27 April
NESTA CHALLENGES KIDS TO GO ALL SPIELBERG ON SCIENCE
John Healey MP launches national competition at Swinton Community School
The National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts (NESTA), The Engineering and Technology Board (ETB), and the Institute of Physics will launch a UK wide competition challenging people to make mini movies of exciting science experiments next Friday, 27 April, with an event at Swinton Community School in South Yorkshire.
To mark the launch, local MP John Healey will take a starring role in two mini movies made by the school’s students. John will try his hand at two kitchen table-style experiments involving plunging his hand in ice water and trying to knock a matchstick off a coin without touching it.
‘Planet SciCast’ is designed to increase both science engagement and creativity in and out of the classroom, and judges will be looking for self-made movies that depict interesting scientific facts or problems in a unique way. Examples include ‘Wild West Fizz Out’, a demonstration in the style of western shoot out, of how tapping a shaken drinks can causes bubbles to rise, join together and render themselves harmless; and the ‘elephant’s toothpaste’ chemical reaction, filmed as a silent movie.
The competition is open to anyone with an interest in science, with a particular focus on teams of young people from secondary and primary schools, science teachers, and science and engineering professionals.
All the competition entries, accompanied by a written description, will be available at www.planet-scicast.com, which is intended to become a useful resource for teachers and provide engaging material for young people – a YouTube of the science world. Some examples can already be found on the site.
Talking about the competition, Jonathan Kestenbaum, CEO of NESTA, commented:
“If the UK is to continue to thrive economically, it’s essential we equip future generations with the spirit of enquiry and creativity that innovation requires. As part of this, we want to create new and exciting ways for people to engage with science. The movie-making challenge will encourage them to see scientific processes in a creative light while learning new skills.”
John Healey, MP, added:
"I am delighted that students at Swinton Community School have been chosen as the first to take part in NESTA’s exciting new national competition. I hope it helps them realise that science is not just about learning from text books, but that it can also be fun and have a real impact on our lives each day. I'm looking forward to seeing the films that they produce on exciting science experiments and interesting scientific facts!"
Films should be no more than two minutes and thirty seconds in length and will be judged by a panel of experts including Dr Alice Roberts and one of Channel 4’s ‘Men in White,’ Basil Singer. The winning team will receive a ‘SciCastie’ Award. The closing date for entries will be 4 January 2008.
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Notes for editors:
To arrange to attend the event or for interviews, please call the NESTA press office on 0207 438 2643. NESTA Spokespeople are also available for comment and interview.
NESTA
www.nesta.org.uk
NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts. With endowed funds of over £300 million, our mission is to transform the UK’s capacity for innovation. We do this in three main ways: by working to build a more pervasive culture of innovation in this country; by providing innovators with access to early stage capital; and by driving forward research into innovation, with a view to influencing policy.
Planet Science
www.planet-science.com
NESTA’s Planet Science is a free popular online resource and newsletter for school students of science and their parents and teachers. It’s a mix of interactive features, games and teachers materials designed to engage and inspire, and a free weekly e-newsletter to keep in touch with its audience.
The Engineering and Technology Board (ETB)
The Engineering and Technology Board (ETB) is a registered charity that seeks to promote the vital contribution that scientists, engineers and technologists make to prosperity and quality of life. The ETB works in partnership with business and industry, Government, education and the profession to improve the perception of science, engineering and technology in the UK. The driving force behind these partnerships is the desire to ensure a supply of appropriately skilled individuals to meet the present and future SET skill needs of UK plc. For more information about the ETB please visit www.etechb.co.uk.
Institute of Physics
www.iop.org
The Institute of Physics is a scientific membership organisation devoted to increasing the understanding and application of physics. It has an extensive worldwide membership (currently over 35,000) and is a leading communicator of physics with all audiences from specialists through government to the general public. Its publishing company, IOP Publishing, is a world leader in scientific publishing and the electronic dissemination of physics.