Introducing Meg

I am delighted to be co-leading the Science for Life Partnership with Carole Kenrick and to have taken on the role of Scientist in Residence at Gillespie Primary School. With the support of Carole, Gillespie Primary School staff and fellow partnership members, I have enjoyed putting the ‘wheels in motion’ for the year ahead.

It was great to reconnect with Science for Life members at our first hub meeting and to welcome new ones. In addition, Imogen Small, one of the Institute of Physics’ (IOP) Public Engagement Officers, attended our first meeting. Imogen shared her hopes for how the IOP can engage with primary school pupils and their families.

At the meeting, we shared ideas for bringing science into Black History Month, by having pupils work scientifically. Hub members learnt about George Washington Carver: an African- American, born into slavery, who urged cotton farmers to grow peanuts and sweet potatoes to restore the soil after farming. He then helped the farmers research products that used peanuts and sweet potatoes; such as, cosmetics and glue so that they could make them. Teaching ideas based around this work were shared; such as, having pupils create their own products from an array of materials and selecting the appropriate equipment to do so: some examples being salad dressing or massage oil.

Hub members agreed an action plan for the year ahead. Our first collaborative event will be a Musical Glove Workshop at Newington Green Primary, where pupils and staff will learn how to use coding to programme micro bits to be used in gesture-controlled gloves sewn from felt. Other collaborative events in the pipeline are an Art and Science Afternoon; a Young Scientists’ Conference to be held at the IOP and the Great Science Share at London Metropolitan University.

Members are looking forward to the next Hub Meeting, which will involve CPD about science and art at a Science Museum Late event. Future CPD will include the following: addressing science capital, in particular, engaging girls in science; ensuring progression within the science curriculum in preparation for meeting the new Ofsted framework; teaching evolution and inheritance; and attending the Primary Day at the Association for Science Conference in Reading.

Year 5 and 6 pupils at Gillespie, Ashmount, Montem, Newington Green and Hugh Myddleton will soon be engaging in workshops run by UCL chemistry undergraduates who are undertaking local research into air pollution. Pupils will be learning about air pollution and taking part in decision making about where samples should be collected and then they will learn about the results. Thank you to Carole for her input helping the undergraduates prepare.

Underpinning the Science for Life Partnership, in my role as Scientist in Residence at Gillespie Primary School, I model the approaches that we promote through Science for Life.

This half term, a new child science leadership team has been established at Gillespie, and many thanks must go to the outgoing team who showed their professionalism in identifying the qualities needed; conducting interviews and selecting the new child leaders. They have delivered their first assembly, launching ‘World Space Week’ and ‘Black History Month’. The children highlighted the barriers that Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan and Katherine Johnson (who are portrayed in the film Hidden Figures) overcame to become successful in their fields at NASA during the Apollo 11 mission and beyond. The children are now planning to lead a lunch time science club for Year 1 pupils.

Classes have been visiting me in Gillespie's Lab_13 and examining what science is; what scientists do and the many and varied job opportunities that exist if you go on to study science further. Pupils have been addressing stereotypes about what scientists look like. They may wear a lab coat and safety goggles - but not always! They may be parents that work from home and can of course be any gender.

In addition, I have been inviting groups of pupils into Lab_13 to investigate answers to their own questions about science, which has been an absolute pleasure. Pupils of all ages have been undertaking different types of enquiry. Reception children sorted and classified woollen and pipe cleaner caterpillars; pupils from Years 3 – 6 carried out fair tests to answer why urine changes colour (using yellow food dye and water!); pupils from Years 4 – 6 replicated volcanic eruptions after carrying out research and making models of the Earth’s layers; Year 2 pupils have made diaries in which they will record observations of the moon over time and what time the sun rises. They examined still and moving images of the Earth, Sun and Moon to begin finding answers to their questions.

All of this work that I am doing with children at Gillespie feeds directly into the Science for Life partnership through sharing ideas at Hub meetings, and informing CPD.

I am thoroughly enjoying my new roles, and am really looking forward to continuing to develop the Science for Life Hub across this year and beyond.

Written by Megan Begley