The Road to Success is Long...

There have been a lot of positives in the last month, and there is certainly a lot to look forward to in 2012:

• Party bookings are up
• School enquiries are up
• Hits on the website are up
• social networking seems to be paying dividends

Despite all of these positives, there is still 'leg work' to be done.

That is what I have been doing today.

Part of being self employed, and taking responsibility for your own success (or failure), is acknowledging that every task is your task (if you aren't in a situation to pay someone else to do it for you).

Today I have walked miles.

I'm not sure exactly how many miles, but I know I was walking continuously for several hours. I wish I'd been wearing a pedometer so that I could calculate how many calories I'd burned!

I dropped leaflets along a familiar route, which would normally take about 15 minutes to walk. 

After over an hour and a half I was running low on flyers, so retreated to a pub for a well deserved drink.

The lessons learned today were many and varied.

It's amazing how quickly you pick up on the types of houses to target with flyers.

My flyers were designed for children's parties, so I quickly started to target houses with  the following:

• Children's bikes outside
• Trampolines in the garden
• Small sized shoes in the porch
• Photographs of children over the fire place
• Curtains in upstairs rooms with football team logos (predominantly Liverpool FC, despite Liverpool being several hundred miles away)
• Cars on the drive way with child seats / sun shades in the back seats

Despite this targeted approach I find that, at the end of a long day, my legs ache and I am tired. 

I am, however, contented in the thought that if even 1 in 100 flyers elicit some kind of response I am better off than I was 24 hours ago.

I have made that difference myself.

I have walked the streets.

I have promoted myself.

I have spoken  to people.

I have earned my money (or will have when my efforts pay dividends)

There is pride to be had from this kind of personal approach to business, and I like that!

I take pride in my business.

I take pride in myself.

I take pride in working hard to achieve my ambitions.

I shall sleep well tonight!

Looking forward to 2012, while looking back to prehistory.

As a scientist my general position is one of looking forward.
Looking to new developments, new discoveries, new technologies.
Looking towards a future in which science will assist humanity in bigger and better ways (or more probably smaller and better ways!).
Looking forwards, hoping to educate and inspire the next generation of scientists, has been my goal for many years now.

Recent developments, however, have turned my perspective on it's head in a fantastic way, and have refocussed my attentions on the past... Not a week ago... Not a year ago... Not even within my lifetime... I'm talking Centuries ago, possibly even Millennia ago... How exciting is THAT?

History has always fascinated me, and pre-history even more so. It's like an ancient CSI case. There's nothing to go on except the scientific evidence!

My mission (should I choose to accept it - which I already have) is to develop an activity day for school children, which links science to history, to be delivered at the local museum... I sense fun times ahead...

Here's to a creative, sciencey, historical, educational and fun 2012!

It's Not What You Know... It's Who You Know... AND What You Know!

The last couple of weeks have been very interesting in terms of making contacts.
As you may have gathered, I am extremely keen on educating the masses, especially children and young people, on the value of Science. The main focus so far has been to reach my target audience through schools and children's parties.
It was through a jovial Christmas catch up with a friend that a whole new market was revealed to me...
The friend in question works for The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, and suggested that maybe local museums would be interested in my services. As soon as she mentioned this, I realised that I had been missing a trick. I had been thinking 'inside the box'. I had neglected to think about where my services could be appreciated in a wider sense.

What was I thinking?

Why had I not thought of this before?

Science links to pretty much everything (at least it does in my opinion, but then I may be a little biassed!).
Museums... Oh YES! What a brilliant idea!

I LOVE museums (see my previous post about museums in London). I love History. I love Archaeology. I have always been fascinated by the scientific processes involved in trying to interpret the past of our ancestors. Without an understanding of our past we cannot hope to move forward with any real purpose.
As part of my degree (at the University of Sheffield) I took every opportunity to expand my knowledge by using my 'free' credits to study units which would complement my course of study (Genetics), and would also offer me something a little different in order to broaden my areas of expertise. I chose to study Archaeological Science as part of this, despite the fact that I had (on paper) overlapping practical classes. The intention was that I would finish my 3 hour Genetics practical (2-5 p.m.) an hour early, in order to attend the 2 hour Archaeology practical (4-6 p.m.). Some weeks this worked. Other weeks I had to run into the Archaeology practical late, breathless, and apologising profusely! Thankfully, it all worked out OK in the end!

My interest in Archaeological Science has never waned.

As a result of that chat with an old friend (apologies to the friend concerned - I know you're younger than me! Perhaps 'long-standing' would have been a better turn of phrase?) I was inspired to contact The Collection, Lincoln, and have a meeting lined up for next week.

Here's hoping that this leads to lots of fun activities for kids to engage them with science, an interest in their past, and an appreciation of the value of museums and art galleries.

Scientific Poetry - Whatever next?!

Several years ago I started writing poems relating to the science curriculum.
I wrote poems to use in my lessons, I wrote poems to engage my students, but most of all I wrote poems for fun!

I took topic areas of the curriculum which were often viewed as a bit 'dry', and tried to make them at least a little more interesting by adding a splash of creativity, a dash of poetic licence, and a generous dose of humour, while also including some valuable scientific information along with as many key words relating to the given topic as possible.

I started to develop the poems into worksheets, which I trialled with my students (without telling them that the new resources were in fact written by me - I wanted impartial feedback!). Amazingly, the majority of students from each group, regardless of ability or literacy level, said that they enjoyed working with the poems, and doing the associated crossword or activity. In fact, those that found the poetry approach of greatest benefit appeared to be those with lower levels of confidence in terms of literacy, as the rhyming nature of the information helped them to remember key words and phrases. I think they also enjoyed the general silliness of many of the poems!

I approached an educational publisher, and had my efforts published under the title 'Poems and Puzzles for Key Stage 3 Science'. Then I waited for the accolades to roll in...
Sadly, uptake of my resource was not as spectacular as I would have liked!

Despite this, my commitment to the idea of communicating science through the medium of poetry is undiminished, and I have continued to write science themed poems, but I now have a different audience in mind. My poems were always written for children. Children don't buy worksheets - teachers do. Children buy funny books (or at least they get their parents to buy them!). This has given me a sense of new found freedom, and has allowed me to write poems about science related ideas and concepts, but without the need to cram them full of  key words. It's so much more fun this way!!

Take, for example, one of my latest poetic masterpieces:
Would a teacher buy an educational resource containing a poem entitled 'Do You Poo Too?' - Probably not.
Would a child like to read a book containing the poem 'Do You Poo Too?' - You bet they would!

And so, just today, I have e-mailed a sample of my work to a well known children's publisher in London, in the hopes that one day soon my poems will sit proudly on the shelves of every book shop in the UK, and who knows... maybe farther afield? That way, every child would have the chance to enjoy the sciencey silliness of poems such as 'Know your Nose', 'Atomic Party', 'My Cheese Sandwich', and of course, not forgetting 'Do You  Poo Too?'.

Here's hoping that the publisher can see the potential, and that they find my poems worthy of spreading to the masses!

Keeping Things Fresh - Updates and New Content

Since starting this Blog, what seems like a lifetime ago, I have made efforts to add posts as regularly as possible. Keeping web site content fresh and current is important, we all know that. No-one wants to read out of date content. It's stale and boring... So, 'Why?', I am now asking myself, has it taken me so long to realise that, despite adding new posts, I have not made any changes to the rest of the page??

Well... Now I have!

You may notice that the suggestions in the 'My Picks' Amazon carousel at the top of the page have been updated. I have added some recommendations for cool science themed toys / gadgets as well as a new book suggestion.
The 6 in 1 Solar Kit is brilliant (I've had great fun with mine!), and makes a great gift (Christmas is only a matter of weeks away!) for kids and adults alike.
A USB Microscope also makes a great Christmas present, is easy to set up, and provides hours of entertainment. There are lots of similar products available, but the one I have recommended is made by Veho, as this is the one I own. Close-ups of everyday objects can be fascinating. I've had great fun looking at the structure of fabrics, flowers, wood grain, and even the view up a friends nose under 200x zoom! The software also allows you quickly and easily take photographs, and save them to your computer.
Books wise, I have added '101 Illnesses You Don't Want to Get' to the list. This book is not for the feint hearted, but contains some interesting (if a little grizzly) information and illustrations!
Still top of my list of 'Best Christmas presents I've ever recieved' though, is 'Elephants on Acid'... A truly laugh out loud funny book, which covers some of the most whacky science experiments ever carried out!

Also updated is the Related Reading section to the right of the posts. Besides adding posts here on Adventures of a Wandering Scientist, I have also been busy writing fresh articles about science and education, and the links have now been updated to include some of my more recent work.

Happy reading / microscopy / solar engineering!

Maths, QR Codes and Modern Technology

Well, it's been a busy month...

I'm used to educating people, young and old, about science, but this month has seen me take my first foray into the world of teaching Mathematics!

Maths has never been something which I have struggled with (despite dropping out of A-Level Maths within the first term!) but, equally, it has never been something which I could claim to particularly enjoy. So, when I was asked to teach some Maths at the local FE college I was wary to say the least. My contracted term of Maths tuition is now over, and I have to say that I will actually miss it. It has been hugely satisfying to see adult learners, who struggle with Maths, many of whom were told that they were 'too slow' in school, gain in confidence through a realisation that Maths is something that they are actually already good at! 

We all use Maths every day. We all know that if we go out with £10 in our pocket, there's a limit to what we can buy. We can all estimate values and numbers automatically without even realising it... It only takes a little encouragement and practise for other Maths skills to become second nature too.

The students I have been teaching will be continuing their functional Maths course with another tutor, and I wish them the best of success for the rest of the year, and for their GCSE Maths next year. I know they can all do it!

Since the start of half term, I have been looking into getting some professional advertising done for my children's science parties. Thanks to a wonderful group of children who I worked with at the start of September, I now have a range of photos on the gallery page of the Dr D's website, and have used some of these to put together an advertising flyer, for which I am currently in the process of getting quotes for printing. Thanks to some shrewd and savvy advice, the flyers will also include a QR code, so that potential customers can use their smart phones to link directly to the Dr D's Science Days homepage - Check it out... It works!!

Even for a technological novice like myself, it is remarkably easy to set up one of these little symbols, using a free on-line QR code generator, and I've checked that it works by downloading Google Goggles on my Android phone... It picked out the funny looking little square that is the QR code instantly, put a green box around it, then provided a link to redirect me to the website... Amazing! I hope that my potential customers will pick up a flyer and be encouraged to do the same. Who needs to type an address into a search engine or browser, when you can just point your smart phone at it, and let that do all the work for you?
Modern technology amazes me.
I'm amazed by what it can do.
I'm even more amazed by the amount of stuff that someone like me can do with it, with a little advice from friends, some common sense, but no real training!
Both Maths and Modern Technology can seem scary to those who don't use them, and aren't confident with them. I guess it's fear of the unknown, which is totally understandable.
That's why, while I have some time to spare (with my unconventional part-time working hours) I've been looking into joining in with the BBC's Give an Hour campaign to help people to get on-line. What little knowledge I have, I am glad to share. I know how much of a benefit it can be to have someone sit down with you for an hour, or even less, and open up a whole new world of possibilities and opportunities. I'd like to pass that on!

What a Week in Science World!

WOW!!
What a week!
There has been so much going on, that I'm not sure where to begin. I suppose at the beginning is as good a place as any, if not the best!
It all began with a phone call:
"Hello, is that Dr D?"
"Yes, it is" I replied, my heart racing at the thought that this could be a potential customer.
"I picked up one of your flyers for children's birthday parties in a local pub" said the man on the other end of the line. I felt my optimism rise even further... Here it comes, my first paid birthday party booking... I remained calm and professional (at least outwardly, I hope!).
But there was no booking.
It was better than that!
The man I was talking to was a presenter on my local BBC radio station, who wanted to do an interview with me on the following morning's breakfast show... I could potentially reach out to untold numbers of children and parents, who would hear my enthusiasm for science, and immediately phone me to book my services!
"Yes, no problem. I can be there at 8.15 a.m." I said, trying to hide my excitement.

The interview went well. I 'ummed' a bit, but didn't make any major gaffes. The presenter was friendly, enthusiastic about the subject of increasingly elaborate and novel children's parties in general, and seemed genuinely pleased to be given a small section of drinking straw to blow through to make squeaky noises (I was asked to take a radio friendly demo with me).
I returned home.
I waited for the influx of calls.
I checked my Google analytics every hour hoping for a spike of hits on the website.
Nothing.
The following day did see a slight increase in website visitors, so things are looking up, and I have picked up a new follower on twitter (the radio presenter, who I now also follow) who provides some interesting info and questions via his tweets, which I find myself compelled to reply to!

More optimism was inspired by the fact that the weekend saw my highest ever daily page views for my writing on Suite101 (110 in a day, as compared to my previous best of 53!). The article which seems to be generating the most interest is totally off my normal topics, but I have since written a proper science education based article, which has also attracted a lot of attention, and gives details of a really creative way to involve students in a demonstration of the differences between conduction, convection and radiation, using only a teddy bear!

Monday saw me travelling to Leicester for an event to celebrate the multitude of successes from the Ignition programme, run by Ignite Futures. The event brought together scientists and artists from across the East Midlands, who had been involved in various projects to engage school children in creative activities with a scientific focus. I had been invited to attend due to my work with the school in Boston way back in March. It was an absolute pleasure to see Rick (the organiser) again, to meet (in person) the lady who had been so helpful on the phone during the organisation of my small part of the programme, and to meet some of the other science and arts practitioners who had been involved in various projects across the whole of the East Midlands. The 'Magical Butterflies' project, which assists communication in children with severe mental and physical disabilities, is truly inspirational, and absolutely deserves funding to be developed further. It is the perfect example of how the combination of art and science can create something which can ignite a revolution in our understanding of ourselves and others. Truly inspirational!

Finally, today's big news is that I have finally (with the assistance of my wonderfully patient tech guru) sent an email out to every primary school in Lincolnshire. I am really hoping that my initial contact (which was totally unsolicited, and I know how much I hate 'cold calling' and spam) will be received in the right way, and will lead to lots of people signing up via the website for future updates about in-school science activities.