The University of Kent School of Physical Sciences are pleased to offer the following exciting outreach activities:
Mobile Planetarium
Schools can book 45 minute shows led by experienced presenters which include short films created by NSC Creative – ‘We are Astronomers’, and ‘We are Aliens’, and tours through the visible night sky using the software Stellarium. (Stellarium is a free piece of software available to download at http://www.stellarium.org/en_GB/).
Other activities on offer with the Planetarium include:
KS3: The Sum, the Solar System and Artificial Satellites
GCSE: Stellar life cycle, Doppler Effect, Black Holes
A-Level: Stellar life cycle, Galaxies, Cosmology, the Universe
The planetarium requires 8m x 8m floor space and 3.7m ceiling clearance and its maximum capacity is 35 people at any point including students and teachers. However due to the time required to transport and inflate the dome, the sessions can only be booked for a minimum of 90 students, i.e. 3 shows. Physical Sciences can offer a maximum of 6 shows per day and teachers facilitating these events are asked to timetable short breaks between shows.
Cool Science
An interactive Liquid Nitrogen show that includes information on extreme cold and living tissue, the liquid to gas expansion, and material properties at low-temperature. It is suitable for students in Years 7 – 9 and there are plenty of opportunities for members of the audience to participate.
It is recommended that this 45-60 minute session should engage with 30-60 students at a time but larger groups can be accommodated. Venues must be ventilated to the outside.
Ballistics
During this workshop students will shown how to measure and determine multiple aspects of bullet trajectories for different sizes of weaponry such as:
- Angle of incline
- Speed of projectile
- Projectile travel distance
The session is available from January 2018 and can be run as a 45-60 minute workshop, with a maximum capacity of 30 students. This workshop is suitable for KS5 students only.
E-Fit VI
This Forensics taster sessions is available on the University of Kent Canterbury campus only.
E-Fit is facial composite software which was developed by researchers at the University of Kent and is in standard use in the UK. Students will work in pairs to create a facial composite of a suspected criminal after watching a short video clip. The students will learn techniques in gathering witness statements and using the software.
The session lasts for 60 minutes with a maximum capacity of 30 students and is suitable for KS5 students only.
Photolithography
A practical Chemistry focused workshop where students will create semiconductors using inorganic nanotechnology techniques routinely used in the manufacturing of computer chips. Students will use photolithography – the process of using light to transfer a pattern onto a surface – to create their own printed circuit board and then apply some simple analytical processes to their product.
The session can be run as a 60-90 minute workshop, with a maximum capacity of 30 students. This workshop is suitable for KS5 students only.
Schools selecting this workshop will need to provide the equipment listed here.
Crime Scene House
The Crime Scene House is a new addition to the teaching suite at the School of Physical Sciences at the University of Kent. It allows for a more realistic experience of crime scene investigation in multiple different settings.
Details of activities to be offered and appropriate age groups are still being finalised but this resource will be available for bookings from January 2018 onwards. Please register your interest with the SPS Outreach team at science@kent.ac.uk if you would like to participate in some trial sessions.
To book all other activities, please complete the Outreach Booking Form. Available dates are shown on the calendar.
To keep up to date with all of our activities please fill in the online form or contact science@kent.ac.uk for more information.