Science Alive 2015 – ‘Chemistry - Why does it matter?’

Thursday 12 February 2015

The British Council’s Science Alive 2015 – ‘Chemistry - Why does it matter?’
Date: 7-20 March 2015
Venue: Hong Kong Science Museum

2014 was the International Year of Crystallography, an interesting branch of chemistry. To celebrate a century of amazing chemistry-related discoveries, the British Council is organising the annual Science Alive programme under the theme ‘Chemistry - Why does it matter?’. This year, leading UK science academics and communicators are invited to educate the public in an easy way to understand how their lives are affected and can be improved by Chemistry.

Science Alive is jointly organised by the British Council, the Hong Kong Science Museum, the Education Bureau (EDB) and the Hong Kong Education City Limited, and sponsored by The Croucher Foundation, as one of the most significant activities in HK SciFest 2015. Chemistry, as the theme of Science Alive 2015, is the study of the basic characteristics of matter and the different ways in which they react or combine with other matter and energy. Through various activities, the public can discover that chemistry is all around and learn more about the molecular structures of things that can or cannot be seen. The programme includes a series of activities which allow participants to interact with UK science communicators. It is definitely an educational and fun event which should not be missed!

Science Alive 2015 Events Highlight

Family days with drop-in activities: UK science communicators from the Bristol ChemLabS of School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, and Outreach team of Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, will conduct various drop-in activities for children to learn science through games.
Science Drama Shows: Outreach team of London Science Museum and UK Social Enterprise ‘Science Made Simple’ will encourage Hong Kong students to make science relevant to their lives through dramas ‘Material World’ and ‘It’s Only Water ……or is it?’.
Family Workshops: Paternity scientific workshops – ‘Make Your Own Fizzy Bath Bomb’ and ‘It’s Only Water……or is it?’ will explore science with the audiences in an interactive way.
FameLab Hong Kong Grand Final: The FameLab competition is being held for the sixth year, aiming at finding the most talented science communicators in Hong Kong. The winner will be representing Hong Kong to join the UK international final contest.
Science Interactive Lectures: (1) Limited elements, unlimited materials by Dr Samantha Tang from the University of Nottingham; (2) Click your fingers by Dr Annela Seddon from the University of Bristol; (3) Indestructible Energy by Jamie Gallagher from the University of Glasgow.
Student workshops: Students can study the school related science curriculum by using everyday materials through experiments in the workshops.
Teacher development workshops: How to arouse students’ curiosity? Specialists from UK London Science Museum will showcase the effective teaching tools with creative approaches to explore science.
School tour science drama shows: Outreach team of London Science Museum will start the school tour by a science drama show ‘Material World’ in Hong Kong

Speakers and facilitators from the UK

Dr Samantha Tang – Appointed in 2004 as Public Awareness Scientist (PASc) by the University of Nottingham, she is one of the science communicators in the Periodic Table Series Video of the University, which adopted an easy way to introduce the elements’ characteristic and application.
Dr Annela Seddon – Engaged in the study of the popular nano technology, and its relationship with Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Engineering, with a view to solve problems affecting all mankind.
Jamie Gallagher – A scientist, engineer, science communicator, salsa teacher and part time comic. He is also a previous ‘Famelabber’, winner of the international 3-minute thesis competition and named as one of 100 leading UK scientists by the Science Council in the UK.
Science Made Simple – A social enterprise in the UK with a passion for science and all things associated with it. It aims to share their enthusiasm by offering a selection of inspirational and educational experiences that are tailor-made for schools, festivals, adult audiences and the public.

Free Admission. For more information, please visit http://www.britishcouncil.hk/en/programmes/education/science/science-alive

Notes to Editor

About Science Alive

First launched in Hong Kong in 1991, Science Alive is the British Council’s annual science education programme that invites leading UK science academics and communicators to present interactive lectures and workshops to students and teachers in Hong Kong, aiming to promote fun and easy ways to learn science. For more information, visit http://www.britishcouncil.hk/en/programmes/education/science/science-alive

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide.

We work in more than 100 countries and our 8,000 staff – including 2,000 teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the arts and delivering education and society programmes. In Hong Kong, we have been doing this since 1948, giving people opportunities to learn, share and connect worldwide.

We are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter. A core publicly-funded grant provides 20 per cent of our turnover which last year was £864 million. The rest of our revenues are earned from services which customers around the world pay for, such as English classes and taking UK examinations, and also through education and development contracts and from partnerships with public and private organisations. All our work is in pursuit of our charitable purpose and supports prosperity and security for the UK and globally.

For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through http://blog.britishcouncil.org/. To learn more about British Council in Hong Kong, please visit www.britishcouncil.hk and www.facebook.com/BritishCouncilHK.