Friday 11 September 2015

The Museum is Open...



We’ve gone STEM mad here at CU Trust! Last week, we announced our partnership with the Butlin’s Science Weekend. This week, we’re delighted to tell you about a brand new Learning Destination just down the road from CU HQ – the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester!

The Museum of Science and Industry’s mission is to explore where science met industry and the modern world began, and to understand the impact that Manchester’s science, technology and innovation continues to have on all of our lives.

Contained within the Museum’s five historic, listed buildings is a veritable treasure trove of scientific splendours and industrial innovations. What’s more, the Museum stands proudly on the site of the world’s first passenger railway station, which opened in September 1830!

From historic aircraft (including a triplane) to stinky sewers (ew…) and a hands-on Experiment Gallery (ooh..!), you can guarantee that the Museum has something for everyone.
 
With exciting temporary exhibitions, fantastic half-term holiday activities and a daily programme of shows and demonstrations, there’s always something new to see and do. For details of what’s on, click here

Children can visit the Museum’s exhibitions, displays and Experiment Gallery - as well as any workshops and shows available during their visit - and can claim up to 3 hours of learning time in their Passport To Learning. They just need to speak to one of the Museum staff at the Information Desk (keep an eye out for one of our brand new flyers too!)

The Museum of Science and Industry is also the proud producer of the Manchester Science Festival. This year, the festival runs from October 22nd to November 1st at venues across the city. This is an incredible opportunity to learn about a whole host of scientific topics from some of the top minds in the country in fun and imaginative ways. Check out the full line up here.

Photo credits: Museum of Science and Industry/Chris Foster.

Catch you next time!

Ian

Monday 7 September 2015

Prepare to be astonished – Science is coming!



Introduction


Science can seem like a daunting prospect to some children. The idea of someone being able to launch a probe that can shoot past Pluto, taking photos as it goes, seems worlds apart (pun intended) from their own.


But science, at its simplest level, is simply about gaining knowledge through investigation, which children do all the time! We’ve all poked an eyeball (hopefully only our own…) or a worm to see what it feels like, just like we’ve all learned what happens if we go round a corner too fast on our bike! 


Simply put, the effects of, and opportunities to explore, science are all around us and they’re something that we can all interact with.



Aims


Children’s University and Butlin’s are on a mission to inspire the next generation of scientists.  We want to help children who want to learn and experience more to understand that science is part of everyday life, not something that’s just reserved for boffins in lab coats and goggles!


As such, the Butlin’s Minehead resort, in Somerset, is staging a phenomenal event, aimed at young people aged 6-13 years, called The Astonishing Family Science Weekend on the 18th-21st of September 2015. Here at Children’s University, we’re making the weekend available as an epic Learning Activity to those of our Passport-holders lucky enough to be attending! 


If you haven’t yet booked to attend The Astonishing Family Science Weekend, click here to find out more. 

Hypothesis


Children who attend The Astonishing Family Science Weekend will undoubtedly be amazed and enthralled by what they see and learn at the 30+ activities. They’ll get hands (and feet) on, building rockets, causing explosions and walking on custard! The teams from Brainiac, Aardman Animations and the National Space Centre will entertain and educate with their shows and workshops. The children will even get to see a hovercraft made out of a chair, some wood and a leaf blower! 


Children registered with Children’s University will be able to download the CU time sheet available here before they go to Butlin’s. By going to enough shows, workshops and drop-in sessions on the Saturday and Sunday, CU learners will be able to gain up to 10 hours (5 hours maximum per day) of validated learning when they attend and fill in their sheet. 

Results 


Children will learn about all manner of scientific wonders, discovering the fun side of science. They’ll come back from the weekend enthused about science and eager to learn more about the world in which they live. They will also have learned that science has an effect on everything all around them – literally, everywhere they look – from the New Horizons probe journeying through the stars to the blades of grass on which they lie to gaze up at those distant lights at night.



Children’s University members can fill their time sheet with everything that they’ve done and take it to a member of the Butlin’s team who will sign their Passport To Learning for the number of hours achieved. This will potentially move these children much closer to the next award level in their Children’s University career!

Conclusions



This is the first time we’ve run a project like this with Butlin’s and we are beyond excited! With similar events running throughout 2016, one at each of the Butlin’s sites, we hope to see this relationship develop further over time. We’re absolutely convinced that children will be blown away by what they can see and do at The Astonishing Family Science Weekend and hope that our Passport holders will enjoy learning about science with us. 

Further Reading



Please visit the Butlin’s Children’s University page for more information and to download the CU time sheet before your visit.


Alternatively, please visit www.childrensuniversity.co.uk/learning-destinations or our Facebook and Twitter pages.