Just in case anyone has the impression that there is a link
between being allowed to do dodgy things in labs and
setting your young heart on being a chemist I thought
I should say that when I studied Chemistry we were able to
do things that would make a safety officer's hair curl
[possibly literally]. Like handling mercury and
deliberately filling labs with hydrogen sulphide[it was
a long time ago]. However even in those far off days
University Chemistry departments were only slightly less
deserted than the Mongolian steppes.
On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 16:00:39 +0100 Bernd Eggen
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hello Caroline,
>
> We had a stand with "hands-on" experiments at the recent BA Festival of
> Science in Exeter. The kids loved them (and the activities at all the
> other stands in the hall) ! - I asked quite a few of our visitors if they
> did do experiments of this kind at school and the majority said that they
> did not. I also went to a Meccano workshop and one of the educators there
> commented that many young children had to learn that "for nuts one required
> bolts, too."
>
> Just a few examples of some sad developments and I'm not surprised that
> less and less children are interested in science and want to study
> chemistry etc at university level.
>
> The solution(s) ? Well, I am sure there are many approaches, we do the
> following:
> - project oriented workshops in schools, eg URL
> http://www.seed.slb.com/en/voices/education/thailand_lwd/index.htm
> - active learning (constructionism), eg URL
> http://www.seed.slb.com/en/voices/science/villahermosa/index.htm
> - virtual experiments that support real experiments, eg URL
> http://www.seed.slb.com/en/scictr/lab/buoy_exp/index.htm
> - "Lab in a Lorry", an interactive mobile physics lab staffed by volunteer
> practising physicists and engineers, URL http://www.labinalorry.org/
>
> Best wishes, Bernd
>
> Bernd Eggen
> Science Expert
> SEED Foundation (SEED = Schlumberger Excellence in Educational Development)
> URL http://www.seed.slb.com/
>
>
> At 14:06 28/09/2004 +0000, you wrote:
> >I just had lunch with someone who told me that most schools no longer let
> >pupils use bunsen burners for fear of falling foul of health and safety. Is
> >this true? If so, what on earth do they do in chemistry/physics/biology
> >lessons?
> >
> >
> >Caroline Davis
> >Reporter - Times Higher Education Supplement
> >
> >Admiral House
> >66-68 East Smithfield
> >London E1W 1BX
> >Tel +44 (0)20 7782 3296
> >Fax +44 (0)20 7782 3300
> >[log in to unmask]
> >www.thes.co.uk
>
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