GLASGOW SCIENCE CENTRE NEWS
The wonders of science
sgow Proud to support Gla e om bec to in its aim a city of science
Glasgow Science Centre is a charity whose mission is to inspire, challenge and engage everyone with the wonders of science.
Issue 2 www.glasgowsciencecentre.org
Mercury
Issue 2 www.glasgowsciencecentre.org
Mercury
Thank you -
More for your Money Value for money is at the heart of all we do. As an independent charity, Glasgow Science Centre takes good care of every penny of public funding – and thinks outside the box to secure additional income. Each year, we multiply by five every pound of discretionary funding given to us by the Scottish Government. It’s a great boon for the public purse. Such is the scope of our mission to engage people with science and technology that we support all of the Government’s strategic objectives, and we work hard to ensure that we engage other funders to help make Scotland: wealthier, fairer, smarter, healthier, safer, stronger and greener. For example, much of GSC’s work towards making Scotland healthier is funded by corporate partnerships. Support from GlaxoSmithKline made the BodyWorks outreach programme possible, which hits home the importance of choices we make around diet, exercise and smoking. In 2010 alone, BodyWorks engaged with 50,000 members of the community and
28,000 school pupils we might not otherwise have reached. Joining forces to take science further Earlier in 2011, GSC teamed up with the NHS to support smoking cessation initiatives run by pharmacies. Our fundraising efforts supported the outreach project, which used face morphing technology to show smokers how they’d age if they continued to smoke and if they quit. This led to a fourfold increase in the number of people signing up for help to kick the habit.
visitors to Europe’s largest wind farm through which we broaden people’s understanding of renewable energy. We are always exploring further opportunities to supply exhibits externally and we’re keen to engage even more with the corporate world. Not only can we help big business to meet corporate social responsibility commitments, GSC can serve as a platform to test, showcase and launch new technologies. Everyone wins
A £1.9m project funded by GlaxoSmithKline, the Wellcome Trust and others is set to transform the third floor of our Science Mall. A state-of-the-art extended version of BodyWorks will open in 2013, showcasing cutting edge medical research emerging from Scotland and taking to a new level our discussion of life choices.
We welcome and value highly the Government’s contribution to our operating costs and go to great lengths to make public funds stretch as far as possible. Supplementing this support with private sector funds enables GSC to renew and develop exhibitions, take science on the road and engage with more people than ever, delivering the Government’s strategic objectives for Scotland.
GSC is also keen to partner with outside concerns intent on making Scotland greener. ScottishPower Renewables contracts us to run Whitelee Windfarm Visitor Centre. Last year, we helped 100,000
We’re proud that we can use Government funding in such an efficient and effective way – and we’re convinced that the nation reaps the benefits of every penny we spend.
Education for all Science has seen a much greater uptake among school pupils this year*, and we like to think we’ve played a part in this positive change. The teenagers now choosing subjects were among the first primary pupils to visit us when we opened 10 years ago. Survey data consistently tells us that GSC has a huge impact on heightening interest in science. Our Curriculum for Excellence linked schools programme is available every day that we’re open during term-time, and teachers remark that pupils return from a GSC visit raring to learn more about the subject. Science in action Science Learning Manager, Dr Sharon Macnab states “Science is a very active subject and GSC allows hands-on engagement. It’s all about investigating, exploring and discovering for yourself. GSC is a unique resource that supports learning.”
students. Other key events in 2011/12 include Topical Science Day (September), Chemistry Days (November), Build It engineering activities (January) and a look at Sustainable Science (March). Our outreach programme aims to reach remote, isolated or deprived communities across the length and breadth of Scotland. The BodyWorks On Tour van contains 20 exhibits to transform any school or community hall into a mini science centre. Over the years it has clocked up 168,000 miles, enough to travel the world five times. We cover all 32 Scottish local authorities and every school pays the same price for a visit, thanks to GlaxoSmithKline’s sponsorship.
Lifelong learning for a smarter Scotland Our education programme doesn’t stop at schoolchildren. GSC delivers lifelong learning to 200,000 public visitors annually as well as taking BodyWorks to local communities. The running of Whitelee Windfarm Visitor Centre comes under our education remit and we deliver courses for trainee teachers at Jordanhill College of Education and Glasgow University. For qualified teachers, various levels of continuing professional development support are available, including free entry to GSC, online materials to use before, after and on the day of a visit, and formal CPD courses when funding allows. It all goes towards creating a more knowledgeable population and a smarter Scotland that’s ready, willing and able to raise its game on the international field.
Around 65,000 schoolchildren visited GSC in 2010/11, with a further 28,000 benefiting from our schools outreach programme. Schools visiting us can book a science show or workshop, participate in Early Years activities in The Egg, take in a highly immersive IMAX film or view the planetarium before exploring the Science Mall. Untangling DNA – and more Older pupils can access GSC’s scientific equipment and expertise. Our PCR biotechnology workshop – delivered in conjunction with the University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research – runs every October for Advanced Higher * Please see article at: http://www.sec-ed.co.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/article/article.html?uid=85872;section=News;type_uid=1
Play for the day learn for a lifetime
Issue 2 www.glasgowsciencecentre.org
With your help we have inspired millions of people in the Science Mall and enthused nearly 1 million school pupils. It’s amazing what you can do in 10 years!
Issue 2 www.glasgowsciencecentre.org
Mercury
HAVE DINNER WITH A MASTER CHEF Taste of Science with John Torode 20th October 2011
Science gets grubby Glasgow Science Centre invited visitors to get their hands dirty over the long September weekend as part of the Wellcome Trust’s Dirt Season. Glasgow’s Dirty Weekend was part of a season of activities around the UK funded by the Wellcome Trust to educate the public about the benefits and dangers of dirt. We were delighted to link into the national event thanks to Lister’s connections with the city, which put us at the top of the list of host locations. Working with Wellcome From 23–26 September, GSC ran a combination of our own ‘dirty’ events and Wellcome Trust activities. The varied programme was designed to appeal to all ages and abilities – and introduce as many areas of science related to dirt as possible, from molecular biology and virology to parasitology and pollution via archaeology and ecology. For young children, we hosted our own Cockroach Corner, Disgusting Digestion, Dino Dig and Mucky Monsters activities. The Molecular Machine exhibition blended science and art to give an alternative perspective of viruses. A visiting exhibition from Glasgow University Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitlology also took a look at parasitologists working with tropical diseases. Expertise on tap The Insight series saw Prof Gerry Graham of the University of Glasgow discuss the workings of the immune system; Dr Mhairi Stewart of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology ask whether society
To the next 10 years! could be ‘too clean’; and Prof Robert Kalin present a CSI of Contaminants in the Environment. A number of other external experts were on hand to lead activities in the Science Mall. Building on the success of our last competition, we also ran an online contest to find the best ‘dirty’ photo (family-friendly images only!). Wellcome supplied a stack of freebies – including BBC Filthy Cities scratch and sniff postcards – for visitors to take home. The GSC experience isn’t just about coming to the science centre, it’s also about involving people before and after their visit. Lab and beyond The event was an eye opener for anyone contemplating a career in science and an inspiration for all. For us, it was a superb opportunity to demonstrate to visitors the breadth and depth of science and how a single topic can absorb diverse fields of expertise. Involving experts also helps us in our mission to build a public engagement forum for researchers to let the world know more about their work in the lab.
As Glasgow Science Centre’s 10th anniversary celebrations draw to a close, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us over the years. As a charity, we rely upon your continued help to ensure that we maintain and develop our programmes and exhibits in line with the fast pace of change in science and technology. Right now, Scotland is at the cutting edge of some important fields of scientific research, but we are in great danger of falling even further behind in other disciplines. Science education and engagement are crucial in raising our game as a nation. To secure Scotland’s prominence and prosperity in the future, we need to inspire a love of science among children and adults today. Only by granting science and technology the public platform they deserve can we hope to inspire the scientists, doctors, inventors, environmental specialists and engineers of tomorrow.
0141 420 5000 www.glasgowsciencecentre.org Glasgow Science Centre is a charity whose mission is to inspire, challenge and engage everyone with the wonders of science.