How many schools Autumn 2010 Issue 16 and teachers do you reach – In this issue: worldwide? Car racing in the physics classroom Also: Life savers in the sky: flying doctors Advertising in Science in School · Choose between advertising in the quarterly print journal or on our website. · Website: reach 30 000 science educators worldwide – every month. · In print: target up to 15 000 European science educators every quarter, including 3000 named subscribers. · Distribute your flyers, brochures, CD-ROMs or other materials either to 3000 named subscribers or to all recipients of the print copies. For more details, see www.scienceinschool.org/advertising Published by EIROforum EIROforum: Initially supported by ISSN: 1818-0353 the European Union: Subscribe (free in Europe): www.scienceinschool.org Highlighting the best in science teaching and research sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:33 Uhr Seite 2 About Science in School Science in School promotes inspiring science teaching by encouraging communication between Editorial teachers, scientists and everyone else involved in European science education. The journal addresses science teaching both across Europe and across disciplines: highlighting the best in teaching and cutting-edge research. It covers not only biology, physics and chemistry, but also earth sciences, engineering and medicine, Welcome to the sixteenth focusing on interdisciplinary work. The contents include teaching materials; cutting-edge science; interviews with young scientists and inspiring issue of Science in School teachers; reviews of books and other resources; and European events for teachers and schools. Science in School is published quarterly, both online and in print. The website is freely available, with articles in many European languages. The English- rogress in science can be sporadic. For nearly 40 language print version is distributed Pyears, no human has visited the Moon, but interest in free of charge within Europe. lunar exploration is now growing, as Adam Baker reports Contact us Dr Eleanor Hayes / Dr Marlene Rau (page 10). If a trip to the Moon sounds daunting, why not Science in School take a deep breath and explore the deep seas instead: European Molecular Biology Laboratory Meyerhofstrasse 1 hydrothermal vents (page 14) and cold seeps (page 60)? 69117 Heidelberg The more we find out about these and other marine envi- Germany [email protected] ronments, the clearer it becomes that they are extremely Subscriptions vulnerable, as Jean-Luc Solandt explains (online). The damage that we can Register online to: cause to our oceans has become all too obvious, as specialists battle with the · Receive an email alert when each issue is published oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. With some of the activities described by Astrid · Request a free print subscription (within Europe) Kaiser (page 45), primary-school children too can investigate how best to · Swap ideas with teachers and scientists in the Science in School online forum treat oil spills. · Post comments on articles in Science in School. This and all our other articles are intended to be used by our readers – so we Submissions We welcome articles submitted by scientists, teachers were delighted to hear about a teaching unit based on our article about a and others interested in European science education. potential treatment for obesity (page 19). See the author guidelines on our website. Before they reach the market, however, all medical treatments need to be Referee panel Before publication, Science in School articles are thoroughly tested in clinical trials, as Sarah Garner and Rachel Thomas reviewed by European science teachers to check that explain (page 54). Of the many therapies tested, cancer treatments seem to they are suitable for publication. If you would like to join our panel of referees, please read the guidelines get the most headlines – but how much do we really know about this dis- on our website. ease? Over the past few years, it has become clear that genes play a signifi- Book reviewers cant role in the development and growth of many tumours. Now, with the aid If you teach science in Europe and would like to review books or other resources for Science in of some real genomic data, your students can search for mutations that can School, please read the guidelines on our website. cause cancer (page 39). Translators We offer articles online in many European languages. After someone is diagnosed with cancer, fast action is crucial – as it is for the If you would like to volunteer to translate articles into victims of accidents. Anne Weaver, a flying doctor with London’s Air your own language, please read the guidelines for translators on our website. Ambulance, knows that only too well, as she describes in our feature article (page 6). Advertising in Science in School Louis Palmer is also no stranger to speed; the organiser of the Zero Emissions Science in School is the only European journal aimed Race was the first person to tour the world in a solar car (page 50). Cars can at secondary-school science teachers across Europe and across the full spectrum of sciences. It is freely provide inspiration closer to home, too: Nick Poynter’s students learned to available online, and 15 000 full-colour printed think scientifically as they competed to build the fastest car (page 33), whereas copies are distributed each quarter. The readership of Science in School includes everyone Rudolf Ziegelbecker’s students designed an award-winning gyro-car (online). involved in European science teaching, including: As a teacher, you will have your own ideas about what works well in the · Secondary-school science teachers · Scientists classroom – so why not join our referee panel, helping us decide which arti- · Primary-school teachers cles to publish? We welcome the involvement of both primary- and second- · Teacher trainers · Science communicators. ary-school teachers in Europe; see: www.scienceinschool.org/submissions/panel Web advertisements Finally, don’t forget to visit our website and browse the online-only articles, Reach 30 000 science educators worldwide every month. the events list, and our new ‘science in the media’ section. For details of · € 200-350 per week these and many other features, see our online help page: Print advertisements Reach over 15 000 readers per issue. www.scienceinschool.org/help and remember – your feedback is important to us! · Full page: € 3150 · Half page: € 2285 · Quarter page: € 990 Eleanor Hayes · Back cover (full page): € 5000 Editor-in-Chief of Science in School Distribution [email protected] Distribute flyers, DVDs or other materials to 3000 named subscribers or to all 15 000 print recipients. www.scienceinschool.org For more information, see www.scienceinschool.org/advertising or contact [email protected] sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:33 Uhr Seite 1 Contents Editorial Welcome to the sixteenth issue of Science in School Events 2 Science on Stage: sharing teaching ideas across Europe Feature article 6 Life savers in the sky: flying doctors 6 Cutting-edge science 10 Space exploration: the return to the Moon 14 Hot stuff in the deep sea Teaching activities 19 Using cutting-edge science within the curriculum: balancing body weight 27 Microscale chemistry: experiments for schools 33 Car racing in the physics classroom 39 Can you spot a cancer mutation? 19 Project in science education 45 LeSa21: primary-school science activities Science topics 50 Solar cars: the future of road transport? 54 Evaluating a medical treatment 60 Cold seeps: marine ecosystems based on hydrocarbons 50 Additional online material Spotlight on education Sven-Olof Holmgren: science education is more complex than particle physics Teacher profile The physics of inspiration: teaching in Austria Scientist profile 54 Jean-Luc Solandt: diving into marine conservation Review Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution See: www.scienceinschool.org/2010/issue16 Events calendar: www.scienceinschool.org/events 60 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 1 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:33 Uhr Seite 2 The launch of the publication Teaching Science in Europe 3: what European teachers can learn from each other Science on Stage: sharing teaching ideas across Europe Image courtesy of Science on Stage Germany Originally, Science on Stage was the brainchild of EIROforumw1, the publisher of Science in School. Since then, the commitment of the national organisers has enabled this network of local, national and international events for How to demonstrate teachers to grow and grow. Eleanor Light and shade to Image courtesy of Science on Stage Germany Hayes reviews some of the kindergarten and pri- mary school children latest activities. – a project by Werner Stetzenbach Searching for the best teachers in Europe In April 2011, about 400 science teachers from across Europe will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, to share ideas and inspiration in a dizzying whirl of workshops, lectures and dra- matic presentations at the internation- al Science on Stage teaching festival. The search for the lucky 400 teachers is still continuing. In a series of national events, enthu- siastic and inspiring teachers are com- peting to represent their countries in Copenhagen. Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Ireland and the Slovak Republic have 2 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:33 Uhr Seite 3 Events Images courtesy of Science on Stage Germany