Really Small Science
NEWS
New RSS holiday club!
January 01, 2020
We're really excited to announce our new holiday club. The first session will be held on 18th October, with activities for primary and secondary age kids. The fee is £20 per session, with a discount for a second child. Find out more here, or book a place here.
We'll be running more sessions during the Easter and Summer holidays, sign up to our mailing list to keep up to date, or follow us on facebook and twitter.
Volunteer Award Winners
July 24, 2017
Congratulations to Alexandra Costa for reaching 200 volunteer hours, Layla Mir Bruce for reaching 100 hours, and Rachel Donaghey, Daria Stoliarskaia and Priscila Valverde Armas for reaching 50 hours!
ReallySmallScience wouldn't be able to run without the help of all our volunteers, so we are so grateful to everyone who participates.
Ready, Set, Sludge!
June 29, 2017
Today we met with our counterparts from University of Edinburgh to kick off our second year of the Young Chemical Ambassador programme. This year's theme is Sludge, so we're looking forward to exploring the physics and engineering of sludgy materials with our incoming ambassadors.
The Sludge Challenged is supported by funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering.
June Events
June 29, 2017
June was a very busy month for us. We made lots of nanopolymer bouncy balls at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and The Concrete Garden for Glasgow Science Festival, as well as running workshops at summer schools in University of Strathclyde.
Check our our twitter to see more photos of what we got up to!
New Outreach Assisant!
May 16, 2017
Dr Suzanne McEndoo joins ReallySmallScience and the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering today as an outreach assistant. Suzanne has a background in quantum physics (another type of really small science) and enjoys figuring out new ways to explain research to people, including using stand-up comedy.
Suzanne will be helping Joy, Mark and the other volunteers take ReallySmallScience out to schools and science festivals.
Inverness Science Festival
April 28, 2017
We've been super busy today at the Inverness Science Festival making over 500 polymer bouncy balls. You can just about see our table behind the crowd!
Farewell to our Ambassadors
April 26, 2017
We held our wrap up even for Young Chemical Ambassador programme 2016/2017 today. Congratulations to all our ambassadors, and thanks to our mentors for all your hard work. With your help we were able to engage with over 200 people about chemical engineering.
Next year, the Young Chemical Ambassador programme returns, and this time it's sludge-themed!
Insight Institute: International and industry
April 17, 2017
We held our final Insight Institute workshop today in University of Edinburgh. This workshop was focused on opportunities coming from international and industrial networks for engaging the public with STEM subjects.
Read more about Dr Mark Haw and Dr Joy Leckie's Insight Institute programme and some outcomes of our workshop discussions here.
Insight Institute: Poverty and Inequality
April 03, 2017
Today was our second Insight Institute workshop on Changing Lives Through STEM. This workshop was focused how to address poverty and inequality and how that affects how we engage people with STEM subjects.
Read more about Dr Mark Haw and Dr Joy Leckie's Insight Institute programme and some outcomes of our workshop discussions here.
Insight Institute: Early Years Workshop
November 29, 2016
Today is our first workshop in our Changing Lives Through STEM programme. We will be running three workshops through the Scottish Universities Insight Institute, looking at how to create better engagement between researchers and families, and how we can address major social challenges.
Our first workshop is on how to engage early years audiences with STEM subjects.
Read more about Dr Mark Haw and Dr Joy Leckie's Insight Institute programme and some outcomes of our workshop discussions here.
ReallySmallScience is 3 today!
October 17, 2016
Happy Birthday to us! ReallySmallScience started as a four day event back in 2013. Now we're taking nano-engineering out to schools and science festivals in Glasgow and across the UK. Looking forward to seeing what the next three years have in store for us!
Nanodirt at MoSSFest
October 08, 2016
Today we filtered nanodirt with over 300 people at this year's Middle of Scotland Science Festival. Thanks to everyone who came, and to our volunteers for helping out.
Volunteer Award Winners
August 28, 2016
Congratulations to our volunteers who received their awards today!
50 Hours
Stewart Taylor
Ruben Rosario
Martin Prostredný
100 Hours
Maryam Derkani
Alexandra Costa
Caroline Rashid
200 Hours
Callum Williams
Scott Davidson
ReallySmallScience couldn't run without the help of all our volunteers, so we really appreciate all the work these folk have put in.
Tiny Science in Manchester
July 23, 2016
We took our tiny science to Arndale Shopping Centre in Manchester this weekend as part of Manchester's City of Science 2016. We somehow managed to speak with a little under 2000 people over the two days! Phew!
Williamwood High School STEM Fair
October 06, 2015
As part of Williamwood High School's STEM fair we brough water treatment technology to participants of our nanodirt workshops. Children and parents became nanoengineers for the night, to desgin their very own nanofilters to clean dirty water!
Explorathon 2015
September 24, 2015
The team took part in the Explorathon European Researchers' Night in Glasgow on the 25th of September.
While events were taking place across Scotland, ReallySmallScience popped up in SOAR at Intu Braehead in Glasgow for nanojelly and nanodirt fun! We were also part of the Glasgow Science Centre Extravaganza in the evening, with glow-in-the dark activities for all!
British Science Festival, Bradford
September 11, 2015
The group ventured down South to Bradford for this year's British Science Fringe Festival. We were part of the Family Day in the City Park on Saturday the 12th of September, and the following day were at the Community Day at Bradford University for lots of nano discovery!
Older News
March 2015
It’s been a busy few weeks for the reallysmallscience group! They’ve been here, there and everywhere, as part of their ‘on tour’ project.
After the visit to the Gowdie after school club at the beginning of March, the group have been to the Glasgow Science Centre as part of a water event called ‘making it clear’, visited the children at Yorkhill Children’s Hospital for Earth Hour, went to St. Stephen’s Primary School in Clydebank then took a jaunt over to the East coast for the Edinburgh Science Festival, before finally returning back the Glasgow Science Centre for a weekend of fluorescent, glow in the dark fun.
The ‘making it clear event’ saw school children filtering coloured fizzy juice (which represented dirty water) with charcoal. The group ran experiments with over 220 pupils and teachers over two days.
On the 28th of March the group celebrated Earth Hour with the children at Yorkhill Hospital. Lights were turned off; children were given torches and the group demonstrated glow-in-the-dark science through interactive experiments.
Before the Easter break, St. Stephen’s Primary School in Clydebank were visited by the group who delivered workshops to pupils in primary 2-4 for a range of nano workshops, including nanodirt, nanojelly and nanoglow. The reallysmallscience group previously visited St. Stephen’s back in October 2014 where they visited P5, 6 and 7 classes.
The group were then invited to take part in the Edinburgh International Science Festival, at Summerhall in Edinburgh. The group boarded the train at Glasgow and travelled east for a Saturday science session. Participants booked tickets for hour long workshops which delved into the strange and mysterious world of nano! The nano world workshops contained 5 nano themed activities which each participant could experience. As well as getting hands-on and performing their own nano experiments, participants could write a nano poem or story and draw something nano.
The following weekend, the team, turned off the lights at the Glasgow Science Centre for nanoglow workshops to celebrate the International Year of Light 2015. Families joined in with glow-in-dark activities and pinned their glowing art to our nanoglow wall. The group will be back in the Science Centre on the 27th and 28th of June to run the nanoglow workshop again.
Gowdie Club shrink down to the world of reallysmallscience
The group recently visited the Gowdie Club as part of the ‘reallysmallscience on Tour’ event, which visits local schools and clubs for hands-on science workshops.
The children at the Gowdie club came together after school, from a number of different schools in the West Dunbartonshire area, to take part in a reallysmallscience microscope workshop.
The group took the children on a microscopic journey through the world of really small science, by looking at a selection of everyday objects under the microscope.
Children also took part in drawing activities and a microscope quiz to test their knowledge on the microscopic world!
Joy Leckie, reallysmallscienc group co-ordinator said: “This was our second time visiting the Gowdie Club and the children were as enthusiastic as ever about science, which shows in their artwork and feedback. We had a great time and are looking forward to seeing the competition entries from the children.”
As part of the 'On Tour' event children will have the opportunity to enter a competition to win prizes at a celebration event in June.
February 2015
Nano movie premier
See the really small science happening at Strathclyde University
Reallysmallscience group go 'on tour'
The reallysmallscience group kicked off their ‘on tour’ project by visiting Antonine Primary School in Bonnybridge, Falkirk last week.
Pupils from primary 6 and 7 got to try out the new ‘nanoglow’ workshop along with old favourites, nanojelly and nanodirt activities. The nanoglow workshop celebrates the International Year of Light 2015 by revealing the science of light and fluorescence.
Joy Leckie, reallysmallscience co-ordinator commented: “I thoroughly enjoyed launching our new workshop at Antonine Primary. The highlight of the day for me was seeing the amazing nanoglow art produced by the primary 7 class and hearing the pupil’s reactions.”
The reallysmallscience team is made up of students and staff from the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. Reallysmallscience member Calum Williams said: “This was the first reallysmallscience event that I've volunteered for and it was incredibly fun. The kids were really enthusiastic and interested in what we had to say. They were all excited by the experiments, almost as much as me. I can't wait to get back out and do it again!”
Antonine Primary School was the group’s first stop on their tour of local schools, as part of a Royal Society of Chemistry supported project, which takes place from February to May this year.
Mrs Aitken, teacher and science enthusiast at Antonine Primary School added: “The workshops were really interesting, the children were engaged and keen to find out what/why things were happening. The team were great with the children and answered all questions they were bombarded with. The fact that the children were all talking about it afterwards and telling their class teachers about it shows that it was a valuable learning experience for them.”
Pupils have the opportunity to enter the ‘reallysmallscience on tour’ image competition, in which they will compete with other schools for a place at a celebration and prize-giving event, happening in June this year.
The event, to be held at Strathclyde University, will give pupils a taste of University life as well as awarding prizes for the best competition entries. To top it all off the day will include a pizza lunch for everyone!
To find out more about the ‘on tour’ project or to take part contact us here.
Primary School Lego League
November-December 2014
PhD students Carol and Claire Forsyth, and teaching associate Cristina Mio, of the Chemical and Process Engineering Department at Strathclyde, mentored “Jogo Giants”, a team of ten-year-old children taking part in their FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) competition.
The FLL competition was held at the Glasgow Science Centre on the 2nd of December, where the rookie P6 team from St. Joseph’s Primary School in Busby, East Renfrewshire, managed to snatch the Lego Trophy for Best Project. Their project idea was using virtual reality as an innovative tool to learn how to take care of wild life.
The “Jogo Giants” team, made up of 3 girls and 7 boys, worked under the supervision of their teacher, Mrs. Redmond, alongside help and expertise from Claire, Carol and Cristina. The team learned to program the Lego Mindstorm robot in under three months. On the day of the FLL competition they successfully completed 3 robot missions.
FLL is a worldwide robotics programme that encourages children aged 9 to 16 to learn about STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects, while developing core skills such as critical thinking, communication and presentation, as well as working in teams.
Mrs. Redmond feels that this is just the beginning of the journey for her class. The children will have the opportunity to practise their programming skills further and share with the rest of the class during extra-curricular activities.
October 2014
Really small scientists win prizes
Following the nano-science workshop in September, primary 3 and 4 pupils from Dunoon Primary school produced posters about nano-jelly. During the workshop, run by the Really Small Science Group, the pupils became ‘really small scientists’ for the day and learned about the world of nano-science. They discovered how everyday items such as jelly and even their own bodies are made up of tiny nano-sized molecules.
Joy Leckie, from the Really Small Science group (University of Strathclyde), judged the posters and awarded prizes for the winning poster from each class. All the pupils received certificates of achievement for taking part in the workshop.
Joy said, “It was such a difficult task to judge the posters, they were all fantastic. I was really impressed by the information and colourful pictures on all of the posters. I hope to visit Dunoon Primary again and do some more nano-science with the pupils.”
 Toothbrush bristles |
|---|
 Two pence coin |
 Teabag |
 Sponge |
 Screw |
 Loom bands |
 Key |
 Hair |
 Circuit board |
 Sand |
 Strawberry |
 Sprinkles |
 Sprinkles |
 Pot scourer (plastic) |
 Salt |
 Pot scourer (metal) |
 Mushroom |
 Kiwi seed |
Really Small Science popped up at the Glasgow Science Centre this weekend (18th and 19th October) for some microscopic adventures. We looked at lots of everyday objects including fruit and veg as well as glitter and cake sprinkles!
Meet the expert at Glasgow Science Centre
September 2014
Really Small Science Explore at Explorathon ‘14
Postgraduate students from the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering took part in the recent Scotland-wide Explorathon 2014 event, celebrating European Researchers’ Night. This is the first time Strathclyde has won funding to take part in European Researchers’ Night, a European Commission initiative started in 2005 to bring together researchers and the public for hands-on activities, exhibits and shows.
The events took place across Scotland on Friday the 26th September, with researchers from across the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow coming together at venues around the city to engage with members of the public. Other activities also took place in Aberdeen and Edinburgh.
A group of twelve PhD students from Chemical Engineering, led by Joy Leckie and Mark Haw of the Department’s ReallySmallScience public engagement team, set up a pop-up stall in Soar at Intu Braehead. Just over 250 people took part in hands-on ReallySmallScience nano-activities throughout the day and evening. The out-of-the-ordinary venue of Braehead enabled members of the public to ‘stumble upon’ science and engineering, discovering what Strathclyde researchers are up to, before continuing on their way out to dinner or the cinema.
Dunoon Primary Pupils do Really Small Science
Pupils from Dunoon Primary School discovered the world of nano-science with researchers from the University of Strathclyde.
The ReallySmallScience group, led by Joy Leckie from the Chemical Engineering Department at Strathclyde, demonstrated nano-science to P3 and 4 classes using hands-on experiments.
Each class learned how tiny nano-sized things are and that everyday items such as wobbly jelly naturally contain lots of nano-things.
The pupils got a chance to be scientists for the day, by making their own ‘nanojellies’ and working on posters which will be judged in a few weeks. Certificates will be awarded to all the pupils who took part and prizes for the winning poster from each class.
Joy Leckie, former Dunoon resident said: “It was great to come back to my home town of Dunoon and offer a fun day of science to the pupils. The classes were a joy to work with and I’m looking forward to coming back to see the finished posters.”
Krystyna Duncan, ReallySmallScience member and PhD student from Strathclyde University, helped out on the day. Krystyna said: "It was great fun to go back to primary school for the day and engage with the children to give them a taste of science. Everyone had fun participating in experiments and posters. Hopefully we have inspired some future scientists."
Elaine Stewart, acting Depute Headteacher of Dunoon Primary said: “We had very positive feedback from the staff who really enjoyed themselves as well.”
More news stories coming soon!