POLL REVEALS NATION OF ‘SECRET SCIENTISTS’

One in five (18%) parents are avoiding talking to their children about science, despite nine out of ten (89%) having a good understanding of basic scientific principles.

The poll of over a thousand parents, conducted for Shell UK on social networking site Mumsnet, found that only a third of parents (32%) regularly talk to their children about how science works in everyday life, such as explaining why steam comes out of a boiling kettle.  This is despite 99% recognising that talking to children about science at home makes a significant or massive difference to their progress at school.

When tested with a series of science questions, parents showed a strong grasp of science.  More than half (52%) of parents answered the whole series of questions such as ‘why does a cruise ship carrying 400 people float?’ and ‘why do your hands and feet go wrinkly in the bath?’ correctly, and a further 35% got two thirds of the answers right.

A lack of confidence is standing in the way of regular conversations with children about science however, with reasons cited including feeling under-qualified due to poor grades at school (18%), not understanding science (15%) and a lack of available information (12%).

The research was commissioned by the Shell Education Service which has been supporting science education for over fifty years. It delivers interactive, investigative science workshops to over 60,000 primary school children every year across the UK. Shell has launched a free online booklet of kitchen-sink experiments for parents, Activate, just in time for the summer holidays.

The poll also identified the questions parents most dread being asked with the top answer ‘why is the sky blue?’ (29%) far outweighing ‘where do babies come from? (1%).  The top five scientific black spots for parent are:

1.    Why is the sky blue? (29%)

2.    Why does the car work? (21%)

3.    Why can birds fly? (15%)

4.    What is water made of? (10%)

5.    How do fish breathe? (9%)

The Activate booklet from Shell Education Service contains a series of fun and easy experiments that parents and children can undertake at home to help stimulate children’s enjoyment of science.  These include growing your own crystals, creating a home version of the spin dryer and building an explosive soft drink fountain.

James Smith, Chairman of Shell UK, said: ‘It's great news that parents can do more to help their children learn science than they realised. And learning science by trying out experiments is fun for children and their parents’

Suggested quote: Rachel Foster, (insert title) from Mumsnet said: ‘Parents may worry that they’ll give the wrong answer to some of the more difficult science questions asked by their children, and as a result some are avoiding discussing the subject altogether. This new booklet from Shell presents a brilliant opportunity for families to learn together whilst also having fun – the perfect combination as the long summer holiday dawns!’

To download a free copy of the Activate booklet visit: www.shell.co.uk/ses

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For further information, or a copy of the Activate booklet, please contact:

Sally Aldous or Shenel Otkay on 020 7260 2700 or email [log in to unmask].

Notes to editors

Shell runs local community relations activity with organisations local to our operations. Shell also runs a series of nationwide social investment programmes.  These are:

·         Shell LiveWIRE, one of Britain’s longest-running youth enterprise awards schemes, supports, advises and rewards young entrepreneurs. A 100,000 strong international network of users receive tailored information and advice whilst helping them build relationships and understand the challenges faced by their peers. Up to five Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas awards of £1,000 are given to start-up businesses every month. The Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award of £10,000 has been running since 1982 and continues to recognise and celebrate outstanding young entrepreneurs in the UK. Shell LiveWIRE has awarded a total of £5 million to young entrepreneurs since launching in 1982

·         Shell Education Service provides a series of unique, interactive physical science workshops to over 60,000 young children a year.  Workshops are designed to support directly the UK curricula in over 600 hundred primary schools, benefitting both the pupils and teachers. The Shell Education Service also organises science days for local communities and trainee teachers, building their confidence and skills in teaching science.  Shell has supported this programme for over 50 years.

·         Shell Springboard provides a financial boost to innovative, low carbon business ideas from across the UK. Since 2005, around 130 businesses have faced independent judging panels and 43 have been awarded £20-£40,000.  In total over £1.6 million has been awarded to these businesses, with no strings attached. Through Shell Springboard, Shell supports small to medium sized enterprises in the UK with innovative ideas to seize the commercial opportunities presented by climate change.

·         Shell Eco Marathon challenges secondary school and university student teams from around the world to design, build and test energy efficient vehicles. With annual events in the Americas, Europe and Asia, the winner is the team that goes the furthest distance using the least amount of energy  www.shell.com/ecomarathon

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For more information, see www.shell.co.uk/socialinvestment