Events

April

High School Visit

Honours students visited Gracemount High School to pilot public engagement resources which they developed as a component of their degree course.

March

Crime Scene Chemists

Sarah Thomas, one of our post-graduate public engagement development scholarship students, presented a new 'Crime Scene Chemists' workshop at the Dunbar Science Festival 2012. This was only the second year of the Dunbar Science Festival and the event was a huge success, attracting over 3500 visitors.

Spectroscopy in a Suitcase (SIAS) at Creiff Hydro

Nicholle Bell, the SIAS Coordinator for Scotland and a PhD student in the School of Chemistry took along the IR and UV-Vis spectrometer to the ASE conference held at Crieff Hydro. After co-running a Science meets whisky session, Nicholle and the spectrometers joined the RSC exhibitors Dr Duncan McMillan and Alex Kersting to inform to teachers, parents and high school students from all over Scotland that SIAS is now operational and freely available to all high schools.

Find information and booking details for Spectroscopy in a Suitcase online.

February

The Solar Spark

On the 7th February we hosted a continuing professional development day for twelve high school teachers in conjunction with the Scottish Schools Education Research Centre. The theme was low-cost solar energy and the teachers worked through two experiments making solar cells, both of which can be readily transferred to the classroom as an activity for secondary pupils of all ages.

The theme ties in with RCUK funded research at the University of Edinburgh and the teachers were also given a talk on the latest developments in solar photovoltaics and their impact on societies across the world. The session finished with a talk on the Solar Spark public engagement project (www.thesolarspark.co.uk) and the range of information and resources for the public and teachers on the website.

It’s Phenomenal

A collaboration between School of Chemistry and Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) during the University of Edinburgh’s first Innovative Learning Week.

Elizabeth Stevenson and Neil Robertson from the School of Chemistry collaborated with Zoe Patterson and Jonathan Gibbs for Edinburgh College of Art to develop an exciting opportunity for students and staff during Innovative Learning Week.

Teams of students (a mix of Graphic Design, Illustration and Chemistry students) were assigned phenomena (such as crystallography, colour, magnetism, water, sodium chloride, carbon dioxide and compounds) and the brief was to interpret the phenomena in any way they wished. The initial and final days took place in the School of Chemistry which was a new and exciting experience for many of the ECA students and the staff.

The project culminated in an exhibition which was staged in the First Year Teaching Laboratories in the School of Chemistry with a wine reception in the foyer. Staff and students from ECA (but mostly the staff!) revelled in wearing labcoats and safety glasses during the exhibition and the wine reception.

The project is recorded in a blog.

January

Is it Too Cold for Ice-Cream in January?

The pupils from Gracemount High School didn’t think so, particularly when the ice cream was made using liquid nitrogen. Elizabeth Stevenson, from the School of Chemistry, visited Gracemount High School and demonstrated using liquid nitrogen to make ice-cream with which was enjoyed by pupils, their teachers and Alison Brearley a chemistry post-graduate who was helping out with the activity.

Making ice cream at Gracemount High School

Spectroscopy in a Suitcase

The Spectroscopy in a Suitcase (SIAS) scheme is a RSC outreach scheme, which gives school students a chance to learn about spectroscopy through hands-on experience. Trained teachers can borrow the equipment for up to a week for teaching activities and Advanced Higher projects.

Twenty teachers from local schools attended a Continuing Professional Development session in the School of Chemistry at the end of January. They received training in Infra-Red Spectroscopy and UV/Visible Spectroscopy; analysing liquid and powder samples.