AGT activities

Super Capacitor Car Challenge Year Group 9 Saturday 31st March 2011 Chester Catholic High School The day provides the opportunity for budding engineers to design and build a model vehicle powered by the latest capacitor technology.

Participants will take part in a design / build / race challenge using a comprehensive kit of components which contains all the materials necessary to construct a model electric vehicle which will then be ‘raced’ over a short indoor track.

Time: 9.45am registration for 10am start - 3.30pm.

At 3.15pm, parents will be invited to join their children in order to see what they have achieved during the day.

Children need: Packed lunch and drinks, and should wear

sensible clothing.

Cost: £15 Cheques should be made payable to Ripley St. Thomas CE High School Applications should be sent to Aileen Hoare, NWGT c/o 6, Poppy Field Drive, Pen – y- ffordd, Nr. Chester, Flintshire, CH4 0GE Closing date for applications: Applications should arrive no later than 16th March 2012 (however please note applications will be considered on a first come first served basis)

G&T Workshop Day for Years 5,6,7 & 8 – Saturday March 24th,2012 2011 Saturday June 12th, 2010

Prenton High School for Girls

Hesketh Avenue, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH42 6RR This day provides the opportunity for able students from Years 5, 6, 7 & 8 from across the North West to work together in a workshop of their choice: • • • • •

Science – Circus Chaos Years 5-7 only Art – Withy Lanterns English – A word in your ear!

Architecture Maths - Factorials & Binomial expansion

Details of each workshop are attached.

NB Please ensure that First and Second workshop choices are clearly indicated on the student application form. We will do our best to offer students their first choice, but they should be prepared to do their second choice.

Cost: £15 per student Cheques should be made payable to: “Ripley St Thomas” Timings: 9:45am registration – 3:30pm finish.

At 3:15pm, parents will be invited to join their children in order to see what they have achieved during the day.

Pupils will need to bring with them a packed lunch and drinks and should wear comfortable, appropriate clothing.

Application forms and payments should be returned directly to: Jill Welch, Prenton High School for Girls, Hesketh Avenue, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH42 6RR. Enquiries can be made to Jill by calling her on 0151 644 8113 ex 245 or by email at welchj@prentonhighschool.co.uk Closing date for applications: Friday March 9 th, 2012 NB. It is essential that application forms arrive by the closing date as places cannot be reserved without written parental permission.

Mandi Szuplewski, NWGT Outreach Co-ordinator

Workshops Science – Chaos Circus Murder Mystery Circus Laroz is a travelling show, an exciting spectacle of colourful, talented acrobats, magicians, clowns and fire eaters all the way from Paris. The morning the circus was due to leave New Brighton, the Ring Master, Victor van Derzanio was found dead in his caravan. There was no evidence of a break-in but some of his belongings (passport, credit cards and heirlooms) are missing. It is suspected that someone in the circus camp knows something about this chaos. Investigating Officers will work with forensic evidence found at the scene to help solve this dastardly crime.

This highly practical day will introduce students to many different skills and techniques actually used to solve crimes. This workshop will suit able scientists with enquiring, logical minds and an interest in forensic science.

NB Rose has presented this workshop in Wirral before – make sure you have not already done it before applying!

Maximum group size: 20 – Years 5-7 only Presenter: Rose Froud – Rose has worked as a Primary Science Advisory Teacher for Wirral Local Authority and is now a freelance consultant. She has presented G&T workshops for NWGT in the past, including other forensics workshops.

Maths – Factorials and Binomial Expansion If you love Maths and really enjoy a challenge then this workshop is for you!

Participants will discover how & why some number patterns repeat themselves and see where they occur in nature, building up to expanding expressions. We will start off using relatively basic, real world examples & build up.

We will research factorials & binomial expansion using ICT, complete calculations to given examples and learn how to recognise & use number patterns and how to expand sets of numbers. Participants will complete a presentation to teach others what they have learnt. Applying their existing numerical skills to a new environment, they will also develop their knowledge of a new subject area & enhance their knowledge of algebra. We will work up to AS level (time & ability permitting)!

Maximum group size: 30 Presenter: Ian Milan. Ian started out as a Business Adviser, but has been teaching Maths for the last 9 years. He is currently Curriculum Leader for GCSE Maths in a Sixth Form College and also teaches AS Maths..

English – A Word in Your Ear! If you love poetry, then this workshop is for you.

If you hate poetry, then this workshop is for you.

In this highly interactive poetry workshop, Paul Cookson will lead students in a variety of approaches to writing and performing their own poems.

•

Prerequisites/Participant Characteristics Enthusiasm and participation

•

Aim/Rationale To show that everyone can write a poem To explore different approaches to writing poems To look at ways of writing, drafting and redrafting their work To look at different ways of performing their own work Maximum group size: 30 Presenter: Paul Cookson has been performing his poetry and leading workshops for twenty years. He has written and edited numerous best selling collections. At present he is the Poet In residence at The National Football Museum and the Poet in Residence for Literacy Time Plus Magazine. He has just received a national award as Reading Hero as part of the National Year of Reading. He also plays the ukulele.

3D Art – Withy Lanterns Description In this workshop we will use withy (the flexible branches of Willow) to create 3 dimensional sculptures and lanterns. Coloured tissue paper patterns, glitter, sequins and other materials can be added to your design to enhance the effect when it glows in the dark!

Comfortable, old clothes to be worn (or an old shirt to protect clothes) as it can get sticky! Withy can be a challenging material to work with but the result can be very rewarding. Responsible students are to be aware of health and safety using the sticks when creating shapes.

Aim/Rationale To show participants the technique of sculpting with withy and tissue paper to create lanterns.

Learning Outcomes • This creative technique needs a level of skill to think in ‘3D’ • Working out shapes – maths, geometry • Creative method to complete small-scale work on the day, can be adapted to create large, professional sculptures.

• Discussions on man made and natural materials and the environment.

Maximum group size: 15 Presenter: Karen Edwards is a practicing freelance Artist based in Liverpool. She is also an Advanced Skills Creative who has worked with children of all ages and shared skills such as sculpture, painting, printmaking, textiles and mosaics.

Architecture Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an architect? Well now you have the chance to find out! This workshop will • Introduce you to the everyday working life of an architect and get you building with sweets and biscuits!

• Help you to understand how places fit within a wider geographical, historical and architectural context.

• Allow you to identify and learn the appropriate architectural terminology used to discuss buildings.

• Develop your opinions about the built environment • Show you how to draw plans and maps at a range of scales • Develop your confidence to select appropriate architectural terminology to convey your design ideas/concepts • Challenge you to qualify or justify what you think after listening to others’ questions or accounts Maximum group size: 30 Presenters: Julia Chance and Charlotte Healey. Julia is a qualified architect who lectures at Liverpool University and Charlotte is a Primary school teacher/ lecturer.

G&T Workshop Day for Years 5, 6, 7& 8 Saturday March 12th, 2011

Pleckgate High School Mathematics & Computing College Pleckgate Road, Blackburn, BB1 8QA. Saturday March 10th, 2012

This day provides the opportunity for able Year 5, 6, 7 & 8 students from across the North West to work together in a Habitats day!

The children will all take part in a variety of creative workshops, designed to increase their knowledge of different animal and plant habitats while also developing their skills and using their talents within Art, Drama, Dance, Poetry and Music. They will also spend time in the lab carrying out investigations that will enhance their knowledge of many and varied aspects of Science that are relevant to the study of different habitats, such as adaptations. More details of these workshops are attached.

NB Children do not, on this occasion, make a choice of one workshop, but will all take part in several short workshops.

Cost: £15 per student Cheques should be made payable to: “Ripley St Thomas” Timings: 9:45am registration – 3:30pm finish.

At 3:15pm, parents will be invited to join their children in order to see what they have achieved during the day.

Pupils will need to bring with them a packed lunch and drinks and should wear comfortable, appropriate clothing.

Application forms and payments should be returned directly to: Susan Covill Pleckgate High School Mathematics & Computing College Pleckgate Road, Blackburn, BB1 8QA. Tel: (01254) 244320 Closing date for applications: Friday February 24th, 2012 NB. It is essential that application forms arrive by the closing date as places cannot be reserved without written parental permission.

Mandi Szuplewski,

NWGT Outreach Co-ordinator

Six rooms will be themed for each of six habitats – Rainforest, Savannah, Polar, Ocean, Desert and Pond. The rooms are decorated with huge, colourful friezes and will also have large display boards packed with photos and stimulus information specific to the habitat.

Each group of approximately 15 students will spend time in three of the rooms, working with a visual artist, a poet or musician and a drama or dance specialist.

All of the creative presenters incorporate a huge amount of Science into their activities and the children will create amazing pond poetry and ocean raps, imaginative rainforest animals and polar adaptations. The savannah drama will give them a real feeling for what it is like to be predator or prey and the desert dancers will learn about the diversity of plants and animals in the many deserts.

In the labs, the children are given information booklets with activities to do, involving both researching information from the displays and carrying out the practical investigations. The experiments are all related in some way to the different habitats but incorporate Physics and Chemistry as well as Biology.

Presenters:Gaynor McHugh – Dance practitioner Ross Clarke – Artist Ann Freeman – Secondary Science teacher Karen Simpson – Secondary Science teacher Layla Dowie – Drama teacher Emma Portbury – Secondary Art teacher Sarah Turner – Secondary English teacher Martin Foster – Music practitioner Almost all have participated very successfully in many NWGT events already and all have a wealth of experience in teaching able students.