Mr Beetle Feels the Force

Mr Beetle Feels the Force is a show aimed at primary age pupils in Key Stage 2 (age 7 - 11). It is to be developed following requests from teachers who have had seen the positive experience of their pupils watching the earlier EPSRC funded project Mr Beetle's Water Adventure and have specifically asked for a show that deals with the topic of Forces - an area of the curriculum that is known to be one that primary school teachers find difficult to cover and where many lack confidence.The show will focus on the subject of force but engages the pupils through the excitement of listening to a story-telling, ukele-playing, song-singing Mr Beetle. Mr Beetle is actually Barry Patterson, an experienced children's educator who dresses up as a highly convincing beetle and engages pupils though stories, songs, scientific demonstrations and lots of audience participation.The unique element of this project is that it works through the medium of storytelling - rare in the world of science - and invites the children to imagine what it is like to live in an insect world, where he feels and responds to forces in a dramatic way - a simple twig becomes an insect seesaw, a falling acorn is a life threatening event and overcoming friction to pull his food into his nest is a major undertaking.Emphasis is on how and why we understand forces the way we do and how we find out new facts by research and that there is still much to be discovered about the world. This idea is rare for youngsters as they are usually required to 'discover' what their teachers already know.To help teachers in their work we will also produce a teaching resource pack which teachers can use to help pupils consolidate what they have learnt through the show. Feedback from teachers through our previous project indicates that such a resource is of considerable value to them.Thus this application is for Progress and Development funding based upon the success ofr the highly successful project Mr Beetle's Watery Adventure, funded by an EPSRC PPE award through which the original show was created and went on to visit 125 primary schools over 30 months at no cost to the schools. This project now seeks to allow even more children to benefit from this enhancement to their science experience regardless of the financial position of the school. Feedback from teachers has indicated that their science budget is insufficient to cover any enhancement activities and free events such as this are extremely welcome.