Newsletter January 2012
The Molecules Network
IN THIS ISSUE
Happy New Year! This newsletter shares your news from the autumn term and gives ideas
for make-it-molecular activities to celebrate two of the big events of 2012: the Olympics and
the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Also find out about our future plans for the Molecules Network.
SCHOOLS NEWS – OPEN EVENINGS
Always the biggest use of the model kits during the autumn term, an Open Evening provided
th
the chance for Hills Road Sixth Form College to make their 1000 molecule – they are our
first school to reach the 1000 target – so congratulations to Nicki Dartnell and her students!
Mike Heyes at Ellen Wilkinson School sent these photos of lots of dads (and a couple of
mums) making molecules at their Open Evening:
Verdin High School prepared some top trumps style molecule cards featuring facts about a
number of simple molecules for their open evening. They used their science club members to
run the activity, making 200 molecules in one evening.
“Our science club had a "Make a molly win a lolly" stand on the science corridor. Pupils in the
club told the prospective pupils facts about the molecule they built. Current pupils who were
supposed to be helping out elsewhere, heard there were lollies being given out if they built a
molecule, so they also joined in the fun.
Gayle Ruddick - Verdin High School
Burnham Grammar School sent these pictures of molecules made at their busy September
Open Evening where 1000 people visited the school.
“Burnham Grammar have used the molecule model making kits to enthuse visiting potential
students about learning science in a fun different way. All ages have enjoyed putting the
molecules together, and by using your hands it's so much easier to remember the molecular
components of a chemical.”
Judy Trinder, Science College, Burnham Grammar School
William Brookes School (Ruth Morgan) held a race to build glucose molecules at the sixth
form open evening with a prize awarded for the fastest time. The Ridgeway School (Emma
Hanselman) are training sixth form students as STEM ambassadors, and they led a make-itmolecular activity advertising science subjects at the sixth form options evening. Make-itmolecular activities were also held at Open Evenings at Audenshaw School (Ruth Harrison)
and The Cherwell School.
We ran a display as part of our school’s open evening. This gave us the opportunity to “train”
our new Chemistry Yr 12s in the activity. Prospective parents and their children had the
opportunity to make a molecule. Interestingly we had several of our Yr 13s asking if they
could run the event again!”
Kate Burdett, The Cherwell School
These molecules were made at the KS2 Open Day at Walton
High School
“Although the number of students making molecules was
relatively low, these were constantly being viewed as the
stand was in a busy foyer area. Each child that made a
molecule had 2 parents and some siblings ‘helping out’,
making the count 60+ people interacting with the molecules.”
Debbie Bunn, Walton High School
MORE SCHOOLS EVENTS
William Brookes School has started a “Cafe Sci” this year. They
hold two events a term with visiting speakers and the molecule
kits are put out as people chat over coffee. Two PhD students
from Keele University were among the guest speakers.
Diane Jones and three year 12 students from Wolgarston School
took make-it-molecular on an outing to the Horsefair playground
in Penkridge for a community event called “Games 4 All”. The
molecules making stand ran alongside a range of activities
including first aid training, knitting and giant Jenga!
Diane also has been using the make-it-molecular kit in her work
with the Guides.
After
running a training session for
Guiding leaders called “Science is Fun”, Diane was
asked to take the kits along to a Guides group in
Cheddleton where all 26 Guides made a molecule.
The Ridgeway School have trained up 20 members of its
KS3 STEM Club in running make-it-molecular and they
delivered the activity at the STEM awards evening with
200 parents attending.
COMPETITION 2012
This year’s competition will take place at the end of the summer term and will have the usual
prizes for:
• The largest number of molecules made this year
• The most inventive use of the molecules kit
• The most unusual location / audience for a molecules event
We’ll also have a special 2012 Olympics award for the best Olympic themed molecules event.
MAKE-IT-MOLECULAR IDEAS FOR 2012:
Two big events are coming up this year – why not use them as themes for make-it-molecular?
1. OLYMPIC MOLECULES
How far, how high, how fast? Create your
own Molecules Olympics with molecule
building races. Sprint to make a glucose
molecule or compete to make the longest
polymer chain in a given time.
Or how about setting up a themed molecules
trail or holding a make-it-molecular event with
Olympic themed molecules? For example:
glucose – providing the body with energy, adrenaline – the hormone responsible for preparing
the body for action, lactic acid – builds up in the body during extreme exercise, or the banned
anabolic steroids Nandrolone and Stanozolol, which promote muscle growth.
A set of Olympic themed molecules will be available from our website later this year
http://www.keele.ac.uk/makeitmolecular/freeresources/
Or copy Ruth Morgan’s idea – William Brookes School are planning an Olympic sweepstake
event – participants pick a country at random, build a molecule associated with that country
and then get prizes depending on the number of medals that country won in the summer.
2. QUEEN’S DIAMOND JUBILEE
We created a giant diamond structure as part of our CARBON RAPTURE exhibition on the
three forms of carbon. We’ve got plans for another huge diamond model to celebrate the
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this year.
®
A diamond structure can be made from normal Molymod , or the 500 molecules landmark
prize is a special diamond making kit with clear, colourless atoms to make a much more
sparkley version. Instructions for making the diamond structure are also on our website.
SCIENCE WEEK 2012: OUR WORLD IN MOTION
“On your marks, Get set, Go!” This year’s National Science and
Engineering Week is themed around motion, rather appropriately for
an Olympic year.
You could tie in an Olympic theme for science week activities, or
make molecules involved in travel: cars, boats, planes...
See the Science Week website for more ideas:
http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/web/nsew/index.htm
The Catalyst Discovery Centre in
Widnes, Cheshire is a new member
of the Molecules Network. We
helped them to develop a
molecules trail around the centre
over the summer. It proved so
popular it is now a permanent
feature. Make-it-molecular is also
being incorporated into many of
their activities.
WHAT NEXT FOR THE MOLECULES NETWORK?
The “Molecules Out and About” funding from the EPSRC will be coming to an end at the end
of this year as the three year project span comes to an end. However, the Molecules Network
will keep going – and we hope that you will be keen to stay involved. We are also expanding
the network further with a number of additional kits to bring the total to 50 schools /
educational partners.
What we are proposing to do now is loan molecule kits to schools on a yearly basis, with the
aim of each school reaching at least 300 people each year. The same incentives will apply,
with landmark prizes at 250 and 500 molecules and being able to keep the entire kit when you
reach 1000 molecules. Schools can sign up for a year and test out if make-it-molecular works
for them then choose to renew their loan if they want to continue with molecules outreach.
We’ll be promoting the opportunity to join the scheme on this yearly basis later this year – do
let us know if you have any comments, and promote the scheme to teachers / schools that
might be interested in taking part!
Sandy and Lorna Smith at Science@Cwaben are one of
our non-school members of the Molecules Network:
they are busy running science outreach events all over
Scotland. The photo is from the make-it-molecular
stand at Kirkwall for the Orkney International Science
Festival in September. They also ran a molecules trail
through the town with 16 businesses hosting a
molecule.
They are planning more molecules trails this year in
Dunbar (Science Week) and Oban (Festival of the Sea).
KEEP IN TOUCH...
Please do keep in touch with your make-it-molecular events and if there is anything I can do
to help you can contact me by telephone on 01782 733038 (Weds / Thurs) or e-mail:
[email protected].
The next newsletter will be published after Easter to cover events in the spring term, including
Science Week. Please keep sending in your event feedback along with photos, quotes and
stories. I’ll be reminding you for updates in April.
Happy molecule making!
Tess