Next Friday, 12 March, sees the start of National Science and Engineering Week (12-21 March), bringing you ten days of inspiring activities, debates and discoveries with heaps of events for parents and children to get involved with.
This year the theme is ‘Earth’, to complement the International Year of Biodiversity, and includes everything from the Earth’s amazing wildlife and people to its place in the Universe and how it works.
This year also sees the launch of The What on Earth Project…
How often do you really look around your garden or local park? Get your kids rediscovering their surroundings and open their eyes to the huge variety of different plant and animal species on your doorstep. The project aims to get people mapping and learning about local plant and animal species in the UK.
To get involved, help your children (adults can take part too!) to take photos in your garden/local park/ hedgerow of the wildlife you don’t recognise. Then simply upload it to the What on Earth? website for identification. NSEW want to map the range of species found by the public across the UK, highlighting the most unusual species that are found. Taking part is simple and easy, to find out more visit www.whatonearth.org.uk
Everyone who takes part will be sent a free packet of biodiversity-friendly seeds (subject to availability) and a Biodiversity Information and Activity Pack. The project is only running until the end of March, so get snapping!
The National Science and Engineering Week website at www.nsew.org.uk also has a whole host of freely downloadable resources including this year’s ‘What on Earth’ activity pack, ‘Rockin’ Crystal’s’ pack and 2010 online quiz. You can also search the events database to see what’s on for families in your area, so visit now to plan ahead for next week.
Tags: national science and engineering week, science for kids, what on earth
