SCIENCE - FROM EARTH TO SPACE

Two Discovery Science Workshops took place in local schools over the past week: Royal Kent C of E Primary School in Oxshott and Cordwalles Junior School in Camberley. Over 100 pupils across the two schools participated. The pupils at The Royal Kent learnt about Rocks and Soils. Led by SATRO’s professional geologist, Year 3 children had a hands-on opportunity to investigate rock specimens and to identify different mineral samples; an introduction to soils enabled the pupils to have an understanding of their geological environment. Year 5 investigated fossils and created a timeline to understand how living things change over time. This workshop was kindly sponsored by the GeoScience department at ExxonMobil.

Pupils at Cordwalles Junior School got into the action by launching their own Rockets in a workshop on Thursday 27th March. Year 5 pupils had the opportunity to learn about pneumatics and hydraulics before making their own rocket. The “launch” session proved to be a popular element of the workshop, generating many “oohs” and “aahs” as the rockets whooshed through the air. The teacher was pleased with the workshop “A fantastic morning of smiles and active learning”. While pupils commented: "It made me feel even more eager to learn science and now I know how to make and launch a rocket." and “It has made me feel like I could be a scientist in the future, I enjoyed working with the volunteers as well!!”. This workshop was kindly sponsored by Councillor Bill Chapman.

WOKING ROTARY & SATRO at THE WINSTON CHURCHILL

Students are able to follow a variety of programmes at Winston and one very popular course is Heating and Plumbing. On Friday afternoon the Woking Rotary Club came to observe the opportunities offered to young people and to present SATRO, who provide the tutor and the equipment, with a donation to enable them to continue with this work.

Winston students demonstrated the skills they have been developing.



David Kleyn, Woking Rotary, Dr Beccy Bowden, CEO SATRO & Mrs Jennifer Brown, Woking Rotary



25th March 1857 - Today in Science History

In 1857, Frederick Laggenheim took the first photograph of a solar eclipse.

As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth and the Moon partially or fully 'blocks' the view of the Sun from Earth. This can happen only at new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth in an alignment referred to as syzygy. In a total eclipse, the disc of the Sun is fully obscured by the Moon. In partial and annular eclipses only part of the Sun is obscured.

Click here for more events that happened today in science history.

SATRO Problem Solving Champions 2014

Schools from across Surrey and South London took part this week in the exciting final of the 2014 Problem Solving Challenge, organised annually by local education charity SATRO.

30 teams were matched against each other in three age groups at the event which was held at Charterhouse School, Godalming. Each team of young people aged between 11 and 19 was given a folder of materials and 90 minutes to build a device that would lift a payload (a packet of Love Hearts) as quickly as possible. The teams who reached the final had taken part in the competitive regional heats last month involving 80 schools from across the region.

The enthusiasm for this event grows every year, and SATRO is indebted to the supporters who have contributed towards the funding of the Challenge, namely Allianz, The Manly Trust, Institute of Chemical Engineers, Frazer-Nash Consultancy, Lilly, and the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Braziers.

Awards were presented as follows: Reigate Grammar School for the Year 7 - 9 category, with Reed’s School as runners up; Duke of Kent School won the Year 10 – 11 group with The Royal Grammar as runners up, and Trinity School won the Year 12 – 13 group with Gordon’s School as runners up.

A special prize for the highest score at this year’s heats went to the Year 12 - 13 team from Gordon’s School.

BIG BANG WINNER!

The National Science & Engineering Competition offers students the opportunity to celebrate their work by showcasing their Nuffield Placement projects to judges and, potentially, at the National Finals at The Big Bang Fair to over 65,000 people.

One of SATRO's placements, Theresita Joseph from St Philomenia's School for Girls, entered her project on investigations into Parkinson's disease and won first place for the Medical Research Council prize. Theresita commented to SATRO...

"Last summer I took part in a four week Nuffield Research Project at UCL looking into a potential mechanism behind the causes of SNpc DA neurone degeneration in Parkinson’s disease. I was particularly keen on undertaking this project having witnessed the devastating impacts of the illness on my uncle, and so wanted to know more about how current research behind understanding its causes could lead to better treatments, and eventually a cure. In particular, I was exploring how neurone death may be linked to mitochondrial dysfunction with an inhibited Complex I of the Electron Transport chain, coupled with sustained Calcium entry into the neurone, which together may increase the production of Free Radicals, and thus lead to cell death. My project showed positive results towards the theory, and having been selected as a finalist for the National Science and Engineering Competition 2014 at the Big Bang Fair at the NEC, I was able to discuss my project to various members of the public, from young children to small adults. This was an amazing and fulfilling experience for me, and to top it all off I won first place for the Medical Research Council prize, awarding me with £500 and the opportunity to visit a research centre and the scientists behind the medical advances made. I felt truly honoured and blessed to have been able to take part and win such a prestigious competition, and my whole experience has inspired me to combine both research and clinical practice in my future."

Well done Theresita!

SURREY SUPER STARS - NOMINATIONS DEADLINE EXTENDED!

The deadline for nominating a Surrey Super Star has now been extended to 31st March 2014!

Do you know any deserving, unsung young heroes in Surrey, who go above and beyond in support of their community, family and friends?

The second Surrey Young Superstars Awards, organised by Haslemere Travel and the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, have chosen to support Challengers in 2014!

The awards, supported by Surrey Life and A+ magazine, as well as SATRO, was launched last year; it rewards and showcases young people’s efforts and honours them for their hard work and achievements in Surrey. The 2013 awards culminated in a glittering awards ceremony hosted by top comedian Rob Brydon.

The awards event for all 2014 prize-winners will take place on the 9th May at Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Mill Studio.

Visit our home page to download an entry form: www.satro.org.uk

SUMS AFTER SCHOOL!

170 Year 12 students from 34 schools were at the University of Surrey (last night/12th March) for the 12th Surrey Schools Maths Challenge. These students will shortly be making choices about university courses and career routes. So, while their efforts were marked, Fiona Stewart and Chris Mullan from Dorking-based insurer Unum gave them an insight into taking maths as a degree and the career opportunities this could lead to. Unum were the major supporter of the event.

This year’s top scoring team were Charterhouse, closely followed by ACS Cobham. The following student comments illustrate the value of this Challenge...

"The questions were challenging and sparked a couple of nice debators within the team which allowed for excellent teamwork."

"Good information about careers and very good mental challenge, thank you!"