10 mentor teachers of the winners of Shell Junior National Science Scholarship Programme 2012 visited Bristol, UK as part of a week long continuous professional development from Feb 16-23, 2013. Held in association with Science Learning Centre, South West, the programme was immensely informative, educational and a fun-filled experience.

 

The first day started off with each teacher introducing themselves and Bryan Berry, Director Science Learning Centre and Ruchira Ghosh, Head Business Development Schools setting the context of the entire visit. Post lunch the group had an opportunity to visit Chemlabs, University of Bristol. A talk by Nick Norman, HOD Chemistry and a demonstration of LabSkills, an interactive online laboratory manual designed by Bristol ChemLabS staff in association with Learning Science Ltd to improve the practical skills for Post 16 Biology and Chemistry courses for schools and colleges impressed all present. It was an enriching experience keeping in account the richness of the software and the health and safety issue incorporated in the same. The evening saw the teachers visit the Bristol Aquarium. Colourful fishes, vibrant corals, cute sea horses, little jelly fishes, giant octopus, were a few of the hundreds of creatures present in the aquarium. Located at the Bristol harbourside, the aquarium literally echoed the punchline 'Bringing the Harbourside to life!'.

 

The second day started off with a case study of At-Bristol and a tour of the elements of At-Bristol's education programme. From simple reflection theory to complex DNA strands, to hot air balloons to probability pyramid, it had all. School kids of all levels were seen enjoying the place to the fullest. The teachers tried most of the exhibits themselves and had a wonderful experience. The bar-coded wrist band which helped them access the exhibits recorded their observations which the teachers could retrieve post their visit after logging on to the website. The day also focussed on a sustainability tour of the entire building professionally guided by Chris Dunford, Sustainability Manager. It was amazing to hear about the various energy conservation initiatives taken in the building. The eutectic thermal storage system with colour changing nodules with thermochromic pigment stacked in a huge cylindrical tank is indeed an engineering marvel. Post lunch the teachers were given a lecture on Citizen Science and they experienced a walk through on the air quality egg project. The Air Quality Egg is a sensor system designed to allow anyone to collect very high resolution readings of NO2 and CO concentrations apart from humidity and temperature outside of their home. These two gases are the most indicative elements related to urban air pollution that are sense-able by inexpensive, DIY sensors.

 

On the third day of the visit, the group moved out of Bristol in the morning and headed for the Met Office at Exeter. Led by Felicity Liggins, the group were given some demonstrations including a tornado creation as part of classroom delivery. A tour of the high security building was also organised and the teachers had an opportunity to see the gigantic supercomputers and other weather monitoring instruments.

 

The fourth day was kept for a visit to the Eden project at Cornwall. The Eden Project was built in a china clay quarry near St Austell, in Cornwall. It was established as one of the Landmark Millennium Projects to mark the year 2000. The teachers toured both the biomes - the mediterranean as well as the tropical. The teachers were also required to give a presentation post their tour about the implementation model in their respective classrooms of the knowledge gathered during the Eden trip. Eden, the world's largest rainforest in captivity with steamy jungles and waterfalls was fascinating and captivating to all.

 

On the fifth and last day of the CPD, the teachers had an opportunity to do some hands-on experiments in the laboratory of Science Learning Centre, guided by Dudley Shallcross and Tim Harrison, Bristol University. Doing experiments using liquid nitrogen and other chemicals exhibiting simple concepts of physical chemistry was appreciated by all teachers. The teachers also gained sufficient knowledge during the Climate Change lecture and the Granny's model of climate. The teachers noted down the immediate, short term and long term measures they intended to take when they join school after the trip. Each participant was handed over a Certificate of Achievement by Science Learning Centre South West.

 

The trip ended with the group coming to London and visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum and some other prominent places including the London Eye, Buckingham Palace and the Big Ben on their way to the Heathrow airport to fly back contended after a week's educational trip.