Engaging Education with Binding Blocks
Lead Research Organisation:
University of York
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
In my 'Engaging Education with Binding Blocks' project I aim to engage school students with cutting-edge STFC Nuclear Physics in an interactive inquiry-based approach. Binding Blocks centres around an interactive construction of a seven-metre nuclear chart of isotopes built of LEGO(R) bricks [https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/bindingblocks/]. Through engaging with the chart, participants get a hands-on experience of key areas of nuclear science, astrophysics, and energy. Binding Blocks is used with large audiences at public events or in smaller groups with schools. The entire chart can be built in half a day by hundreds of visitors, children and adults alike, or by 60 highly competitive teachers in half an hour of a training day. Alternatively, smaller versions of the chart can be integrated into a teaching session.
The Fellowship project is focussed particularly on integrating Binding Blocks within UK A-level (and equivalent) delivery of nuclear physics. This is facilitated through large (100+ participant) Nuclear Masterclasses, Teacher Training, and smaller scale in-school teaching by team members and teachers. The programme furthermore includes university student training, both taught and "on-the-job" training, as well as an extensive internship programme. Through these influencers, we will implement Binding Blocks in schools using the nuclear chart to study cutting-edge research in nuclear science, linked with the secondary-school curriculum. This includes study of nuclear isotopes, nuclear decay, nuclear energy, and the astrophysical origin of the chemical elements we are made of. The face-to-face engagement is complemented by a Free Online Course which will be implemented both as a self-contained learning environment and integrated with the Nuclear Masterclass programme.
During the fellowship, the Binding Blocks programme will thereby become a full-scale educational programme in collaboration with hundreds of schools and thousands of pupils. During the project, the Binding Blocks programme will furthermore grow organically through the development of partnerships and support for students who may become Binding Blocks ambassadors in their local area in the future. Throughout the programme, partner institutions and individuals will be supported in developing their own Binding Blocks programmes, through seeding and joint internships and projects, yielding a long-lasting impact across the UK on universities, schools, and individuals.
The Fellowship project is focussed particularly on integrating Binding Blocks within UK A-level (and equivalent) delivery of nuclear physics. This is facilitated through large (100+ participant) Nuclear Masterclasses, Teacher Training, and smaller scale in-school teaching by team members and teachers. The programme furthermore includes university student training, both taught and "on-the-job" training, as well as an extensive internship programme. Through these influencers, we will implement Binding Blocks in schools using the nuclear chart to study cutting-edge research in nuclear science, linked with the secondary-school curriculum. This includes study of nuclear isotopes, nuclear decay, nuclear energy, and the astrophysical origin of the chemical elements we are made of. The face-to-face engagement is complemented by a Free Online Course which will be implemented both as a self-contained learning environment and integrated with the Nuclear Masterclass programme.
During the fellowship, the Binding Blocks programme will thereby become a full-scale educational programme in collaboration with hundreds of schools and thousands of pupils. During the project, the Binding Blocks programme will furthermore grow organically through the development of partnerships and support for students who may become Binding Blocks ambassadors in their local area in the future. Throughout the programme, partner institutions and individuals will be supported in developing their own Binding Blocks programmes, through seeding and joint internships and projects, yielding a long-lasting impact across the UK on universities, schools, and individuals.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Christian Diget (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Adlarson P
(2020)
Three-nucleon dynamics in dp breakup collisions using the WASA detector at COSY-Jülich
in Physical Review C
Adlarson P
(2020)
Search for ? mesic 3He with the WASA-at-COSY facility in the p d ? 3 He 2 ? and p d ? 3 He 6 ? reactions
in Physics Letters B
Adlarson P
(2020)
Search for the ? mesic He 3 in the p d ? d p p 0 reaction with the WASA-at-COSY facility
in Physical Review C
Adlarson P
(2020)
Differential cross sections for neutron-proton scattering in the region of the d * ( 2380 ) dibaryon resonance
in Physical Review C
Chatagnon P
(2021)
First Measurement of Timelike Compton Scattering.
in Physical review letters
Diehl S
(2020)
Extraction of Beam-Spin Asymmetries from the Hard Exclusive p^{+} Channel off Protons in a Wide Range of Kinematics.
in Physical review letters
Mantziris A
(2020)
Neutron star matter equation of state including d * -hexaquark degrees of freedom
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Morán S
(2022)
Measurement of charged-pion production in deep-inelastic scattering off nuclei with the CLAS detector
in Physical Review C
Mullen C
(2021)
Single p 0 production off neutrons bound in deuteron with linearly polarized photons.
in The European physical journal. A, Hadrons and nuclei
| Description | The Binding Blocks project engages the public and young people with nuclear physics research. Activities centre on an 8m-long representation of the Nuclide Chart,2 built using over 25,000 LEGO® bricks. Since 2015, just under 30,000 young people and members of the public have taken part in Binding Blocks events and more than 10,000 have watched educational promotional videos online.3 Furthermore, 375 undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers have taken part in Binding Blocks training. The project engages target audiences through a range of programmes: 1 Nuclear Masterclasses for A-level (or equivalent) students. Offered both in-person and online, these introduce the key concepts of nuclear physics before focussing on applications including nuclear astrophysics, fusion, and medical physics. 2 A school loans scheme comprised of a curriculum-linked LEGO® workshop for A-level (or equivalent) students. 3 Teacher CPD programmes (run in conjunction with the National STEM Learning Centre) 4 Exhibitions targeted at family audiences centred around the building of the LEGO® chart. The project has been supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the University of York. To date, the Binding Blocks team have developed 23 partnerships with other universities and institutions in the UK and overseas. |
| Exploitation Route | All of the above is now freely available to both schools, teachers, individual students and collaborators, nationally and internationally. |
| Sectors | Education |
| Description | The evaluation findings presented in the evaluation report are drawn from feedback provided by a sample 209 students attending face to face Nuclear Physics Masterclasses (2016-2019) and 388 young people taking part in an online Nuclear Physics Masterclass during June and July 2020. The institutional impact of the programme has been enhanced, particularly in 2021, through the recognition of the programme as a submitted REF Impact case for Physics at University of York. Following on from the above impact, we have in 2021 distributed targeted resources to 2004 primary school children on free school meals across York. This particularly included the book "The Stuff Stars are Made Of" by Dr A Tuff, published through the present project, and was distributed in parallel with a range of online material, including videos, such as a reading of the book and instructional videos for associated activities. Furthermore, based on the success of the 2020/21 online masterclasses, we have developed a MOOC with a broader remit (Frontier Physics, Future Technologies, delivered through FutureLearn), including an extended range of particle physics and applications of nuclear technologies. Lastly, during 2022, the Nuclear masterclass and components of the MOOC from the present grant has been expanded and rolled out again (STFC Nucleus Award, Binding Blocks UK), with part of the material also rolled out as a pre-16 (GCSE and equivalent) nuclear masterclass. The qualitative outcomes of these are currently undergoing external evaluation and will be reported in the coming years as evaluation is completed. While the increase in masterclass participants has increased as anticipated, it is worth emphasising that the reach of the educational Binding Blocks YouTube videos has increased substantially, from approximately 10,000 views (March 2022) to approximately 30,000 views (March 2023). |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | Binding Blocks UK: A National, Inclusive Programme for Nuclear Physics Education |
| Amount | £107,356 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ST/W001861/1 |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2021 |
| End | 09/2023 |
| Description | Atomic Nuclei: how many, how big, how old? - IOP Lecture - Feb 2020 |
| 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 | Free evening talk and Binding Blocks exhibition late opening. The answers to this are held in the tiny core of the atom, the nucleus. Join Dr Arnau Huguet from the University of Surrey and the York Binding Blocks team to go on a guided tour of the elements, explore their nuclei and how they behave. The answers to this are held in the tiny core of the atom, the nucleus. Discover how understanding atomic nuclei helps us understand some of the biggest questions in physics. [ IOP Lecture: Atomic Nuclei: How big, how many, how old? Institute of Physics, London UK 13/02/2020 Exhibition Public Mainly adults 15 A lecture with the exhibtion open before and after. ] |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/atomic-nuclei-how-many-how-big-how-old-tickets-90323370633# |
| Description | Bags of Creativity - Books distribution - May/June 2021 |
| 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 | 2004 copies of the book 'The Stuff Stars Are Made Of' were distributed through the 51 primary schools in York to every primary school child in receipt of free school meals as part of the 'Bags of Creativity' project. Although the bags contained more than 20 different resources/activities, 15% of families who responded to the survey specifically referred to the book as influencing them to find out more about the topic. A full evaluation of the project is included in the 'Other Outputs' section of Researchfish. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://yorkfestivalofideas.com/2021/fun-for-families/bags-of-creativity/stuff-stars/ |
| Description | British Science Festival (Hull) |
| 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 | At least 500 members of the public engaged with the Binding Blocks Nuclear Astrophysics stand at the British Science Festival in Hull, 2018. Delivery led by the astrophysics group at U. of Hull, with contributions from the Binding Blocks programme at York. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | From the Big Bang to the Current Universe: the Visible Matter Around Us - London - Feb 2020 |
| 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 | Institute of Physics - late opening About this Event Join us for evening talk and exhibition late opening with the University of York Binding Blocks team and Dr R. Montgomery from University of Glasgow. 6 - 8pm Free drinks reception and the chance to explore our new exhibition outside regular opening hours. 6.30 - 7.30pm - Talk and questions with Dr Rachel Montgomery from the University of Glasgow Atomic nuclei make up almost all of the visible matter surrounding us, spanning from the molecules of our very own DNA, to the elements which make up stars and galaxies. Nuclear physicists are striving to understand how nuclei are formed, how they behave and the complex ways in which they are held together. Explore this exciting field and find out about current work of scientists trying to recreate the conditions of the Universe just after the Big Bang. IOP Lecture: From the Big Bang to the Current Universe Institute of Physics, London UK 18/02/2020 Exhibition Public Mainly adults 40 A lecture with the exhibtion open before and after. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-the-big-bang-to-the-current-universe-the-visible-matter-around-u... |
| Description | FutureLearn MOOC: Frontier Physics, Future Technologies - August 2021 (onwards) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 1351 participants joined the massive, open, online course (MOOC) during its facilitated run over four weeks in August 2021, with a further 866 joining across the remainder of 2021. A snapshot of the data from October 2021 with an overview of the impact of the course is given in the 'Other Outputs' section of Researchfish. At this time, 98% of respondents to the end of course survey stated that they had gained new knowledge of skills by taking the course; 36% stated that they had applied what they learned since starting the course; and 70% stated that they had shared what they learned with other people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/frontier-physics-future-technologies |
| Description | INPC Afternoon family day with mini workshops |
| 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 | Engagement with mini workshops including binding energy, scattering, proton treatment, and baryon structure. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | INPC Exhibition for conference participants |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Engagement with conference participants, display of Binding Blocks programme and invitations to join the programme and utilise the BB material. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | INPC Public Exhibition, Glasgow 2019 |
| 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 | Public Exhibition as part of the International Nuclear Physics Conference 2019, Glasgow. Exhibition open in conjunction with evening talk which attracted more than 1000 participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | IOP Exhibition - Building the |Universe One Block at a Time - London - Feb 2020 |
| 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 | Uncover the secrets of the atom in our free temporary exhibition, developed by the University of York. From the stars, to medicine, to electricity generation, discover how nuclear physics has shaped the world around you. Featuring a 7-metre long LEGO® model containing over 25,000 LEGO® bricks, this exhibition explores inside the atom. Join the Binding Blocks team from the University of York's Department of Physics and see the elements like never before. You'll even have the chance to see the nuclear chart in the virtual world of Minecraft. This pop-up exhibition will be on show at our flagship King's Cross building during February 2020 and is recommended for ages 12+. [IOP Exhibition Institute of Physics, London UK 04/02/2020 - 27/02/2020 Exhibition Public 350 https://events.iop.org/building-universe-one-block-time] |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://events.iop.org/building-universe-one-block-time |
| Description | IOP Family Day - IOP London - Feb 2020 |
| 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 | Uncover the secrets of the atom in our free temporary exhibition, developed by the University of York. About this Event Join us for a day exploring the building blocks of our Universe with hands-on activities for all the family. Play games on our iPads, find out about the life of a star through story-telling, get involved with craft activities, quiz our nuclear physicists, and venture into virtual worlds in Minecraft. You can register or drop in on the day! [IOP Family Day Institute of Physics, London UK 18/02/2020 Exhibition Public Mainly families 240 Family day: Quiz, colouring sheets, make your own atom, name an element, story book, ipads] |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/family-day-building-the-universe-one-block-at-a-time-tickets-90289288... |
| Description | Isaac Physics Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Nuclear physics workshop as part of an extended engagement throughout the year across all areas of physics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Jim Matthews Public Lecture, York |
| 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 | Public Lecture with associated Binding Blocks nuclear chart event, ~300 participants. Lecture delivered by Jim Al-Khalili, Surrey. Binding Blocks event delivery by York team. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Nuclear Masterclass (Birmingham, 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Year-12 student Nuclear Masterclass at University of Birmingham, delivered as their first exposure to Nuclear Physics after their GCSEs. Workshops included: Binding Blocks (nuclear masses, decays, and reactions). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Nuclear Masterclass (Daresbury, 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Year-12 student Nuclear Masterclass at Daresbury Laboratory, delivered as their first exposure to Nuclear Physics after their GCSEs. Workshops included: Binding Blocks (nuclear masses, decays, and reactions). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Nuclear Masterclass (Surrey, 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Year-12 student Nuclear Masterclass at University of Surrey, delivered as their first exposure to Nuclear Physics after their GCSEs. Workshops included: Binding Blocks (nuclear masses, decays, and reactions). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Nuclear Masterclass (York, 2019) |
| 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 | Year-12 student Nuclear Masterclass at University of York, delivered as their first exposure to Nuclear Physics after their GCSEs. Workshops included: Binding Blocks (nuclear masses, decays, and reactions); the Hot-CNO Cycle in X-ray bursters (and research on breakout from the cycle); Binding Energy and Neutron Stars (including both neutron star mergers and the d* discovery); Nuclear Medicine (comparison between X-ray and proton-beam radiation treatment); as well as Nuclear Fusion (plasma control at MAST, JET and ITER, as well as nuclear reactions in fusion facilities). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Nuclear Physics Masterclass - IOP London - Feb 2020 |
| 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 | This curriculum-linked workshop is centred around a 7m-long nuclear chart built from over 25,000 Lego bricks. Students will gain an introduction to nuclear physics before using the chart to follow nuclear decay chains, explore the concept and applications of binding energy, and research the uses of different isotopes. The workshop will then look at the application of nuclear physics to stars. Students will discover the nuclear reactions happening during stellar explosions in an activity demonstrating half-lives and the random nature of radioactive decay. The Masterclass is open to all students studying A level Physics (or equivalent). Students must attend with a teacher Year 12 Nuclear Masterclass - Introduction to nuclear chart, energy and decay questions, hot CNO cycle, scattering. [IOP Nuclear Masterclass Institute of Physics, London UK 13/02/2020 Masterclass Schools Year 12 50] |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://events.iop.org/level-nuclear-physics-masterclass |
| Description | Nuclear Physics Masterclass - York - Summer 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Nuclear Physics Masterclass: Online Join the Department of Physics at the University of York and leading experts from around the world for a Nuclear Physics Masterclass. Find out more about cutting-edge research in Nuclear Physics and applications of nuclear technologies. This four-week programme is suitable for students studying Physics in years 12 and 13 (S5 and S6 in Scotland) and allows for flexible learning in or out of the classroom. Details Masterclasses are open to all students studying Physics in years 12 and 13 / S5 and S6, (ages 16-18). Four week programme with 3-5 hours content per week. Live webinars with leading experts weekly. Recording available after the event. Ask questions of experts live during the weekly webinar and throughout the week through a forum. Complete all activities and receive a certificate of participation. Work at your own pace Register as an individual, or teachers can make class bookings Week 1: Energy and Decay Discover the nuclear chart of the isotopes with a 3D fly-through and find out more about the building blocks of our Universe. Follow nuclear decay chains, explore the concept and applications of binding energy, and investigate half-lives. Optional activity to explore the 3D nuclear isotopes chart in Minecraft. Week 2: Nuclear Astrophysics Explore the Hot CNO Cycle: Discover the nuclear reactions happening in stars during stellar explosions, in particular on the surface of neutron stars, in an activity demonstrating half-lives and the random nature of radioactive decay. Investigate a computer simulation of the liquid drop model of nuclei and apply this to the formation of neutron stars. Learn about the influence of the fundamental forces at the nuclear scale. Week 3: Fusion Technology Find out about methods of creating nuclear fusion as a power source - from lasers to tokamaks. Investigate how the most extreme conditions in the Solar System are created in a laboratory setting, and how materials are designed to withstand such temperatures and pressures. Explore research labs through virtual tours. Week 4: Medical Physics Hear from a medical physicist about how nuclear physics shaped her career. Find out how PET scanners work and discover how cutting-edge research into quantum entanglement is making these more effective. Use computer modeling to investigate proton-therapy and see if you can optimise cancer treatments. [Online Nuclear Masterclass N/A UK 22/06/2020 - 31/07/2020 Masterclass Schools KS4/5 840] |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/nuclear-masterclass-homepage-summer2020/ |
| Description | Nuclear Physics Masterclass - York - Winter 2020/21 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Nuclear Physics Masterclass: Online Join the Department of Physics at the University of York and leading experts from around the world for a Nuclear Physics Masterclass. Find out more about cutting-edge research in Nuclear Physics and applications of nuclear technologies. This four-week programme is suitable for students studying Physics in years 12 and 13 (S5 and S6 in Scotland) and allows for flexible learning in or out of the classroom. Details Masterclasses are open to all students studying Physics in years 12 and 13 / S5 and S6, (ages 16-18). Four week programme with 3-5 hours content per week. Live webinars with leading experts weekly. Recording available after the event. Ask questions of experts live during the weekly webinar and throughout the week through a forum. Complete all activities and receive a certificate of participation. Work at your own pace Register as an individual, or teachers can make class bookings Week 1: Energy and Decay Discover the nuclear chart of the isotopes with a 3D fly-through and find out more about the building blocks of our Universe. Follow nuclear decay chains, explore the concept and applications of binding energy, and investigate half-lives. Optional activity to explore the 3D nuclear isotopes chart in Minecraft. Week 2: Nuclear Astrophysics Explore the Hot CNO Cycle: Discover the nuclear reactions happening in stars during stellar explosions, in particular on the surface of neutron stars, in an activity demonstrating half-lives and the random nature of radioactive decay. Investigate a computer simulation of the liquid drop model of nuclei and apply this to the formation of neutron stars. Learn about the influence of the fundamental forces at the nuclear scale. Week 3: Fusion Technology Find out about methods of creating nuclear fusion as a power source - from lasers to tokamaks. Investigate how the most extreme conditions in the Solar System are created in a laboratory setting, and how materials are designed to withstand such temperatures and pressures. Explore research labs through virtual tours. Week 4: Medical Physics Hear from a medical physicist about how nuclear physics shaped her career. Find out how PET scanners work and discover how cutting-edge research into quantum entanglement is making these more effective. Use computer modeling to investigate proton-therapy and see if you can optimise cancer treatments. [Online Nuclear Masterclass N/A UK 23/11/2020 - 10/01/2021 Masterclass Schools KS5 558] |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/nuclear-masterclass-homepage-winter2020/ |
| Description | Nuffield Research Placement - July/August 2021 |
| 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 | One year-12 student completed a two-week long, full-time research project using Geant4 software to model interactions of radiation with cells for medical applications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Physics Teachers and STEM Ambassadors Training - Glasgow - Jan 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Physics Teachers and STEM Ambassadors Training session on Nuclear Physics Resources, University of Glasgow, Twilight session run in collaboration with Science Connects. [UK 15/01/2020 Teacher CPD Teachers 20] |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Primary Science Course - National STEM Learning Centre, York - Feb 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Readings of 'The Stuff Stars Are Made Of' (giving out free copies of the book), discussions of how this can be integrated into Primary-school science teaching. [Primary Science Course National STEM Learning Centre, York UK 05/02/2020 Teacher CPD Teachers Primary 70] |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stuff-Stars-Are-Made/dp/1527259234 |
| Description | SAINTS Post-graduate School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Training event for undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers from South Africa, for implementation of Binding Blocks Nuclear Masterclasses and other Public Engagement events across South Africa. Primary content designed by the York Nuclear Physics Group, delivered by students trained at York during 2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | SAINTS Post-graduate School, Public Engagement training |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Training event for undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers from South Africa, for implementation of Binding Blocks Nuclear Masterclasses and other Public Engagement events across South Africa. Primary content designed by the York Nuclear Physics Group, and delivered by students trained at York during 2018-2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | SFTC Nuclear Physics School (St Andrews, 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Public Engagement training for UK post-graduate students in nuclear physics including Binding Blocks workshops and independent development of PE ideas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Stargazing Live |
| 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 | Public event covering a range of astronomy and astrophysics, nuclear astrophysics, and nuclear physics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Stargazing Live - York - Feb 2020 |
| 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 | Schools and public evening event for research engagement and experience. [Stargazing Live St Peter's School, York UK 05/02/2020 Exhibition Public Mainly families 200] |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Student Exhibition at BIUST, Botswana |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Nuclear Physics Binding Blocks exhibition at BIUST, Botswana. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Teacher training at NSLC: CERN Follow-up |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Binding Blocks Nuclear Masterclass for teachers. Teacher training across the Nuclear Masterclass programme at University of York, where workshops included: Binding Blocks (nuclear masses, decays, and reactions); the Hot-CNO Cycle in X-ray bursters (and research on breakout from the cycle); Binding Energy and Neutron Stars (including both neutron star mergers and the d* discovery); Nuclear Medicine (comparison between X-ray and proton-beam radiation treatment); Nuclear Scattering (seeing the unseen); as well as introduction to "The Stuff Stars are Made Of", primary school book written by Dr. A. Tuff. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Teacher training at NSLC: Inspiring A-level |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Programme included Binding Blocks Nuclear Masterclass for teachers, where workshops included: Binding Blocks (nuclear masses, decays, and reactions); Particle Physics and the d* discovery; Nuclear Scattering (seeing the unseen); as well as introduction to "The Stuff Stars are Made Of", primary school book written by Dr. A. Tuff. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Teacher training at NSLC: Primary Science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | NY071a19 Primary Science: Leading primary science in 2020. Introducing primary-school teachers to "The Stuff Stars are Made Of", a primary school book written by Dr. A. Tuff, and initiation of a Binding Blocks programme to lend these textbooks to primary schools across the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Teacher training at the Glasgow STEM centre: Binding Blocks Masterclass |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Binding Blocks Nuclear Masterclass for teachers. Teacher training across the Nuclear Masterclass programme at University of York, where workshops included: Binding Blocks (nuclear masses, decays, and reactions); Nuclear Scattering (seeing the unseen); as well as trialling of an online framework for studying nuclear reactions in stars. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | Teacher training, Glasgow |
| 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 | Teacher training event at Glasgow, linked to Nuclear Masterclasses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/bindingblocks/ |
| Description | Teacher workshop in conjunction with the Institute of Physics: Building the universe - one nucleus at a time - Feb 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Two-hour, online workshop for 110 teachers, consisting of short presentations from Dr Christian Diget (PI), Katherine Leech, and Dr Kate Lancaster. Resources made available to teachers, with over 200 teachers signing up for access to these following the live event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/nuclear-masterclass-resource-teacher-inf... |
| Description | Training of post-graduate Students from University of Zululand |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Training event for undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers from University of Zululand (SA), for implementation of Binding Blocks Nuclear Masterclasses and other Public Engagement events in South Africa. Content designed and delivered by the York Nuclear Physics Group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/public-and-schools/secondary/binding-blocks/ |
| Description | UK PE team training |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Public Engagement training for undergraduate students at York, as well as post-graduate students in Nuclear Physics from across the UK. Delivered by York and Glasgow. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/bindingblocks/ |
| Description | Year 12 Work Experience - July 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Projects on 'Novel developments of cancer radiation therapy' and 'Making miniature stars with huge lasers' were offered as part of an online work experience programme for year 12 students. 20 students directly participated in these projects, with the remainder of the cohort (200 students) finding out about the content through school-student led presentations in an online conference. Feedback indicted that students were more likely to go to University and more like to study Physics as a result of the work experience programme: "Learning about a research area that I could potentially do research into something similar in the future and enjoying the taste I got of what researching/university could be like academically was really inspiring." A full evaluation report is included in the 'Other Outputs' section of Researchfish. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/physics-work-experience-2021 |
| Description | YorNight 2020 Binding Blocks exhibition - York - Feb 2020 |
| 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 | YorNight Binding Blocks York Barbican UK 08/02/2020 Exhibition Public Mainly families 3267 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/yornight/2020/ |