Member Article

Science centre receives funding for education outreach

Newcastle’s Centre for Life has received funding to deliver an educational outreach programme to schools across the region. A grant of nearly £24,000 was made by the Edina Trust, a charity founded to promote science in schools.

The Centre for Life’s education centre, Lifelab, which provides curriculum-linked educational experiences for schoolchildren, will use the grant to deliver its Forces and Motion in Space workshop. The workshop will be delivered to Year 5 and Year 6 pupils from 60 schools across the North East which are in rurally isolated areas or areas of social deprivation.

Noel Jackson, Head of Education at the Centre for Life, said: “We ran a very successful outreach programme last year and this new funding will enable us to follow on from that. “The grant has enabled us to buy laptops that will allow pupils to carry out very sophisticated science experiments. The schools involved are those that, because of their isolated and or socially deprived location, find it difficult to access science centres and the resources on offer.”

The Forces and Motion in Space workshop uses children’s fascination with Space Science to explore fundamental aspects of forces, particularly gravity and air resistance. Part of the project allows students to design and build their own rockets.

Dr Sonia Morgan, the Chair of Trustees for Edina Trust, said: “The Trust is pleased to provide this grant to Lifelab so that it can take its useful workshops out to school children who might not otherwise be able to benefit from the exciting centre in Newcastle. The Trust hopes that exposure to Lifelab’s workshops will encourage more children to develop a keen interest in science.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .