Issuu

#CheltSciFest

FESTIVAL AT SCHOOL SECONDARY PACK

#CheltSciFest

Welcome to Cheltenham Science Festival for Schools 2021. We hope you and your students enjoy our first ever digital schools programme – all free! Create your own Festival week at school, or dip into your choice of events over the term – whatever works best for you. Please share the programme with your whole school community as this is the first year that children and young people everywhere can access the Festival. Thank you so much for taking part. Elspeth Kenny (Education Manager) Marieke Navin (Head of Programming) How to take part This pack has some information and ideas to help you make the most of the digital content online, whether you use them in lessons or extra-curricular clubs, as a one-off or creating a Festival week in your school. Enjoy a show, take part in a workshop and explore the Digital Discover Zone at your leisure. Look out for the following... Shows are generally 25 minutes long and include a challenge set by the speaker. These challenges are optional, and the videos can be enjoyed with or without students doing this follow-up activity. You could respond as a class during a lesson, or set the challenge as a homework or an extension for your keen scientists. Workshops are generally lesson-length and are designed for students to do activities alongside the video. There are pause points marked in the video where the presenter invites you to pause, do the activity, then return to play the next section. Challenges and Activities Many of our scientists and presenters have set a challenge as part of their event. Explanations are addressed to students so that teachers can copy and paste onto the board or a worksheet. Teacher’s Notes The key ideas and themes of the show or workshop, and any required preparation or tips, are summarised in these boxes. The age recommendation is for guidance only. You know your students best, so feel free to explore the content and make the most of the programme. We have also included links to other activities suggested by Science Festival contributors to use at your own discretion. You’ll need We’ve included a list of anything students need to take part. Digital Discover Zone is an online space with activities from our Festival partners. You may wish to do specific Discover Zone activities in lessons as a class, or let your students delve in and choose something they are interested in. All activities can be filtered by age suitability and subject. Find out more on page 17. So you want to be a…? We have curated a series of short videos to challenge the stereotypes of jobs in STEM and the people that work there. Find suggested videos related to each event in the blue bubbles, or explore the whole series by filtering for ‘Careers’ in the Digital Discover Zone. Find out more on page 20.

#CheltSciFest

How To View Visit our virtual Festival site science.cheltenhamfestivals.online and click on Schools and Families. Unless otherwise stated, all events will be available on the website from 13 May until 14 September 2021. You don’t need to register to watch and all events for schools are free to view. The events are on the Vimeo platform. You may need to ask your IT department to check that Vimeo isn’t blocked by your school’s firewall, and to unblock it temporarily if it is.

Share Your Festival We’d love to share in your school’s Science Festival. Please take pictures and tag us in on Twitter or Instagram @cheltfestivals using the hashtag #CheltSciFest. Remember to tag the scientists and presenters too – you might even get a response!

Let us know what you think! Send us your feedback here and be entered into a draw to win a voucher for your school

About Cheltenham Festivals Cheltenham Festivals is a charity creating experiences which bring joy, deepen curiosity, connect communities and inspire change. Cheltenham Science Festival champions the next generation of STEM professionals and encourages everyone to engage confidently in conversations about science and how it affects their everyday lives. You can support our work by buying books from our Waterstones Festival Bookshop Every purchase using this link generates a small contribution to our charity. Thank you!

#CheltSciFest

AGES 11+

KS3 SS21

KS3 SS23

Age recommendation: 11+ Estimated duration: 25 minutes This is a show so tune in and enjoy.

Age recommendation: 11+ Estimated duration: 25+ minutes This is a show so tune in and enjoy.

A microscopical journey into the unseen… Take a journey from everyday life, down into the realm of microscopical wonders with Marty Jopson, the BBC One Show’s resident scientist. Using state of the art microscopes, from things you can almost see to a world totally invisible to the unaided eye. Marty takes you from hugely magnified arthropods, cells, bacteria and ending with the coronavirus itself. A microscopical show full of stunning images and samples harvested from Marty himself. There will be blood – you have been warned! @MartyJopson This show is supported by Zeiss, global leaders in the manufacture of microscopes.

Demos and dancing collide in this high-energy show. Through song, comedy, and the occasional explosion, science troubadour Jonny Berliner explains how energy is conserved, stored and transferred. An audible science feast, this is physics as you’ve never seen or heard before. @SciTunesUK

Challenge

Teacher’s Notes

Join a research team! The Francis Crick Institute need your help to study images of cells that were produced using an Electron Microscope. Check out the FAQs to learn about their project, take the tutorial, then find and draw around the endoplasmic reticulum to contribute to our understanding of biology and disease.

Jonny demonstrates ways to store energy (gravitational, kinetic, elastic, thermal, chemical, electrostatic, magnetic, nuclear, mass) and transfer energy (mechanical work, heating, electricity, lighting). He uses pendulums, catapults, a wave machine, velcro tennis balls as molecules, a faraday motor, a fun fly stick, a Crookes radiometer, and a laser popping a balloon. For lyrics, chords, worksheets and quizzes for each song check out www.jonnyberliner.com/scitunes-1.

Invisible Worlds

Making Waves

Challenge Become a science songwriter! Choose your favourite song… Can you change the words to include all the stores and transfers of energy included in this show? Share your recordings with us!

Teacher’s Notes Marty uses a stereo microscope to look at a headlouse and critters in pondwater, a compound microscope to look at his blood, and a scanning electron microscope to look at the SARS-CoV-2 virus, discussing fascinating characteristics and adaptations of each along the way. Check out www.youtube.com/martyjopson for more microscopic investigations into yeast, plankton, plants, pollen, fungi, fabric, and so much more.

Search for DZ47 in the Digital Discover Zone to learn about quantum physics through dance, feature in a short film and take part in research 4

Search for DZ05 in the Digital Discover Zone to see where studying physics can take you

#CheltSciFest

AGES 11+

Activity Copper-plate a steel paper-clip! Put 15-20 copper coins into a jar with one tablespoon of salt. Quarter-fill the jar with vinegar, and swirl the jar for about a minute, mixing the coins with the vinegar. Ensure all the coins are on top of the salt, then add the paperclip on top of the coins. Can you explain what is happening? Play the end of the video to find out if you are correct! Could you copperplate larger items in the same way as with the paperclip? Do you think these reactions work with a different acid, or without salt?

KS3 SS21

Utterly Jarvellous

Age recommendation: 11+ Estimated duration: 45+ minutes This is a workshop, so assemble the necessary materials and prepare to get hands-on.

You’ll need

Get ready to create your very own science experiment using just a jar and everyday objects around the house or classroom. In this digital workshop, author and scientist Sai Pathmanathan will walk you through copper plating, one of the many mind-blowing experiments from her latest book, Utterly Jarvellous. Make sure to watch closely as the reaction happens right before your eyes! @Sai_Path

• A glass jar (and an optional shallow jar, such as a glass ramekin) • 15-20 copper coins (i.e. one and two pence pieces) • An uncoated paperclip • A tablespoon • Vinegar • Table salt • Digital USB microscope (optional)

Teacher’s Notes Students could record their observations every 10 minutes for an hour. A time-lapse of the colour change and close-ups of the bubbles are included in the video in case students cannot do the experiment themselves. Challenge your students to explain what is happening at the electron level, before playing the last section of the video explaining the science behind the colour change.

#CheltSciFest

AGES 11+

Activity 1 Think – what is a metal? Can you describe the 6 key properties of metals?

Activity 2 What are some other uses for copper, aluminium, or steel? Now it’s time for the experiment… based on your knowledge of metals, which do you predict would make the best coating for a space shuttle? Which of the test metals do you predict will last the longest in extreme heat, like the conditions when re-entering Earth’s atmosphere? Why? Play the video to find out.

Activity 3

KS3 SS24

Did the results match your predictions? What is the other key factor in melting time? How does this influence how we choose materials? What material would you use for coating a space shuttle returning to Earth? Why?

Space Shuttle Re-entry

Age recommendation: 11+ Estimated duration: 45+ minutes This is a workshop, so assemble the necessary materials and prepare to get hands-on.

You’ll need • Worksheet on page 28 (optional)

Astronauts boldly go where no one has gone before… but how do they get home again? Learn why re-entering Earth’s atmosphere is so tricky and investigate properties of materials that can help the journey succeed with Discover Materials. Can you choose the best materials to steer a space shuttle safely back to Earth? @DiscovMaterials

Search for DZ42-DZ46 in the Digital Discover Zone for more flying challenges.

Search for DZ20 and DZ22 in the Digital Discover Zone to meet people working on aircrafts

Teacher’s Notes This discussion-based workshop aims to get students thinking critically about materials. The first discussion is around the 6 key properties of metals, and the next about lesser known uses of each of these metals e.g. using aluminium alloys for a car chassis because they are lightweight yet strong. Amelia introduces the experiment, explaining that space shuttles re-entering Earth’s atmosphere reach extremely high temperatures, and these will be replicated by firing a blowtorch at the 3 test metals. Before watching the experiment you could tally your students’ predictions. They may notice that the metals were of different thicknesses, which is another key factor for melting time.

#CheltSciFest

AGES 11+

KS3 SS07

Snowballs In Space Age recommendation: 11+ Estimated duration: 25 minutes This is a show so tune in and enjoy.

Teacher’s Notes Affelia and Choong Ling explain what comets are made of, why they are important, where they can be found in space, and how they orbit the sun. They demonstrate how to make a comet using water, sand, ammonia (window cleaner), alcohol, Worcester sauce to represent organics, and dry ice. If you wish to create a comet live in front of your class alongside Choong Ling, these instructions may be helpful. When explaining how comets have been studied with the RosettaPhilae mission, you are invited to pause the video to see if your class can spot the spacecraft on the comet, or ‘pin the Philae on the comet’. Affelia and Choong Ling introduce two other scientists currently working on a unique space mission, before hosting a short quiz to see what your students have learned. For the challenge, select one volunteer to stand in the middle of the open space – they will be the Sun. Ask at least one student to be a planet and to orbit the Sun in a circular anti-clockwise path. Ask another volunteer to be a comet by orbiting the Sun in an elliptical path. At one end of their orbit, they will get very close to the Sun and at the other end, they will be very far away from the Sun. They can move in an anticlockwise or clockwise direction. You could ask another student to be a comet coming from a different direction to the first comet, or demonstrate that comets can go above and below the planetary plane by crouching or stretching as they move.

Join astronomers Affelia Wibisono and Choong Ling Liew-Cain on a journey back in time to learn how the smallest components of the Solar System became the building blocks of the planets we know today. Explore our cosmic neighbourhood filled with icy comets and discover how scientists will soon attempt to ‘catch’ one! @AffeliaW @ChoongLingAstro @MSSLSpaceLab

Challenge Demonstrate comet orbits! In groups, choose one of you to be the Sun, one to be a planet and one to be a comet. Can you demonstrate how the planet and comet would orbit the Sun? Which direction should you move in? What’s different about your movements?

You’ll need • An open space • Some volunteers

Search for DZ13 in the Digital Discover Zone to meet a rocket scientist

#CheltSciFest

AGES 11+

Search for DZ41 in the Digital Discover Zone for Artificial Intelligence challenges

KS3 SS25

A Beginner’s Guide To The Brain

Activity 1 Make a brain hat! Cut out both hemispheres of your template, snip the solid ‘V’ lines, then pull the flaps you have created over to their dashed lines and secure with tape or glue. Join the two halves together with tape to make a hat, and add the cerebellum at the back if you wish. Pop your hat on your head and play the next part of the video to learn more about the functions of each part of your brain.

Age recommendation: 11+ Estimated duration: 45+ minutes This is a workshop, so assemble the necessary materials and prepare to get hands-on. The brain is one of the most fascinating organs of the human body. It helps us think, learn and create our most cherished memories, and yet there is still so much to discover about how the brain functions and why diseases of the brain happen. Join neuroscientist and UK FameLab alumna Emma Yhnell on a journey through this incredible part of our body by using your own-made brain hemisphere hat to investigate the structures of the brain and understand what happens in brain disease. @EmmaYhnell

You’ll need • The brain hat template on page 29 and 30, printed or stuck onto card for durability (or download more templates and detailed instructions here, freely available online with the kind permission of Ellen J Mchenry) • Scissors • Sellotape and/or glue

Activity 2 Make a tasty MRI scanner! Lay your gummy bear on the lollypop stick, and carefully move it into your minty-makeshift-MRI scanner. (You may need to nibble it down to make it fit!) What do you need to know to prepare for an MRI scan? How do they work? Put yourself in your gummy bear’s shoes and imagine what it is like to have your brain scanned.

Teacher’s Notes Emma kicks off with some brain facts, and invites students to learn about the different functions of the brain and the different areas that control those functions by making a brain hat. The template on page 29 and 30 can be printed off, or there are different versions with detailed instructions you can download here (e.g. unlabelled versions which students could label themselves, and black and white versions to colour in). Next Emma explains the process of MRI scanning, and explains the teams involved in diagnosing patients and understanding brain diseases.

You’ll need • A polo sweet • A lollypop stick • A gummy bear

Search for DZ62 in the Digital Discover Zone to discover other life-changing technologies

#CheltSciFest

AGES 11+

KS3 SS26

How To Think Like A Scientist

Activity 1 Draw the ‘easy-difficult’ axis on the flipchart paper and write Martin’s examples of Purely Scientific Problems on Post-it notes. In discussion with your group, place these questions where you think they lie on this axis. For example, the question ‘how do we explain the motion of a pendulum?’ can be answered fairly easily in one scientific equation, whereas the question ‘will it snow in Cheltenham on 25 December 2050?’ is much more difficult to answer because we do not have the tools needed for precise longrange weather forecasting. In your group, come up with three of your own Purely Scientific Questions and discuss where you think these could go on this axis. Write your questions on Post-it notes so you can move them around as you discuss them with your group. Play the next part of the video to get Martin’s thoughts and feedback… do you agree? If not, why not?

Age recommendation: 11+ Estimated duration: 45+ minutes This is a workshop, so assemble the necessary materials and prepare to get hands-on. Does learning science teach us how to think like a scientist? And is there just one single way that scientists think? Delve into the very nature of science with FameLab alumnus Martin Coath and challenge yourself to come up with your own scientific questions. Learn how scientific results can help us answer our biggest questions and whether there are any questions even science cannot answer. @MCoath

You’ll need • Flip chart paper • Post-its

Teacher’s Notes

Search for DZ01, DZ10 and DZ11 in the Digital Discover Zone to meet research scientists

This is a discussion-based workshop for students in groups, so be prepared for things to get heated! Here are some top tips from Martin for you as the facilitator of this workshop: Activity 1: Tell your students not to worry about the answers or details – we are interested simply in deciding the order of these questions on an axis of difficulty, or how well understood the process is. We are not expecting universal agreement! continued on the next page

#CheltSciFest

AGES 11+

Activity 2

Activity 3

Draw the ‘easy-difficult’ axis on another piece of flipchart paper and write Martin’s examples of Non-Scientific Problems on Post-it notes. With your group, discuss how difficult these are to answer, and place them on your axis. In your group, come up with 3 of your own Non-Scientific Problems and discuss where you think these could go on this axis. Again, write the questions on Post-it notes so you can move them around as you discuss them with your group. Imagine questions that fall outside of what is conventionally regarded as science, such as ‘who are the top ten artists of all time?’ and ‘how should I tie my shoelaces?’. Play the next part of the video to get Martin’s thoughts and feedback… do you agree? If not, why not?

On another piece of flipchart paper, draw the 2-axes of scientific / non-scientific, and easy / difficult. Building on your conversations so far, discuss with your group where you think all your questions should go on this 2D plane and move your Post-it notes accordingly. Play the final part of the video to get Martin’s thoughts and feedback… do you agree? If not, why not?

You’ll need • Flip chart paper • Post-its notes

Teacher’s Notes This is a discussion-based workshop for students in groups, so be prepared for things to get heated! Here are some top tips from Martin for you as the facilitator of this workshop: Activity 2: These are slightly tongue-in-cheek – encourage your students not to get drawn into a discussion about painters or shoe tying techniques! At this stage there are usually objections that science can be useful for deciding on the optimal method for tying shoelaces or cooking, despite the fact most people do not use the results of scientific enquiry to help with either. We’ll come onto this in activity 3. In the meantime, do reiterate that people can legitimately disagree on both the order of difficulty and the degree to which science is useful! Activity 3: This final part suggests using a plane to consider objections to ‘cooking is partly a science’, for example. Here are some pointers to key discussion points: • Should we eat vegetable oil spreads or butter? Evidence for the health benefits of non-dairy spreads is contradictory, but even if the health benefits were clearly demonstrated, would that inevitably swing the argument? What other reasons are there for choosing what we eat? • Should self-driving cars be allowed on the road? Does this depend on the degree of autonomy that is allowed to the car? Whose responsibility is it if there is an accident caused by the machine? • Are chimpanzees ‘nearly human’? This depends entirely on what you mean by ‘nearly’ and for some this is an emotional issue, for others a philosophical one, and for some it is a purely scientific discussion. In any case, do we understand the question? • How do you cure hiccups? There is lots of advice available for stopping hiccups, but is any of it truly scientific? Does it matter how scientific the advice is if it works for you? • Is Pluto made of green cheese? Of course, nobody has ever brought back a sample from Pluto, but is it impossible? Is it possible to rule out that it is made of cheese without bringing back a sample? Are there any non-scientific arguments that would help us here? In general: You may need to work hard to avoid the session being derailed by debating the issues, when the point is to decide where they are on a scale of difficulty, and to what degree science can help us with any of them. Encourage students to come up with a range of topics rather than becoming too focused on a narrow range of questions.

Contribute to research by sharing your experience of this workshop This is part of a series of workshops given by Martin. Read about the motivation and outcomes in the published article here. We would like to compare and contrast questions created by participants for a case study on the Nature of Science in education. We would be grateful if you would contribute to this ongoing research by taking photos of your students’ grids (with the questions clearly visible), and uploading them to this short form. Thank you! We will be in touch if this research is published. Search for DZ33 in the Digital Discover Zone to become a research scientist yourself

#CheltSciFest

AGES 11+

Activity 1 Sneak in! Choose what pathogen you would like to be: a virus, a bacterium, or a parasite! How does your chosen pathogen sneak into a host? Unscramble the five ways that viruses, bacteria and parasites can enter their host to get your first ‘key’ to the immune system, then play the video to find out more.

KS3 SS27

The Great Immune Escape

Age recommendation: 11+ Estimated duration: 45+ minutes This is a workshop, so assemble the necessary materials and prepare to get hands-on.

Activity 2 Hide! Now you are inside your host, pathogens try to hide from the immune system to be able to replicate and survive. Uncover all the ways that your pathogen hides from your immune system to earn your second ‘key’, then play the video to find out more.

Combine science with adventure as you travel to the centre of the body’s immune response with Hannah Baer and UK FameLab alumna Hannah Bialic. Taking on the roles of viruses and bacteria, work in teams to solve puzzles and evade our human natural defences so you and your microbial friends can grow and multiply. Keep your eyes open throughout the journey and collect keys to unlock the full picture of the body’s complex and amazing immune system. @boldlygoing2 @hun95

Activity 3 Evade! Can you spot all the differences between the images of your pathogen? Reveal the different ways your pathogen evades the immune response to earn your third and final ‘key’, then play the video to find out more.

You’ll need • Virus, Bacterium and/or Pathogen activities on pages 24, 25 and 26, cut along the dotted lines • Immune system ‘keys’ on page 27, cut along the dotted lines

Teacher’s Notes Depending on what pathogen each student chooses, distribute the first activity from the appropriate sheet on page 24, 25 and 26. When they have completed the activity, give them the relevant ‘key’ to the immune system on page 27 before playing the next section of the video. Then distribute the second activity from the appropriate sheet and so on. To give this an ‘escape room’ feel, you may wish to give a time limit for each activity, or ask them to time themselves doing each activity, add it up and give a prize to the quickest escaper! Extra challenges could involve giving the definitions of each word in Activity 2, labelling the diagrams in Activity 3, or completing the activities for the other pathogens.

Search for DZ61 in the Digital Discover Zone for more escape room-style activities

Search for DZ01 and DZ03 in the Digital Discover Zone to meet people working in healthcare

#CheltSciFest

AGES 14+

LOOK OUT FOR Our Festival theme ‘Be The Change’ will be explored by campaigner Gina Martin and a panel of young activists who lobby for change on a range of issues across sustainability, fashion and lifestyle, health and wellbeing, and education and disability rights. Your students may also enjoy some of the events below which illustrate how this generation is taking the lead when it comes to tackling the biggest issues of our time. In-person tickets are available to buy, with events streamed live online for free and on demand via subscription. See cheltenhamfestivals.com/science for more information.

SS20

Everyday Plastic: The Impact

Age recommendation: 11+ Estimated duration: 15 minutes To be revealed during the Science Festival This is a show so tune in and enjoy. We partnered with Everyday Plastic to launch a pilot survey of plastic waste. This was a first-of-its-kind campaign that offered school pupils the chance to get to grips with the global plastic problem through their own consumption. Find out the impact of this citizen science project! Founder of Everyday Plastic, Daniel Webb, will reveal the analysis of the collective data of hundreds of school pupils, and show that quick, simple and cheap changes taken together can make an enormous difference. @PlasticEveryday

S037

We Make Tomorrow

Age recommendation: 14+ Saturday 12 June, 3:30-4:25pm Cheltenham Town Hall, £8* plus booking fee (and live-streamed for free and available on-demand via the CheltSciFest Player) ‘We are the change, and change is coming whether you like it or not.’ The famous photograph of schoolgirl Greta Thunberg outside Parliament in her first ever climate strike resonated with millions around the world. Since then, the power of youth to enact change has become an unstoppable force. Our collective of Young Activists, Daze Aghaji, Tolmeia Gregory, Bella Lack, Alex Staniforth, Joycelyn Longdon and Dara McAnulty talk to campaigner and author Gina Martin about their inspiring work raising awareness in everything from sustainability to mental health, and to explore why this generation is taking the lead when it comes to tackling the biggest issues of our time.

#CheltSciFest

AGES 14+

S043

Fashion: Let’s Start the Revolution

S051

Age recommendation: 14+ Saturday 12 June, 8-8:55pm Cheltenham Town Hall, £8* plus booking fee (and live-streamed for free and available on-demand via the CheltSciFest Player)

Age recommendation: 14+ Sunday 13 June, 4-4:55pm Apollo Free event, ticket required

I Stand For What I Stand On

In this intimate performance from Gloucester Youth Community Action and Strike A Light, Gloucester’s young activists join forces with director and writer Anna Himali to explore the crisis gripping our planet. Combining music from ABBA with the hard-hitting reality of climate change and covid-19, this innovative and rapidly evolving show will leave you feeling inspired. Meet the performers in the Marquee Garden Bar after the performance for our Meet the Activists takeover.

Staying on trend comes at a cost, but not just for our wallets. Fashion is a huge part of self-expression and identify, but do we think enough about the impact fast fashion has on our environment? Mark Miodovnik is joined by fashion experts and climate activists Aja Barber, climate justice activist and illustrator Tolmeia Gregory and writer Lauren Bravo to discuss how we can be more mindful when it comes to choosing what we wear. Inspired by the global movement, the panel will explore the challenges, complexities and opportunities when it comes to sourcing sustainable and ethical fashion, and how we can be more conscious consumers.

S053

Meet the Activists Age recommendation: 14+ Sunday 13 June, 5-7pm Imperial Gardens Free event, ticket required

S048

Gina Martin: Be The Change

How can you be the change? In this informal, drop-in session chat to other audience members and meet Guest Curator Gina Martin, our collective of Science Festival young activists and members of Gloucester Youth Community Action. Sharing their personal stories and offering practical tips and advice on how to campaign for the causes you really care about, our activists will empower you to make a difference – whether in your school, your community, or on a global scale.

Age recommendation: 14+ Sunday 13 June, 12:30-1:25pm Cheltenham Town Hall, £8* plus booking fee (and live-streamed for free and available on-demand via the CheltSciFest Player) Gina Martin’s successful campaign to change the law on upskirting has transformed the lives of hundreds of women and girls and made the country a safer place to live since coming into force. The law change has also had implications around the world as others campaigning for international women’s rights have followed in her footsteps, lobbying for change in their own countries. We speak to our Guest Curator about her activism and work so far, what she has planned for the future, and to consider the importance of speaking up for the causes we care about.

Search for DZ02, DZ04 and DZ08 in the Digital Discover Zone to meet people working in environmental jobs 13

#CheltSciFest

SCIENCE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME Your older students may also enjoy some of the events below. In-person tickets are available to buy, with some events streamed live online for free and on demand via subscription. See cheltenhamfestivals.com/science for the full programme, more information and tickets.

S002

Engineered to Win Age recommendation: 16+ Thursday 10 June, 10-10:55am Apollo £7* plus booking fee

As innovation pushes human performance to new limits, winning margins are getting smaller and smaller; athletes train in extreme conditions and state-of-the-art sports equipment is designed to take fractions of a second off finishing times. Performance Consultant Steve Ingham and sports engineer David James discuss with Julia Wheeler how engineering principles can be applied to peaking for sporting success. But does this give an unfair advantage to the competitor, or is it all just part of the competition?

S031

Level Up: The Power Of Gaming

S036

Explaining Humans

Age recommendation: 16+ Friday 11 June, 8-8:55pm Cheltenham Town Hall, £8* plus booking fee (and live-streamed for free and available on-demand via the CheltSciFest Player)

Age recommendation: 16+ Saturday 12 June, 2-2:55pm Cheltenham Town Hall, £8* plus booking fee (and live-streamed for free and available on-demand via the CheltSciFest Player)

If you needed another reason to love video games, recent studies show that gaming is good for our learning and social skills and can even benefit our health too. While video games have often earned a bad rap around addiction and violence, positive steps are being made to create a more diverse and inclusive gaming world. Shay Thompson sits down with Alysia Judge, Corey Brotherson and Chella Ramanan to talk about the exciting future of this evolving and influential industry.

How do we recognise people’s motivations, their behaviour, or even their facial expressions? And when do we learn the social cues that dictate human behaviour? Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of eight, Guest Curator and scientist Camilla Pang struggled to understand the world around her and the way people worked. Unable to find an instruction manual for humans that she could consult, Camilla began to create her own. She talks to Claudia Hammond about her Royal Society Prizewinning book Explaining Humans, her passion for science, and her unique perspective on what it really means to be human.

#CheltSciFest

SF11

Diary Of A Young Naturalist

Age recommendation: 11+ and all the family Sunday 13 June, 2-2:25pm Apollo Free event, ticket required A chance to hear two of our Young Activists in conversation. Daze Aghaji talks to 2020 Wainwright Prize winner Dara McAnulty about his book Diary of a Young Naturalist. This is an evocative and powerfully-written book which explores the natural world from the perspective of an autistic teenager juggling homework, exams and friendships alongside his life as a conservationist and environmental activist.

S050

How To Spend A Trillion Dollars

Age recommendation: 16+ Sunday 13 June, 3:30-4:25pm Cheltenham Town Hall, £9* plus booking fee (and live-streamed for free and available on-demand via the CheltSciFest Player) Happy days – you’ve just been handed a trillion dollars. What are you going to spend it on? Clean energy? A cure for cancer? A human settlement on Mars or refreezing the Arctic? Join How To Spend A Trillion Dollars author Rowan Hooper and host Ashley Kent as they explore what could be achieved with this incredible sum before putting the power in your hands. Vote for the option you think will best benefit the world and the advancement of science... spend it wisely.

S061

Bupa Foundation Head Talks: Taking Care Of Your Mind Age recommendation: 14+ Thursday 10 June, 12:15-12:25pm Available online

Grab a cup of tea and tune in to hear from our experts as they chat tips for reducing stress, managing anxiety and the importance of taking the time to look after both your body and your mind.

#CheltSciFest

S062

Bupa Foundation Head Talks: Let’s Talk Mental Health Age recommendation: 14+ Friday 11 June, 12:15-12:25pm Available online

We all know it’s good to talk, but this can be easier said than done when you’re struggling with your mental health. Tune in on your tea break as we discuss practical advice for listening to and supporting someone who is going through a hard time, spotting the warning signs that something isn’t right, and how to reach out if you’re suffering with your own mental wellbeing.

S064

Bupa Foundation Head Talks: Let’s Get Creative Age recommendation: 14+ Sunday 13 June, 12:15-12:25pm Available online

S063

Bupa Foundation Head Talks: Positive Thinking Tool Kit

Did you know that being creative can boost our mood, reduce stress, and help us feel more confident about ourselves? Take ten minutes and join our experts to hear why creativity helps improve our mental health, as they offer top tips on how to add a sprinkle of creativity into your daily routine. As well as getting your creative juices flowing and inspiring you to pick up your pens and paint brushes, we’ll hear about Cheltenham Festivals’ Beyond Words programme, which aims to improve mental wellbeing through creative writing.

Age recommendation: 14+ Saturday 12 June, 12:15-12:25pm Available online When times are tough it can be difficult to see the positives, which can put our minds under a lot of pressure. Tune in as we explore the power of positive thinking. Offering a toolkit for overcoming difficult or stressful situations and tips and advice for where to find the right support, this conversation will give you the confidence to take care of your mental health whether at school, work, or at home.

DigitAl DISCOVER ZONE Go to science.cheltenhamfestivals.online and click on Digital Discover Zone for lots of activities from our festival partners. You may wish to do these in lessons as a class, or let your pupils delve in and choose something they are interested in. All activities can be filtered by age suitability and subject. Like all the schools events, the Digital Discover Zone will be available here from 13 May until 14 September 2021.

Agent Y: DZ37 Break The Codes! Age recommendation: 11+ Practice your spying skills… use the silk code book that has been sewn into the lining of your jacket to decode secret messages from GCHQ.

From Sand DZ39 To Silicon: The Making Of A Microchip Age recommendation: 11+ What’s the secret behind some of our favourite electronic devices? Learn all about the tiny silicon chips that power the world.

Citizen DZ33 Science: Counting Rare Fish Age recommendation: 11+ Help count shad and become a citizen science hero! Monitor the migration of these endangered fish along the River Severn and contribute to cutting edge conservation research. Can you get onto the leaderboard?

Get Innovative

Age recommendation: 11+ Take a journey into the mechanics behind computer chips with Intel. Find out what chips are, why they are important and how they are made.

DZ32

Age recommendation: 11+ How can we live a more sustainable life? Explore different ways to use everyday items through fun and interactive activities, including a ‘Crack and Code’ cryptography exercise.

How Intel DZ40 Makes Chips: From Concept To Customer

All About DZ43 Landing Gears Age recommendation: 11+ A strut isn’t just meant for the catwalk – discover what all the parts on an aeroplane landing do to make sure you land safely on holiday.

DigitAl DISCOVER ZONE Build Your Own Wind Tunnel iDEA badges

DZ41

Age recommendation: 11+ Sign up your class to complete badges with iDEA to get points and skills. Encourage some healthy competition and track their progress as they learn about AI in 4 different badges: All About AI: AI is a broad area of computer science that makes machines seem like they have human intelligence, but humans are the most intelligent creatures that we know…Find out what makes AI both exciting and concerning. Problem solving with AI: You could use AI to solve problems and make a positive impact within your community, city, country and the world. In this badge, explore ways to identify problems that could be solved with AI, and learn about how AI was used to solve the Kimchi Crisis in Korea! Maths Tools for AI: Have you ever wondered what enables robots to think like humans or how cars can drive themselves without human assistance? It’s not magic, it’s mathematics! Learn why maths is important for understanding AI and discover some of the basic maths tools used. AI Project Cycle: AI has great potential to transform society and you (yes, you!) can create an AI project of your own, but how do you get started? Learn about the 6 stages of the AI Project Cycle and discover techniques to acquire and visualise data.

DZ44

A Plane Idea

DZ46

Age recommendation: 11+

Ever wondered how a plane stays in the air? Build your very own wind tunnel and learn about the principles of aerodynamics.

You’re an engineer working for an environmental research company. You have been tasked with researching, designing and manufacturing a prototype glider. Are you ready for the challenge?

Touchdown! Landing Gear Quiz

DZ45

Age recommendation: 11+ Learn about the landing gears of a plane, then put your knowledge to the test!

Dancing DZ47 Quantum Magic Age recommendation: 11+ Can dancing help us understand quantum physics? Be part of this exciting experiment along with researchers from the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leeds. Learn one or all of the dances, hit record and send us your clips to feature in a short film and help answer key research questions. Produced by Compass Presents

DigitAl DISCOVER ZONE Crack The Code

DZ61

Age recommendation: 11+ Use the clues to guess the 3-digit key and unlock the padlock. Good luck!

Reach For The Sky

Recycling DZ51 Scavenger Hunt

Age recommendation: 14+

Age recommendation: 11+ Lots of different materials are used in packaging, but is it all recyclable? Take part in Discover Material’s Recycling Scavenger Hunt to explore the packaging around your home and find out how much of it is recyclable.

DZ42

DZ35 and DZ36

Apprenticeships: Myths And Reality Age recommendation: 14+

Ever wondered what’s involved in an apprenticeship? Meet the biggest generator of zero carbon electricity and get your questions answered as EDF debunk the 5 most common myths.

Uncover the hidden secrets behind a Safran-powered aircraft – we promise you’ll never look at an airplane the same way again!

The DZ64 Bletchley Girls Age recommendation: 11+ Based on a true story, Jenny Wren Productions presents a new play about the Second World War’s most legendary female code breakers.

Technologies DZ62 To Change Lives Age recommendation: 11+ Watch bite-size videos, download “have a go” activity packs and discover why science and new technologies will change our lives and our future for good.

Digital Escape Room

DZ63

Age recommendation: 14+ The cybercriminal LYCus is determined to cause chaos across the nation. Try and stop him in this series of puzzles and see if you have what it takes to join the Protectors.

Cyber DZ48 Forensics Quiz Age recommendation: 14+ Have you heard of cyber forensics? Test your digital cyber forensics knowledge with an interactive quiz from the University of Gloucestershire.

#CheltSciFest

SO YOU WANT TO BE A…? We have curated a series of short videos introducing the talented minds working in science, engineering and maths. Get an insight into what they all do and how they got there by selecting the ‘Careers’ filter at the top of the Digital Discover Zone page. (These may support you to achieve Gatsby Benchmarks 4-7.) You could play one or two at the end of a lesson and discuss them with your students, choose specific videos associated with your lessons, or invite your students to explore the page themselves and follow the suggested links for more information. If your students are feeling adventurous, close your eyes and pick at random – who knows where it might lead!

DZ01

Meet Aimee Aimee shares her role as a research scientist and inventor.

DZ03

DZ05

Lucy is a hospital doctor training in anaesthetics.

Laura is a Research Software Engineer at the Rosalind Franklin Institute working on data infrastructure.

Meet Lucy

Meet Laura

Health and wellbeing

Engineering and invention Health and wellbeing

Numbers

DZ04

Meet Pete DZ02

Meet Ellie Ellie is a Climate Adaptation Service Specialist, working with a sustainability charity which supports organisations adapting to climate change. Our planet

Pete is a Waterways Environment Apprentice at the Unlocking the Severn Project with the Canal and River Trust.

DZ06

Meet Neville Neville is a Research Software Engineer at the Rosalind Franklin Institute.

Our planet Nature and wildlife Engineering and invention

Tech, cyber and AI

#CheltSciFest

SO YOU WANT TO BE A…?

DZ09 DZ07

Meet Wei Wei is the Education Vertical General Manager in Intel’s Internet of Things Group.

Meet Talea Talea is an assistant manager at Hub8, a collaborative workspace for the cyber and tech community in Cheltenham.

DZ11

Meet Lucy Lucy shares her journey to becoming a Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography at the University of Gloucestershire.

Tech, cyber and AI Our planet Tech, cyber and AI

DZ12

Meet Holli

DZ08

DZ10

Meet Rae

Meet Adam

Rae shares her journey to working at Lush Cosmetics as the Earthcare Retail Lead.

Adam is a biologist and Professor of Science Communication at the University of Gloucestershire.

Holli is a Mechanical and Explosives Engineer working in defence, who shares her experiences volunteering in disaster response teams and researching humanitarian engineering projects.

Nature and wildlife

Engineering and invention

Our planet Nature and wildlife

#CheltSciFest

SO YOU WANT TO BE A…?

DZ13

DZ15

Chris is a Senior Project Manager at Mullard Space Science Laboratory (aka a rocket scientist).

Benedetta is a DeepMind Scholar, and explains her path into studying maths and beyond.

Meet Chris

Meet Benedetta DZ18

Meet GCHQ GCHQ share one employees’ entry into a career with them.

The universe Engineering and invention

DZ14

Meet Shaquille Shaquille is a DeepMind Scholar, and explains his path into studying computer science and beyond.

Tech, cyber and AI Health and wellbeing

Numbers Tech, cyber and AI

Tech, cyber and AI

DZ16 DZ17

Meet EDF Apprentices EDF apprentices explain why they chose their apprenticeships at Torness power station.

Engineering and invention

DZ19

Meet Rebecca Rebecca explains what she loves about her job as a Project Manager at Spirax Sarco.

Engineering and invention

#CheltSciFest

SO YOU WANT TO BE A…?

DZ22 DZ23

DZ20

Meet Anchal Anchal shares her inspiration and drive to becoming a Manufacturing Engineer at Dowty Propellers, where she creates and improves propellers for aircrafts.

Meet Safran Gloucester Apprentices Safran Gloucester Apprentices show you what it’s like working in landing and braking systems for aircrafts.

DZ25

Meet Jake Jake explains his journey to becoming an Associate Production Manager at Kohler Mira.

Engineering and invention Engineering and invention Engineering and invention

DZ26 DZ21

Meet Isobel Isobel shares how she became a Software Developer at CGI.

Engineering and invention Tech, cyber and AI

Meet BT Apprentices

DZ24

Meet Daisy Daisy is an Engineering Apprentice at Kohler Mira.

Engineering and invention

BT apprentices working in a range of roles explain why they chose their apprenticeships.

Tech, cyber and AI

THE GREAT IMMUNE ESCAPE: BACTERIUM Activity 1: Sneak In! Unscramble the different ways you can sneak into your host.

1. ESEY 2. SLAAVI 3. OPPO 4. SNIK 5. TMHOU Activity 2: Hide! Uncover all the ways that bacteria hide from the immune system.

Sugar coat Phagocytosis Lipid T cell Unicellular Lymphocyte Cytokine Gram positive Gram negative Inflammation Activity 3: Evade! Spot how bacteria evade the immune response.

THE GREAT IMMUNE ESCAPE: VIRUS Activity 1: Sneak In! Unscramble the different ways you can sneak into your host.

1. ESEY 2. SLAAVI 3. OPPO 4. SNIK 5. TMHOU Activity 2: Hide! Uncover all the ways that bacteria hide from the immune system.

Epitope Inflammation Endocytosis Antigen Lytic cycle Viral coat Capsid Lysogenic cycle T cell

Activity 3: Evade! Spot how viruses evade the immune response.

THE GREAT IMMUNE ESCAPE: PARASITE Activity 1: Sneak In! Unscramble the different ways you can sneak into your host.

1. ESEY 2. SLAAVI 3. OPPO 4. SNIK 5. TMHOU Activity 2: Hide! Uncover all the ways that bacteria hide from the immune system.

Peptides Tissue Multicellular Epitope T cell Phagocytosis Macrophage Cytokine Inflammation Antigen Activity 3: Evade! Spot how parasites evade the immune response.

THE GREAT IMMUNE ESCAPE: KEYS You have unlocked your first key – IgM! IgM are commonly the first antibody that are produced when your immune system realises that something is wrong. Antibodies are molecules that circulate your body and stick to foreign material (like your pathogens) and tag them for destruction by immune cells. With your IgM key unlocked you have successfully snuck past the first stage of the immune response!

You have unlocked your second key – IgG!

IgG are the most common antibody (75%!) found in the human body and are responsible for defending against bacterial and viral infections. With your IgG key unlocked you have successfully hidden from 75% of the immune response as a very successful pathogen!

You have unlocked your third key – IgE!

IgE is another line of defence against parasitic, bacterial and viral infections if IgM and IgG don’t do their job! With your IgE key you have successfully evaded the immune response and have completed the Great Immune Escape!

SPACE SHUTTLE RE-ENTRY WORKSHEET Match the word to the definition

Hardness

The ability of a material to change form – particularly into a wire – without breaking

Shininess

Rate at which heat passes through a material

Ductility

The ability of a material to be pressed into a sheet without breaking

Malleability

How resistant a material is to permanent shape change when a force is applied

Thermal Conductivity

Rate at which electricity passes through a material

Electrical Conductivity

A material that is reflective of light

MAKE A BRAIN HAT

#CheltSciFest

YEAR-ROUND OPPORTUNITIES AT CHELTENHAM FESTIVALS As well as budding scientists, we inspire future readers, writers, musicians and music-lovers throughout the year. Look out for:

Concert for Schools No need to travel! This year’s concert, presented by the brilliant YolanDa Brown, will bring an exhilarating, inspirational and engaging experience of music right into classrooms all over the country. (Years 7, 8) Supported by

In partnership with

The Reed Foundation

Literature for Schools Join us at The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival for a full schools’ programme of author and illustrator events from 8 – 15 October 2021, including our first ever Reading Teachers = Reading Pupils Conference. Then hold your own festival event in school from October – December with our digital pack of pre-recorded and live filmed events.

Reading Teachers = Reading Pupils A network of book groups for key stage 2 and key stage 3 teachers which provides the ideas and inspiration to ignite children’s reading for pleasure. Booking opens in June for groups across the country.

Words That Burn A national human rights poetry project developed in partnership with Amnesty International which enables young people to discover that their words really do make a difference.

Beyond Words The creative writing programme for young people in Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service which gives young people a voice at a challenging time in their lives.

Write Now A unique talent development programme for 16-19 year olds that aims to nurture young people’s creative writing abilities through mentoring and performance opportunities. Students can apply from June to take part in 2021-22.

FameLab Academy A science communication competition for year 9 students which raises awareness of STEM in our everyday lives, broadens the perception of STEM careers, builds confidence and improves communication skills.

For further information on our programmes, visit www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/education/ or contact education@cheltenhamfestivals.com Charity No. 251765