Space, Magic Planet & Immersive Room

What a week. Freezing in the igloo, delivering a sense-ational lecture and finally, having all of Space as my remit. Wow! Does life get any better than this?

Today I used the Magic Planet at Inspire 2 Learn to help revise with a Middlesbrough school. They have just finished their Space topic and had the opportunity to show me what they'd learned and to ask me questions. I loved the questions and struggled to answer some of them, being a biologist. 
Their imaginations were engaged by the Immersive Room with its screens of shuttles taking off, planetary data, hair being cut, poetry, music and jokes.
They also learned how to use Comic Life software and started putting together their own tours of the Solar System.

My favourite image of the Sun 

I think I was over tired from the previous four days which earned the following comments on pupil evaluation sheets:-
"You are crazy and fun"
"You were a great host but crazy. I learned a lot"
"You are MINT!"
Thanks children I will sleep well tonight.

Sense-ational Science Christmas Lecture

Today (Thursday) was the day of my Christmas Science Lecture. It was not the all-singing, dancing and whistle-blowing event I'd envisaged 6 months ago but, hopefully, it engaged and challenged a few young minds in the audience.
The basic idea was to question the commonly taught idea that we have 5 senses. I don't know exactly how many we have, because it depends upon definition, but it is definitely NOT 5. Good scientist question things and seek PROOF!

Made with GIFPAL

The slideshow above gives a flavour of the lecture though some slides might be misunderstood without the accompanying chat.
What a brilliant day! These children were wonderful - polite, interested and up for the event. After sitting through the lecture, devouring my tin of Roses, singing along to the Skin song and deciding on at least 13 senses, they did four workshops. They looked at animation (fooling the eyes), why we have two eyes and two ears and used video microscopes. The fourth workshop involved them, exploring a whole host of exhibits from periscopes to zoetropes.
Thanks to all the staff who supported the event and made it such a success (despite the weather).

I survive Pingu's Igloo

Yes, I've survived the cold and the dark of Pingu's Igloo to emerge with a much better understanding and a little more confidence with teaching Early Years. 
As the story developed over the sessions, there was one bit I really looked forward to. It wasn't the elves snoring in the bedroom but a polar bear. When polar bears wake up they are grumpy and bad tempered. They have a mouth full of big, sharp teeth. They have sharp claws at the ends of their paws and when noisy children wake them up they have an almighty ROAR!!. 

Just leave me in peace, please.

I didn't mean to frighten that little girl. The children were much more frightening than me. 
It was a lovely experience and, though my initial painful attempts at story-telling were not the best, by the time I'd finished...well, I was quite happy with how I'd developed. Thanks children.

PS One big mistake was to think the children would have heard about Hobbits. In version 2 of the story, Bilbo was replaced by a bright blue Smurf.

Pingu's Igloo - shivering in the Immersive Room

Three days  this week you'll find me shivering in the Antarctic. I will be helping Early Years children find out  where the naughty elves might have stashed a clue to Santa's Stolen Sack. Somewhere in Pingu's home is the clue but who else is hiding in there to pass on Christmas good wishes?

Pingu's Home - BBC production

 This event will take place in the Immersive Room which was set up, at the then City Learning Centre, some 2-3 years ago. It consists of 6 projectors, three walls of screens and surround-sound. Pupils come to be immersed in a topic. The most popular session involves a trip into Space to collect data on the planets. Other experiences that I have been involved with include exploration of the Rainforest, Victorians, World War 2, and Japan.

Mine is a small part of an event organised by Inspire2Learn which promises to get children (and adults) into the spirit of the season. 

Inspire2Learn can be contacted at The Civic & Learning Centre, Normanby Road, South Bank, Middlesbrough, TS6 9AE.

Pee and Poo - some noteworthy books

I taught Healthy Living a couple of weeks ago and it is always fun to talk to children about pee and poo. I don't do this lightly, seeking to start to overcome their natural reticence to talk about intimate body parts and functions. I can't stress how important I think it is for young children to understand how their body is built and how it works. 

Walker Books (2007) ISBN  978-1-4063-0095-6

When I was in Sunderland (see prev blog), the students were very keen to teach general heath issues from a basis of good knowledge and with sensitivity to children's feelings. One group took "nits" at their themes and listening to them prepare their talk was very interesting and informative. This reference above is specially for them but links nicely with Pee and Poo as it is by the same author and illustrator as Poo - A natural history of the unmentionable.

Walker Books (2004) ISBN 0-7445-8634-8

I actually have a book review of this from the TES Teacher which says "This book has child appeal by the bucketful..". I'd agree with that though I'd query the maker of the smallest poo (nit-picking again).
Here are some other tasty texts:-

Etram Books (Australia) (2003) ISBN 0-958-18780-0

Did you know that poo in Australia is refered to as Goobies?

No details at the moment, can't find the book.

Roman toilets from the book Spending A Penny (details to add)

Children like this Disgusting Digestion book because it has "fart" stickers.

Detail to add

Grossology has a textured vomit cover. I enjoyed it but wasn't taken as much by the follow up Animal Grossology (Price Stern Sloan Books (1996) ISBN 0-8431-1011-2)

Finally, a lift-the-flap book with a magnifying glass about Fleas.

Tango Books (1996) ISBN 1-85707-173-5

ASE Cheese and Wine Durham

This was the meeting postponed because of the first floods. The cold weather and work load kept some students away but those that turned up were given an introduction to the ASE's work and benefits of membership. They were informed also of the Primary Science Quality Mark, something I hope they will get involved with in the future. I also gave a "short" talk on teaching Space through IT. 

Slide showing the Magic Planet

Earth slide from presentation

Thanks to all those who turned up and Durham University for hosting the event.

Thank you Sunderland

On Friday, I was to spend the day with students from the University looking at Science and IT. After a sleepless night, I made the long trip to be confronted by 50 students. I needn't have worried. They were welcoming and willing to take me as I am. They warmed to the day, got involved in the task and, from their evaluations, went away happy. Their tutor supplied me with copious coffee and many supportive comments.

Title slide of my talk

My talk covered the hardware, software and approaches that I used in my 10 years working for Redcar & Cleveland such as:-
Software - The 2Simple Collection, Comic Life, Crazy Talk, Kar2ouche, Audacity and Photostory in addition to M/S Office and Adobe products
Hardware - PCs, Macs, iPods, iPads, video cameras, data-loggers, video microscopes etc
Approaches - 3D content, animation, video and the Immersive Room (future blog)

One of my example ppt slides

The students used PowerPoint to make a presentation based on a set of criteria and my example. The did a really good job, managing in a relatively short time to produce an engaging and knowledgeable talk, often with a real challenge to understanding, delivered with enthusiasm, wit and humour.
Thanks to everyone. Look out for the "Pee and Poo" post in the next day or so, keep in touch and all the best for the future.