IAS Event

It’s traditional at IAS HQ to play some music in the final hour of every event. Here’s our playlist: http://grooveshark.com/#!/playlist/I+m+A+Scientist+Final+Combat/98990489 Hit play at 2pm and join in the fun on Twitter with the #ias2014 hashtag.

We now have our new mods for this year’s first I’m a Scientist event, and the first ever I’m an Engineer! While we welcome our six new team members, here is some short feedback for those who applied but didn’t get to interview. There were loads of excellent applicants this year and we were especially impressed by all the amazing science communication work you had all been doing. From writing to volunteering at festivals, it’s great to see people who are passionate about communicating science, especially to young people. In this job, being able to handle groups of excited teens is definitely a plus. We interviewed people who stood out because of their proven passion for the subject, but also based on their cover letters. This is the best way to try and get to a feel for what a candidate is like. So we like letters that get your … Continue reading →

It’s time to choose the themed zones for the June I’m a Scientist event. Here’s a list of suggested topics (these include ones we’ve used before, but there’s no reason not to use them again!). Teachers, please vote for which themed zone(s) you’d most like your class to take part in. There’s more explanation about zones under the poll. If there’s another theme you’d really like to see, then email us (rosie@gallomanor.com) or let us know in the comments. [poll id=”6″] Further explanation about zones How do I decide what themed zone to pick? It’s not a huge deal. The main point of the I’m a Scientist event is that students get an insight into How Science Works/HSW (particularly, how it really works). They are talking to real scientists, getting to see scientists are real people. They get insight into issues like science funding. So don’t get too caught up … Continue reading →

On Monday we’re faced with the daunting task of selecting 30 scientists out of over 200, to take part in the March 2011 event. Whilst looking through the list of scientists this morning I was struck by how many volcanologists have registered, given my background in Geography and Natural Hazards. I also realised that I’ve been working here at I’m a Scientist for a whole month now and, despite regular reminders from Shane, I still haven’t introduced myself. So, here goes! I’m Rosie and I’ve joined the team as ‘Project Executive’ so I’m dealing with the day-to-day running and admin of I’m a Scientist. Sophia is still producing I’m a Scientist but she’s now working part-time, giving her time to get involved with other exciting projects. I’ll be taking over as the main point of contact for the event, so you’ll be hearing a lot more from me! Sophia and I will both … Continue reading →

Thinking about taking part in I’m a Scientist, but wondering how to increase your chances of winning? Wonder no more, we’ve done some analysis of last year’s winners and here are our top tips on how to win I’m a Scientist… 1. Change your first name to Jo (or Joe). It seems that if you are named Jo in any way you are more likely to win! Five of our winners from 2010’s events were called Jo or Joe. Out of the 125 scientists who took part in the events only 6 were named Jo or Joe. 2. Change your surname to one beginning with C, M or S. 32% of our winners from both the March and June events had surnames starting with C or M. This is closely followed by those with who begin with S who won 12% of the zones. Out of everyone that took part … Continue reading →

Last year we had themed zones in the I’m a Scientist event, for the first time. They worked well and we plan to do the same next year. Here’s your chance to suggest what themed zones you would like to see. To start you off, below is a list of the themes from last year, plus some other suggestions. Please suggest themes in the comments, this week. Next week we will put up a list of all the suggestions, for you to vote on. At the bottom there is also a short FAQ about themed zones, to help you decide. Themed zones used in 2010 Brain Genes Are we too clean? IVF Imaging Evolution Cancer research Sports Science Drugs Development Use of chemicals in everyday life New suggestions so far Energy generation Climate Space Ecology Further explanation about zones How do I decide what themed zone to pick? It’s not … Continue reading →

Drumroll… I’m delighted to announce that the dates for the two I’m a Scientist 2011 events will be:- 14th – 25th March 13th – 24th June This is based on votes from teachers who’ve applied to take part. Let it never be said we don’t listen to teachers! For the March event, these two weeks were the most popular with teachers. For the June event, starting one week later would have been marginally more popular, but would have excluded the majority of Scottish schools, who break up on 24th June. As the most popular week in June was 20th-24th (which we are still hitting) we’ve decided to go with 13-24th to exclude as few schools as possible. Now the hard work begins in earnest. We’ve got to actually plan and organise them! If you would like to take part, please use the links below to find out more and sign … Continue reading →

What dates would work best for you for the I’m a Scientist events next year? Like this year, we’ll be running a small, warm-up event in March, then the main event in June. This is based on research we’ve already done with teachers. We’d just like to confirm what dates in June and March will work best for you. Please select on the poll below, the two best weeks in March and the two best weeks in June, for you and your classes. [poll id=”2″] [poll id=”3″] Just to be clear National Science and Engineering Week (NSEW) runs from 11 – 20 March 2011.

I’m a Scientist, Get Me Out of Here! has found its very own kings (and queens) of the laboratory, as chosen by 5,000 school students from across the UK. For two weeks 100 scientists, in 20 different zones, have been answering questions from school students and having online live chats with them. The students have now voted for who they think should win and the final votes have now been counted. It really does give us the most enormous pleasure to announce that the winners are… Zone Winner Beryllium Ian Sillett Boron Hywel Vaughan Nitrogen Joanna Buckley Oxygen Tom Hardy Fluorine Mark Roberts Neon Jon Copley Sodium Ben Still Magnesium Dean Whittaker Aluminium Katy Mee Silicon Andrew Maynard Clean Panos Soultanas Brain Joanna Brooks Cancer Joanna Watson Chemicals Joe Cook Drugs Deuan Jones Evolution Ceri Thomas Genes Steven Kiddle Imaging Stephen Curry IVF Vicki Onions Sports Sally Fenton This has … Continue reading →

OK, judging from Twitter you are all getting worried about what you’ve let yourselves in for and fretting about getting evicted. I’m writing this to reassure you, although, I’m afraid most of you are going to get evicted and there’s not much I can do about it. Sorry! The moderators and I do hate the evictions. It’s excruciating having to say goodbye to people who’ve put in lots of effort and been great contestants. But evictions are a big part of what makes the event exciting for young people, they create a buzz and a tension. And I guess we should all remember that it’s the taking part that counts (tell that to my Dad on pub quiz night…). However, these are my top tips on surviving evictions, based on running events in this format over 6 years. I think the things that make students vote for someone are:- 1. … Continue reading →

We’ve had a lot of emails asking practical questions about taking part in June, and I think the best thing is to put the answers here for everyone to see. I suspect many of you who haven’t written would still like to know the answers! Zones There will be 20 zones on June. The last event in March only had 5 zones, so this time is a lot bigger! In each zone there are 5 scientists, competing for a prize of £500. There are 20 classes of students per zone, usually this will mean about 400 students. Only those students can ask questions, have live chats and vote in that zone, although everyone can read the questions and answers and so on. Themed zones 10 of the zones are themed. The themed zones are:- Brain Genes Are we too clean? IVF Imaging Evolution Cancer research Sports Science Drugs Development Use … Continue reading →

I’m sure you are all on the edge of your seats to find out who’s taking part in the next I’m a Scientist event, so here they are! We are having five ‘zones’ in March (in each zone there are five scientists, talking to 20 classes of students, with one prize up for grabs in each zone). Two of these zones have a theme (the Genes Zone and the Brain Zone) and the other are general, with a broad mix of scientists. The general zones are named after elements. The themed zones are a new thing we are trying out for this event, and teachers seem to really like the idea, so I think they’ll turn out well. The event runs 15th – 26th March, and you can watch everything that happens on the website.  Only the students taking part can ask questions, chat to the scientists and vote, but … Continue reading →

I’m getting a lot of requests from teachers for more info about the next event, so I thought I should put up the answers here and save people writing to me. Not that I mind people writing to me, I hasten to add, but hopefully this will save time all round. When is the event? Teacher registration closes: 9th Feb – we will let everyone know that day if they have been selected Scientist registration closes: 19th Feb – we will let everyone know that day if they have been selected Event begins: March 15th Event ends: March 26th The event lasts for two weeks. The first week is ‘getting to know the scientists’ week, the second week is chucking them off week:-D. We have evictions almost every day in week two, with the winner in each zone being announced on the Friday. Where is the event? It’s online! You … Continue reading →

This is a weird moment. I can’t quite believe I’m actually doing it. I am now declaring registrations open for the first full scale I’m a Scientist event! We are ready to hear from classes and scientists who want to take part in I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! 2010. Teachers should register here. Scientists should register here. Getting us this far has taken a large proportion of my professional life for the last three years. Too large a part, Mr McCracken would say. It’s also taken loads of work from dozens of  other people – the lovely (and long-suffering)  teachers panel, all the previous participants, the people who’ve worked with us and the many people who’ve supported us. I’m proud of what we’ve done. Thank you everyone. The event this year is going to be amazing. But I tell you what, if I’d known what hard work … Continue reading →

This is just a quick post to keep you all in the loop. My pre-publicity has obviously been too successful and I keep being contacted by people who want more info about taking part in the event this year! We will be running two I’m a Scientist events this year (details below). If everything goes to plan we will open registrations on Friday this week (22nd Jan). March event | 15th-26th | 5 zones | 25 scientists | 100 classes June event | 14th – 25th | 20 zone | 100 scientists | 400 classes If you just can’t wait to let us know you want to take part, then feel free to email me (sophia@gallomanor.com), but it will just mean I send you an email on Friday telling you how to register:-). There’s more info about the event here, but, of course, if you’ve got more questions then get … Continue reading →