared future plans for the Daresbury site which will bring even more science jobs to the area and opportunities for collaboration, innovation and ground breaking discoveries. Everyone was in agreement that STFC won the award for the best mission statement of the evening ‘Discovering the secrets of the Universe’.
Matt Donnelly then showed us round the new North West Science Alliance website that he very kindly developed for the group. It’s a great resource not just for members but for anyone who wants to find out about exciting science events in the North West. Let’s get using it and get more information on here.
Paul Sapple (Ogden Trust Programme Manager) shared some of the work Ogden Trust is doing in the North West to support educators and increase the uptake of physics across all young children, particularly in under-represented groups.
Finally, Sally Kisby a teacher from St George’s Primary School in Wallasey helped to bring this alive by sharing some of the resources and activities they have been able to provide for pupils with the help of the Ogden Trust. This definitely made me want to go back to school for the day and I can’t wait to see the augmented space trail.
As always the informal discussions afterwards proved just as interesting:
- Great to see Ian Russell is still entertaining kids and adults with his exploding custard (I think we worked out it was the early 90’s when I saw Ian’s show one Friday night at Daresbury Lab). The bubble show looks equally as impressive!
- Nice to meet Mark Waters from 4wardfutures and chat about some of innovative approaches they’re using to get kids interested in science careers developing virtual reality applications and other online resources to inspire kids.
- I knew Science Made Simple were excellent science communicators that produce brilliant resources but I was surprised to find out about the research they also get involved in. Thanks to David Price for telling about the work Science Made Simple doing in India, Indonesia and Senegal with research teams to develop interventions with schools, communities and policy makers in order to raise awareness of the issues around child stunting and malnutrition.
- I will also be taking my kids over to Wrexham one weekend in the very near future to visit Xplore! Science Discovery Centre.
Thank you to Lorelly Wilson for getting us back together and to Daresbury Laboratory for providing a great venue and refreshments for the meeting. I am already looking forward to the next meeting at the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre and Museum.