News Article

A range of events and activities will be taking place at Bedford Modern School to mark National Science and Engineering Week during Friday 12th and Sunday 21st March.  National Science and Engineering Week is a 10 day programme of around 3,500 events running throughout the whole of the UK celebrating science, engineering and technology.  More information can be obtained at www.nseew.org.uk

This year's theme is "Earth" in support of the International Year of Biodiversity.  BMS will be holding an open competition for students entitled, "What on Earth?"  What on Earth is a call-to-action for students to identify as many plants and animals as possible.  BMS will also be running the following events to mark National Science and Engineering Week:-

Friday 12th March - Year 7 Presentation on "Living in Space": Mr Dave Shayler, Space Historian (pictured below) gave a presentation to Year 7 students entitled "At Home in Space", covering everyday activities including eating and drinking in space.  Mr Shayler told students that some of the best jobs in the world are available through the study of science and engineering related subjects and that it would be their generation who would take society back to the Moon and also explore the planet Mars. 



"If you look after the Earth, Earth will look after you.  The only way to leave earth and visit space is by rocket and the Moon is a quarter of a million miles away. Spacecraft can go around the world in 90 minutes, meaning that this is something that can be achieved 16 times a day.  It usually takes an astronaut two hours to put on their spacesuit which contains 21 layers of protection.  By 2010, we should have achieved completion of the International Space Station and retirement of the Shuttle fleet," added Mr Shayler.  More information can be found at www.astroinfoservice.co.uk/

Friday 12th March - Years 10 - 13 Egg Drop Competition Launch :This event was organised by the Science Society and involved teams receiving materials in order to find a way of reducing the impact of an egg passenger.  The winning team will use the materials to best effect by dropping the egg on a target area and it is open to teams from Years 10 to 13.

Friday 12th March - Professor Cullen visited BMS from Cranfield University to talk to Junior School pupils about the universities' involvement in the next mission to Mars.  This talk was in relation to the Year 5 Earth and Beyond Science topic.  Professor Cullen spoke about "What is Mars Like, Possible Life on Mars and How to Detect Life on Mars" - the latter is related to on-going research into the development of the Life Marker Chip instrument that is planned for launch on the ESA ExoMars rover mission in 2018 and with the intention of detecting life on Mars.

Monday 15th March - Year 5 Competition in the Christopher Fry Hall: Year 5 pupils took part in an exciting Science Challenge set by Sixth Formers and Mr Else.

Wednesday 17th March - Chemistry Extravaganza in the Howard Hall : a series of tried and trusted experiments with several shocks and loug bangs was performed by staff from the BMS Chemistry Department.



Friday 19th March - Egg Drop Finale in the D.T. suite