Amazing Atmospheres with the Institute for Research in Schools
Feynman once said, “The imagination of nature is far, far greater than the imagination of man”.
At the Institute for Research in Schools, we believe the imagination of young people is the greatest of them all. The Institute allows secondary school students to contribute to authentic scientific research. We are almost one year old, and have worked with 298 schools, countless scientific researchers and at least two astronauts. From Columbia to Sydney, school researchers are collecting, analysing and interpreting data to answer the scientific mysteries of the world around them. The Institute supports teachers, who in-turn support their students to make their own discoveries. Through bespoke, accredited CPD programmes, downloadable classroom material and dedicated staff we empower teachers across the UK. Free from the constraints of the Research Excellence Framework, school students are bold, prepared to take risks and creative.
The Institute isn’t only interested in academic attainment, but aspirations, resilience and long-term careers. Our student researchers regularly visit national research facilities to share their findings, deliver scientific presentations at conferences and compete on an international stage. We are constantly evaluating and updating what the Institute offers, from a regular newsletter to personalised guidance for achieving EPQ/ CREST awards. Aged 16, Aysha Wilson of Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys won the best graphical abstract award at the Armourers and Brasiers’ Company reception. Her work, studying the circularly polarized light reflected from beetle shells, is a current hot-topic at the Natural History Museum. This year she began her undergraduate chemistry degree at the University of Kent. Whether you want to count slugs, analyse particle decays from the LHC or study the radioactivity in the soil around your school, the Institute has a project for you.
Amazing Atmospheres launches on March 29 at the Eden Project. As all space enthusiasts know, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is currently searching for the signature of gases that make up the atmosphere of Mars. Before the robotic rover touches down in 2020, the trace gas orbiter will search for the presence of certain gases that could indicate biological or geological activity. That is all good news for space scientists who want to understand more about Mars. But what is happening to our atmosphere on planet Earth? We are undergoing a population increase like never before, and by 2050 three quarters of the world will live in cities.
Amazing Atmospheres offers school students the chance to be part of the ExoMars Mission. The composition of the atmosphere has implications on climate change, air quality and public health. The Institute has secured a range of gas sensors to set up in classrooms and assembly halls across the country. Students are asked to evaluate the atmospheric gas content of sites across the UK, detecting seasonal changes in the composition and temperature. The data will be collated and the contributions from schools and colleges, with the aim of understanding the changing molecular make-up of our local environment. If you would like to get a sensor for your school, please get in touch: http://www.researchinschools.org.
About the author
Winner of the 2016 Jocelyn Bell Burnell award, Dr Jessica Wade sits on the WISE Young Women’s Board and is currently a researcher in the Centre for Plastic Electronics at Imperial College London and senior outreach officer at King’s College London.