Welcome to the 33rd issue of Science in School Editorial article
The full report on one of these events is in this issue.
Not only did the enthusiasm and hard work of the people I met take my breath away, but my phone has not stopped buzzing ever since. We are continuing the conversation: sharing links to topics and resources mentioned over dinner, or to news events that have caught our interest. Your passion for your subjects is infectious and it can’t help but enthuse and inspire your students as well.
Science in School, of course, aims to support you and continually provide inspiration and new ideas for the classroom. In my conversations with teachers this year, I’ve found it hugely valuable to hear feedback on the journal and to sign up new subscribers – hello if you are one of those! Don’t forget that we couldn’t exist without you all as readers and authors. Every teaching activity we publish has already been tried and tested in classrooms and reviewed by your peers to ensure that it is useful. If you would like to share something you’ve been working on in the classroom, or if you’d like to help with the reviewing process, please get in touch.
And so to the autumn edition, which we hope will help keep your – and your students’ – enthusiasm alive! We start by building on your interest in the last issue with the second of two articles on the strange world of transmissible cancers. We also look at how scientists are trying to understand fear, and how one scientist made the move from particle physics to the theatre. Elsewhere we have several articles on colour: from understanding how nature is inspiring us to make colour without pigments, to an activity on the safety of tattoo inks, something I’ve personally been interested in for a long time, and a practical lesson using colour match apps on mobile phones. There’s more, of course, with a biology practical using variegated leaves, a way to understand physics using craft materials, and an inspiring tale of a scientific expedition on the world’s oceans. My colleagues and I encourage you to read, share and enjoy this issue. We hope you are as inspired by it as we are by you.
Happy teaching,