Online Talks and Workshops

The rise of Zoom has increased interest in our programme of talks to community groups, u3a, The Women’s Institute, Café Scientifiques etc.. We have received many requests from around the country delivering talks from Ayrshire to Essex. Together with two of our partner primary schools the team also presented sessions as part of the Virtual RTC North ‘STEMFest in Space’ in October 2020. In total 483 schools from around the World joined the event with an estimated audience of 14,500 students and their teachers taking part. Building on this success we were invited to provide activities for the second Virtual RTC North ‘STEMFest in Space’ in October 2021. Science Engagement presented three sessions including a workshop of hands-on space themed activities. Our sessions reached an estimated audience of over 8,000 students from around the World.

The need for virtual sessions has also allowed us to experiment and evaluate the impact of such delivery. From Science Ambassador workshops to Space Futures (an interactive international programme co-developed with educational charity 4wardFutures and involving primary schools across the North of England), and Eyes to the Sky (an STFC-supported Wonder audience project), we have trialled different modes of engagement, sharing our learning at engagement conferences. 

Closer to home Science Engagement were asked to provide resources for the Little Read programme of the 2021 Durham Book Festival. We produced a series of free to download activities including resources for teachers, a science activity booklet and a star chart. We also provided a series of Moon themed talks for families in Autumn 2021 as part of the ‘Museum of the Moon’ installation in Durham Cathedral.