Stardust Hunters
Lead Research Organisation:
Swansea University
Department Name: College of Science
Abstract
This project aims to:
- Engage and enthuse school pupils aged 8-14 years about the exciting and relatively new research area of urban micrometeorites.
- Deliver high quality educational activities based around this topic, highlighting this area of STFC research to schools and public audiences in the South and West Wales areas
- Target schools in under-served communities in socioeconomically deprived areas of South and West Wales, providing them with the opportunity to carry out scientific investigations in school (and at home with their parents/families/guardians) which can then genuinely contribute to real research.
- Provide pupils with the skills needed to 'work like a scientist' by developing their investigative skills,
- Introduce pupils to enthusiastic STEM communicators/scientists who will convey their career journey to them, showcasing the possible routes that pupils can take if they wish to pursue a career in STEM.
This pilot project will target both English and Welsh medium primary and secondary schools in South Wales, ensuring that speakers of both languages in Wales have access to these innovative and engaging resources.
The impact on the pupils will be increased knowledge of this area of STFC research, and the topic of the Solar System in general; increased knowledge, skills and confidence in developing and carrying out a scientific investigation (how a scientists works); increased engagement of the community in science in general, and increased opportunity for school pupils to participate in real research tasks with the possibility of being the first to find micrometeorites in Wales (possibly the UK) and contributing to research papers. Learning the skills of how to search for and identify potential micrometeorites through the workshops, pupils will also be able to take this knowledge home to their families and continue to carry out these investigations at home, with other family members or friends. All resources will be available on the project website, thus their family and friends can find out more about the science etc. behind the project this way. This 'citizen science' approach will have an impact on the family/friends of the pupils who have attended a workshop, thus dispersing the project further and encouraging more people to engage in science.
The schools workshops, along with bilingual curriculum-linked documents will cover a number of areas. Pupils will learn about Solar System Science and the topic of micrometeorites in general, including STFC's contribution to this research area. They will then learn and develop their skills on how to carry out a scientific investigation, with the main aim being for them to conduct their own search for micrometeorites in their school playgrounds. They will learn how to identify candidate micrometeorites and then have any potential candidates analysed by the team in Swansea University for confirmation on whether they have found a micrometeorite or not. Older students (11-14 years) will also be given information and educational resources based on the analysis methods used at the University (e.g. how scanning electron microscopes work, what is a spectrum and what does it tell us etc).
The impact on STFC will be through an increase in awareness of STFC and its research.
This is a pilot project, which if successful, we would like to roll out to schools outside of Wales (depending on funding). However, the resources which will be developed as part of this pilot project will be freely available for the duration of the project and beyond, for anyone to access and use, giving the opportunity for anyone to engage in this area of science in their own homes and communities.
- Engage and enthuse school pupils aged 8-14 years about the exciting and relatively new research area of urban micrometeorites.
- Deliver high quality educational activities based around this topic, highlighting this area of STFC research to schools and public audiences in the South and West Wales areas
- Target schools in under-served communities in socioeconomically deprived areas of South and West Wales, providing them with the opportunity to carry out scientific investigations in school (and at home with their parents/families/guardians) which can then genuinely contribute to real research.
- Provide pupils with the skills needed to 'work like a scientist' by developing their investigative skills,
- Introduce pupils to enthusiastic STEM communicators/scientists who will convey their career journey to them, showcasing the possible routes that pupils can take if they wish to pursue a career in STEM.
This pilot project will target both English and Welsh medium primary and secondary schools in South Wales, ensuring that speakers of both languages in Wales have access to these innovative and engaging resources.
The impact on the pupils will be increased knowledge of this area of STFC research, and the topic of the Solar System in general; increased knowledge, skills and confidence in developing and carrying out a scientific investigation (how a scientists works); increased engagement of the community in science in general, and increased opportunity for school pupils to participate in real research tasks with the possibility of being the first to find micrometeorites in Wales (possibly the UK) and contributing to research papers. Learning the skills of how to search for and identify potential micrometeorites through the workshops, pupils will also be able to take this knowledge home to their families and continue to carry out these investigations at home, with other family members or friends. All resources will be available on the project website, thus their family and friends can find out more about the science etc. behind the project this way. This 'citizen science' approach will have an impact on the family/friends of the pupils who have attended a workshop, thus dispersing the project further and encouraging more people to engage in science.
The schools workshops, along with bilingual curriculum-linked documents will cover a number of areas. Pupils will learn about Solar System Science and the topic of micrometeorites in general, including STFC's contribution to this research area. They will then learn and develop their skills on how to carry out a scientific investigation, with the main aim being for them to conduct their own search for micrometeorites in their school playgrounds. They will learn how to identify candidate micrometeorites and then have any potential candidates analysed by the team in Swansea University for confirmation on whether they have found a micrometeorite or not. Older students (11-14 years) will also be given information and educational resources based on the analysis methods used at the University (e.g. how scanning electron microscopes work, what is a spectrum and what does it tell us etc).
The impact on STFC will be through an increase in awareness of STFC and its research.
This is a pilot project, which if successful, we would like to roll out to schools outside of Wales (depending on funding). However, the resources which will be developed as part of this pilot project will be freely available for the duration of the project and beyond, for anyone to access and use, giving the opportunity for anyone to engage in this area of science in their own homes and communities.
Planned Impact
The workshops will be mainly delivered in both primary & secondary schools by AstroCymru, Oriel Science and the NBGW, although it is envisaged that project staff may also do some ad-hoc workshops as requested by schools.
- Astrocymru will deliver 10 workshops in schools across the duration of this project. These 3 hour workshops will reach ~300 pupils and ~10 teachers.
- NBGW will deliver 10 workshops in schools across the duration of this project. These 3 hour workshops will reach ~300 pupils and ~10 teachers.
- Oriel Science will deliver 1-hour pre-booked and drop-in workshops in their school holiday events programme across the duration of this project. Estimating 50 people per day, and running 10 days of events, this will reach ~500 family participants.
Website and resources:
- A website will be developed containing the background science and introduction to the project, along with classroom resources/documents for running a stardust hunting workshop. There will be a space on the website for schools to upload their images of potential micrometeorites for analysis by Swansea University staff, with the aim of then confirming that the object needs further analysis, or is a terrestrial object so needs no further analysis. Schools will also be able to write up short articles about their investigations for others to read. These will be published on the website, but we will also work with them to publish their results in schools-based journals such as the 'Science in Schools' publication and 'School Science review' journal.
- The resources and instructions will be available (in Welsh and English) on the website for anyone to access
Flyers: Flyers will be produced for the project with information about the website and instructions on how people can find their own MMs with everyday equipment. This will enable the participants of this project to carry on with the project after either the toolkits have been returned (from schools) or after the workshop activities have finished (at Oriel Science).
The flyers will be available:
- For family participants of the Oriel Science events.
- At all schools visited
- At public events (so that schools or families can carry out their own investigations)
Journals
- We will write up this pilot project for educational journals as an example of school pupils/families doing science investigations and real research. Depending on findings (i.e. if we find some MMs), we will also write up any scientific results in suitable journals.
- As mentioned above, we will work with participating schools to encourage them to write up their work, both for the project website but also for publication in educational journals such as 'School Science Review' and 'Science in Schools'.
Talks
- We will deliver conference talks where applicable (e.g. IOP Wales events, National Astronomy Meeting, European Geosciences Union events, STFC PE events etc.) to disseminate the project and 'best practice' to both the research and educational communities.
Public events:
- As mentioned earlier in this application, we will attend at least 8 public events during the project (e.g. Swansea Science Festival, Eisteddfodau, Oriel Science Super Saturday, National Botanic Gardens of Wales Space Day etc.) showcasing the project and demo-ing the techniques needed to go stardust hunting. These events will also be an opportunity to showcase this area of STFC research and highlight the work done by STFC and STFC researchers. These events have very high attendance figures (e.g. the Science tent at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 2018 attracted over 30,000 visitors over the course of a week; Swansea Science Festiavl attracted 2000 people in Nov 2018 and Oriel Science's Super Science Sunday event at the National Waterfront Museum in March 2019 attracted 3588 visitors in 1 day). We estimate reaching at least 23588 members of the public.
- Astrocymru will deliver 10 workshops in schools across the duration of this project. These 3 hour workshops will reach ~300 pupils and ~10 teachers.
- NBGW will deliver 10 workshops in schools across the duration of this project. These 3 hour workshops will reach ~300 pupils and ~10 teachers.
- Oriel Science will deliver 1-hour pre-booked and drop-in workshops in their school holiday events programme across the duration of this project. Estimating 50 people per day, and running 10 days of events, this will reach ~500 family participants.
Website and resources:
- A website will be developed containing the background science and introduction to the project, along with classroom resources/documents for running a stardust hunting workshop. There will be a space on the website for schools to upload their images of potential micrometeorites for analysis by Swansea University staff, with the aim of then confirming that the object needs further analysis, or is a terrestrial object so needs no further analysis. Schools will also be able to write up short articles about their investigations for others to read. These will be published on the website, but we will also work with them to publish their results in schools-based journals such as the 'Science in Schools' publication and 'School Science review' journal.
- The resources and instructions will be available (in Welsh and English) on the website for anyone to access
Flyers: Flyers will be produced for the project with information about the website and instructions on how people can find their own MMs with everyday equipment. This will enable the participants of this project to carry on with the project after either the toolkits have been returned (from schools) or after the workshop activities have finished (at Oriel Science).
The flyers will be available:
- For family participants of the Oriel Science events.
- At all schools visited
- At public events (so that schools or families can carry out their own investigations)
Journals
- We will write up this pilot project for educational journals as an example of school pupils/families doing science investigations and real research. Depending on findings (i.e. if we find some MMs), we will also write up any scientific results in suitable journals.
- As mentioned above, we will work with participating schools to encourage them to write up their work, both for the project website but also for publication in educational journals such as 'School Science Review' and 'Science in Schools'.
Talks
- We will deliver conference talks where applicable (e.g. IOP Wales events, National Astronomy Meeting, European Geosciences Union events, STFC PE events etc.) to disseminate the project and 'best practice' to both the research and educational communities.
Public events:
- As mentioned earlier in this application, we will attend at least 8 public events during the project (e.g. Swansea Science Festival, Eisteddfodau, Oriel Science Super Saturday, National Botanic Gardens of Wales Space Day etc.) showcasing the project and demo-ing the techniques needed to go stardust hunting. These events will also be an opportunity to showcase this area of STFC research and highlight the work done by STFC and STFC researchers. These events have very high attendance figures (e.g. the Science tent at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 2018 attracted over 30,000 visitors over the course of a week; Swansea Science Festiavl attracted 2000 people in Nov 2018 and Oriel Science's Super Science Sunday event at the National Waterfront Museum in March 2019 attracted 3588 visitors in 1 day). We estimate reaching at least 23588 members of the public.
Description | Deep Space to Deep Impact: embedding astronomy in the new Curriculum for Wales |
Amount | £96,371 (GBP) |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2023 |
End | 11/2025 |
Description | IOP in Wales grant scheme |
Amount | £750 (GBP) |
Organisation | Institute of Physics (IOP) |
Sector | Learned Society |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2023 |
End | 03/2023 |
Description | Astrocymru |
Organisation | AstroCymru |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | I have been working with Astrocymru to develop educational materials and resources to support the grant. |
Collaborator Contribution | They have been helping me develop educational materials and resources to support the grant and they have also delivered schools workshops and public lectures related to the grant. |
Impact | Educational resources Talks |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | CoE |
Organisation | Swansea University |
Department | College of Engineering |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Brought expertise on micrometeorite hunting and educational resources. |
Collaborator Contribution | Brought expertise in analysis and equipment for analysis of MMs. |
Impact | Educational resources Analysis of MMs |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | NBGW |
Organisation | National Botanic Garden of Wales |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Brought expertise on hunting for micrometeorites. |
Collaborator Contribution | Brought expertise on delivering schools workshops and resources. |
Impact | Educational resources Schools workshops |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | NMW Cardiff |
Organisation | National Museum Wales |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | I sharedexpertise of the subject area and resources to this partnership. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partner shared their expertise of meteorites and analysis, and also knowledge of making toolkits for educational use. |
Impact | Educational resources |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Bryn Awel |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | A 3 hour visit to a school to present the stardust hunters project. The pupils carried out a search for MMs. 20 year 5/6 pupils reached. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Cardiff SciFest |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A 45 minute presentation, demonstration and Q&A session on stardust hunters project during the 2021 Cardiff Science Festival (which went on over 4 days). 36 members of the general public attended this session. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Cheltenham Science festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | I was invited to attend the prestigious Cheltenham Science festival, the premier science festival in the UK. Organisers of the schools events had seen me run 'Stardust Hunters' workshops at Cardiff Science Festival and invited me to run similar workshops for local secondary schools during the festival in 2022. I ran three 1.5 hours workshops during the day, for 90 local secondary school pupils (yrs 8/9). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Dark Sky event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Day long Dark sky online event showcasing astronomy. Stardust Hunters was delivered to the audience of 133 members of the general public over 30 minutes. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | GHOU (Global Hands on Universe) Conference 2021 Stardust Hunters talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This was a 20 minute talk as part of the Global Hands-On Universe conference which was held virtually during the week of 23rd - 28th August 2021. There were over 600 participants from 70 countries taking part, and the talks were all streamed on facebook, so an exact number who saw mine cannot really be obtained. However, there were more than 50 participants in the actual zoom webinar. The talk focussed on explaining the stardust hunters project and what we are doing and plan to do, in Wales. There were comments in the chat such as "Wow this is amazing", "AMAZING" and a request to make this an international effort! |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://handsonuniverse.org/ghou2021/ |
Description | Oriel Science Ambassadors Training workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | I trained 3 student ambassadors from Oriel Science on how to run stardust hunter workshops in the OS venue with schools. I videoed the training session so that they other ambassadors who could not attend this one, could watch that. The outcome of this training is that OS can offer further stardust hunting workshops in the future without needing me there. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Oriel Science MM Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | In July 2021, I ran a 1 hour workshop at Oriel Science in Swansea city centre, for the general public/families, on the topic of Stardust Hunting. This linked in with the micrometeorite exhibit which forms part of the current OS exhibition. The aim of this activity was to enthuse and inform people about the topic of urban micrometeorite hunting. 15 people attended, ranging in age (there a few school and undergrad students there aswell as retired people). The activity was hands-on - so I started with a talk about micrometeorites, then the attendees went off outside to try and collect some of their own, and then they came back and looked at what they collected in the microscopes. One visitor commented on the Oriel Science Google Business account the following: "Really good session on 'Stardust hunters' with Dr Roberts from Swansea University. Informative and interactive. Learnt a new word too - "Sphericules"". When talking to the participants, they seemed really engaged and interested in the topic - one Year 12 student said he definitely wanted to come to Swansea Uni to study Physics as a result :-) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.orielscience.co.uk/upcoming-events |
Description | Outreach Online Event with Oriel Science - Stardust Hunters Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 582 pupils from 3 different schools attended online workshops on Stardust Hunters with myself, on 2 separate occasions. The first set of workshops which I ran were 1 hour long where I explained all about micrometeorites and how to find them etc, to the pupils in these schools. The stardust hunters kit was then sent out to each school so that they could run their own investigations, searching for potential micrometeorites in the playground, and in the second set of workshops held approx. 4- 6 weeks later, the school pupils themselves presented their work to me via zoom and we had a Q&A and discussion session. The years of the pupils ranged from Year 3 (primary school) to year 8. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.orielscience.co.uk/outreach-online |
Description | Poster presentation at RAS conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | On Feb 11th 2022, a Royal Astronomical Society day-long conference was organised on "Sources and inventory of cosmic dust: From space to the Earth's surface" by professional researchers in the field. I presented a poster on the 'Stardust Hunters' project in order to reach out to professionals with the aim of collaborating with them and obtaining feedback on the project. Approximately 30 people attended the online conference, but my poster was put on the RAS website for anyone to view, so I have no figures for how many people may have viewed it. I was given a 15min slot to present my poster and answer any questions on it. A number of researchers got in touch with me after the presentation to express an interest in collaborating with the project, so this is the next step for the project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://ras.ac.uk/events-and-meetings/ras-meetings/sources-and-inventory-cosmic-dust-space-earths-su... |
Description | STEAMFest |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 30 minute slot to present and demonstrate the stardust hunters project during an 11 hour STEAM festival aimed at showcasing STEM and the Arts. This was broadcast on AstroRadio and YouTube. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | School workshop - Allensbank Primary School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 27 pupils from year 3 attended for a schools workshop on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. Feedback was very positive with the teacher commenting on how interesting the workshop was and how engaged the students were. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | School workshop - Darranlas Primary School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 47 pupils from years 5 and 6 attended for a schools workshop on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. Feedback was very positive with the teacher commenting on how interesting the workshop was and how engaged the students were. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | School workshop - Fochriw Primary School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 27 pupils from years 3 and 4 attended for a schools workshop on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. Feedback was very positive with the teacher commenting on how interesting the workshop was and how engaged the students were. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | School workshop - Heolddu Learning Pathway Centre |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 18 pupils attended for a schools workshop on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. These were pupils from the learning pathway centre of Heolddu school. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. Feedback was very positive with the teacher commenting on how interesting the workshop was and how engaged the students were. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | School workshop - Hetty Pit colliery open day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The Cadw owned Hetty Colliery Pit held an open day for the general public over the weekend of 25th/26th Nov. Stardust Hunters workshops were held for attendees and 175 members of the public attended. These sparked lots of questions and discussions about the topic. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | School workshop - Litchard Primary School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 49 pupils from year 5 and 53 pupils from year 6 attended 2x 3 hour long workshops on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. Feedback was very positive with the teacher commenting on how interesting the workshop was and how engaged the students were. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | School workshop - Llandeilo Primary School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 90 pupils from years 4,5 and 6 attended for a schools workshop on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. Feedback was very positive with the teacher commenting on how interesting the workshop was and how engaged the students were. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | School workshop - Llanishen High - Hearing & Speech Unit |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 11 pupils attended for a schools workshop on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. These were pupils from the hearing and speech unit of the school. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. Feedback was very positive with the teacher commenting on how interesting the workshop was and how engaged the students were. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | School workshop - Maesycwmmer Primary School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 30 pupils from years 3 and 4 attended for a schools workshop on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. Feedback was very positive with the teacher commenting on how interesting the workshop was and how engaged the students were. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | School workshop - Penywaun Primary School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 42 pupils from years 5 and 6 attended for a schools workshop on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. Feedback was very positive with the teacher commenting on how interesting the workshop was and how engaged the students were. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | School workshop - Trerobart Primary School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 48 pupils from years 5 and 6 attended for a schools workshop on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. Feedback was very positive with the teacher commenting on how interesting the workshop was and how engaged the students were. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | School workshop - Ty Gwyn Pupil Referral Unit |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 20 pupils attended for a schools workshop on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. The teacher commented on how interesting the workshop was. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | School workshop - Ysgol Llanharri |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 27 pupils from year 6 attended a 3 hour long workshop on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. Feedback was very positive with the teacher commenting on how interesting the workshop was and how engaged the students were. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | School workshop -Brynbach Primary School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 29 pupils from year 4 attended a 3 hour long workshop on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. Feedback was very positive with the teacher commenting on how interesting the workshop was and how engaged the students were. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | School workshop -Goetre Primary School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 53 pupils from year 6 attended a 3 hour long workshop on searching for micrometeorites in the school yard. This sparked a lot of questions and interest from the pupils and they were encouraged to send samples into Swansea University for analysis. Feedback was very positive with the teacher commenting on how interesting the workshop was and how engaged the students were. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Seren Network Stardust Hunters |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 7 pupils attended the Seren network workshop I ran on Stardust Hunters. The Seren network aims to help 6th formers in Wales to apply to Russell Group universities. They asked lots of questions about dust from space and a few said they would be trying this at home. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Social Prescribing - Oriel Science |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
Results and Impact | Ran an hour long workshop as part of a Social Prescribing project being run between Swansea Uni, local NHS health board and Oriel Science. This was to offer workshops for people who have sustained brain/head trauma. Approx. 15 people attended. One participant was inspired to write a poem about stardust whilst there, another ordered microscopes, magnets and petri dishes so he could run the activity with his daughter and grand-daughter. The feedback was very positive. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Solarsphere |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 30 minute slot during a whole day online festival aiming to promote and celebrate astronomy. The stardust hunters project was presented and demonstrated to an audience of the general public via astroradio TV which broadcasts over the world. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
Description | Stardust Hunters workshop - Reaching Wider Women in STEM event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Ran an 1 hour workshop organised by Reaching Wider at their "Women in STEM" event held at Swansea University. Approx. 20 Year 9-11 female students attended and they showed an interest in dust from space. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Step up to Swansea Stardust Hunters |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Ran an hour long workshop for 24 pupils from local schools in areas scoring high on the WIMD. They were very enthusiastic about stardust hunting and some planned to do it at home. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Subatomic circus - Stardust Hunters stand |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | This activity was run as part of Cardiff's 'Summer of Smiles' which had a day of science-themed events and workshops under the banner 'Subatomic Circus' (run by the Cardiff Science Festival team). We had a stand in a tent and gave out bags and magnets for the general public (mainly families) to go and hunt for cosmic dust and then come back and use our microscopes to see if they had found anything interesting (we explained what they should be looking for so they can do this in the future). The figures we received from the organisers were the following: "1,281 people checked in, though many more skipped the check in points, so it's likely that we reached close to our 1,500 registered attendees. In addition, there were many passers by engaging with some of the activities and watching the performances, so I expect the overall reach to be over 2,000 people" As a result of this, people (including teachers) were pointed to the stardusthunters website to find out more and get involved, and many attendees gave in potential MMs for analysis. The subject sparked a lot of interest and discussion and many people commented that they would be carrying on their stardust hunts at home! |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.cardiffsciencefestival.co.uk/en/news/subatomic-circus |
Description | Swansea Uni Physics Christmas Lectures |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | I gave a 15 min talk at the annual Swansea Physics Christmas lectures in Dec 2023. The talk was to approx 300 pupils and their teachers from secondary schools in the region. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | TQ CPD |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | A 3 hour primary school teacher training CPD session on how to use space in the classroom. The stardust hunters project was presented over 30 minutes and sparked discussion on how to take part with their schools. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Welsh Dark Skies Week - Oriel Science |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | As part of Welsh dark skies week, organised in conjunction with Swansea Council and Oriel Science, I ran 5 stardust hunting workshops during half term for families/general public. The response was very positive with attendees asking lots of questions and planning on doing some stardust hunting themselves at home! |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | YGG Llyn y Forwyn |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | A 3 hour schools workshop consisting of a presentation on the topic, and demo of how to hunt for Micrometeorites (MMs). The pupils then went outside to find their own MMs and we will be in touch in the future to see what they found. Sparked a lot of questions and discussions and the school will continue to work with us. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Zoom Stardust Hunters Seren event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | This was a talk via zoom on stardust hunters and looking for dust from space as part of the Seren network events. Seren aims to support young people in applying to Russell Group Universities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |