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.

Exam results and optimism!

Well, it's been another busy couple of weeks!

The GCSE exam results came in yesterday, and 100% of my evening class achieved  A* to C grades, with 44% getting an A! Well done one and all!! There were also two A-graders among my other group, one of whom really deserved it, but personal circumstances around exam time meant that her grade was in doubt, as her mind was (quite understandably) elsewhere. I am so, so proud of her, and wish her every success for the future! I gather that she wants to become a teacher... Good luck to her!!

The local library have finally got back to me, and it wasn't the outcome I'd hoped for, but it has opened a few doors, and provided a good deal of food for thought. Quick fixes are fine in the short-term, but the opportunities on offer are of a longer term nature, so should prove to be more sustainable. In short... It's all good!

I have also been in contact with my 'dream' publisher this week. After a long-winded wild-goose-chase between departments, I finally got in touch with someone who could actually assist me with my query. My query being "Why have I heard absolutely nothing, after almost a year of waiting, about the manuscript I sent you??". Once Lorna (the lady who eventually ended up dealing with my query) was on the case, things moved along quite quickly - what a total super star!

Sadly, the speedy response was a speedy 'Thanks, but no thanks'.
That's fine! This is not the dead end that it appears to be (I think I have mentioned before that I always view the glass as half full rather than half empty).

My proposal had been passed from pillar to post among different people in different departments before it was dutifully tracked down by the lovely Lorna. Her correspondence was friendly and efficient, despite a small bit of 'Americanisation' ("the editor hasn't gotten around to it yet", as opposed to "the editor has not yet had an opportunity to review your proposal"), and after a few light hearted e-mails about the effects of watching too many American movies (films, for the Brits among us), Lorna was very supportive in providing me with the contact details for someone in an alternative division of the same publishing house.

My priority for next week will be to re-address the covering letter which accompanies my manuscript, to make its product placement within the vast expanse of written material which can be found in book stores absolutely clear. My Rhyming Science proposal could be a massive money spinner for both myself, and the publisher who has the Huzpah to take it on!

Optimism is the way forward!

Hutzpah, That's What You Need!

Well, it's been a busy week!
My advert has finally been printed in the local magazine, and is currently circulating throughout the County, and hopefully raising some interest among the local parents. No calls yet, but it's only been 3 days since it went into circulation... There's still a HUGE amount of hope that orders will begin to trickle in and, as we all know, a trickle can lead to a flood!

Hutzpah is my word of the day! Confidence, Conviction, Presence, Personality and a 'Go-for-it' attitude will work wonders I'm sure.

Today I have 'cold-called' a couple of libraries to see whether they may want to have me come and do a workshop (or several) with the local youngsters over the school holidays (on science communication and writing, poetry relating to science, or science-based craft activities). I'm waiting for calls back and am convinced that when I get them, I will be able to make some valuable connections, which will certainly be beneficial in the longer-term, if not immediately.

When you operate a small business, or are a sole trader (as in my case), your personnel are your goldmine or your downfall. Attitude is everything, and having a positive can-do attitude, and a pleasant demeanour when dealing with people is an absolute must! Understanding the needs of the customer is absolutely paramount.

One of the main reasons for having branched out on my own was to avoid the cynical, corporate, money-grabbing desperation which was endemic in my previous place of employment. You cannot take pleasure in your work, and rejoice in what you do, if you are driven by management who are purely driven by profit without regard for their staff or their customers.

I hope that every budding entrepreneur out there finds their Hutzpah / Mojo or whatever you want to call it, and goes for their dream!

Shalom! and Happy Science-ing / Writing / Business-ing!