The Scottish Science and Technology Roadshow (SCI-FUN), is a non-profit science roadshow for schools run by the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. The organisation states its aim as 'increasing enjoyment of and participation in science and technology-based subjects in Scottish schools' and operates mainly at

Standard Grade Standard Grades were Scotland's educational qualifications for students aged around 14 to 16 years. Introduced in 1986, the Grades were replaced in 2013 with the Scottish Qualifications Authority's National exams in a major shake-up of Scotland's ...

level. It operates a travelling roadshow which visits schools in Scotland and the north of England, and organises special events such as at the

Edinburgh International Science Festival Edinburgh Science, founded in 1989, is an educational charity. It organises a two-week Edinburgh's annual Science Festival, the world's first public celebration of science and technology, and still one of Europe's largest. Alongside the annu ...

. Its mode of operation as a travelling roadshow enables SCI-FUN to provide a

science centre A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...

experience to pupils in remote areas of Scotland, such as the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...

SCI-FUN Roadshow

The SCI-FUN Roadshow tours secondary schools around Scotland offering a combination of presentations and hands-on exhibits encompassing scientific subjects in the fields of

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

maths Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, theories and theorems that are developed and proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many areas of mathematics, which include num ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

and

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

. The Roadshow is presented to S1 and S2 pupils ( 11-14 years old) with assistance from senior pupils studying sciences at Higher or

Advanced Higher The Advanced Higher (Scottish Gaelic: ''Sàr Àrd Ìre'') is an optional qualification which forms part of the Scottish secondary education system brought in to replace the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS). The first certification of Advan ...

level. The 2010/11 Roadshow includes presentations focusing on the

senses A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the surroundings through the detection of stimuli. Although, in some cultures, five human senses were traditionally identified as su ...

and research, along with a talk encouraging pupils to consider the study of science subjects at

. Current research at the

is also covered in collaboration with FUSION; information on research in

stem cells In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...

, the

Large Hadron Collider The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It was built by the CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008, in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists, ...

, the

Highland midge The highland midge (scientific name: ''Culicoides impunctatus''; ; ) is a species of biting midge found across the Palearctic (throughout Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, other regions of Northern Europe, Russia and Northern China) in upland and l ...

and

Carbon Capture and Storage Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a process by which carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial installations is separated before it is released into the atmosphere, then transported to a long-term storage location.IPCC, 2021Annex VII: Glossary at ...

technology is currently included. In previous years, talks have discussed

Climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, the chemistry of the stars and

survival Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...

. There are around forty-five hands-on exhibits included in the Roadshow to allow pupils to have a go at a number of scientific experiments in a short time.

SCI-FUN Primer

SCI-FUN Primer states its aims as 'explaining to upper primary school children that science is something that is all around them' and is aimed at primary school pupils P6 and P7 (age 9–12). SCI-FUN Primer is based on the hands-on part of the main SCI-FUN Roadshow programme, with activities scaled down so it fits within a classroom environment. This may be hosted by an associated secondary school.

SCI-FUN at Science Festivals

Edinburgh International Science Festival

SCI-FUN have a presence at the

which is held every year in Edinburgh over the Easter holidays. Elements of the SCI-FUN Roadshow are incorporated into the Science Festival programme, including exhibits and presentations. In 2011, as previous years, SCI-FUN was at Adam House on

Chambers Street Chambers Street may refer to: Streets * Chambers Street, Edinburgh, Scotland * Chambers Street (Manhattan), New York City, U.S. * Chamber Street, once known as Chambers Street, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England New York City Subway station ...

. They also presented their Senses show for the general public.

Hebridean Science Festival 2011

SCI-FUN took part in the Hebridean Science Festival in 2011. The festival is run by ESTEEM (Engineering, Science, Technology, Employability, Enterprise, Mathematics), which is based in Stornaway and aims to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians from the Western Isles. SCI-FUN ran their usual Roadshow for Hebridean schools, as well as hosting an evening session and a drop-in session for the general public. Other guests at the Hebridean Science Festival include the Astronomer Royal for Scotland Professor John C Brown,

Johnny Ball Graham Thalben Ball; professionally known as Johnny Ball (born 23 May 1938), is an English television personality, children's television presenter, writer and a populariser of mathematics. Ball regularly appeared on British television, predom ...

, the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, the

Institution of Engineering and Technology The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is a multidisciplinary professional engineering institution. The IET was formed in 2006 from two separate institutions: the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), dating back to 1871,Engin ...

, Mr Boom and the Stornoway Astronomical Society.

Other Science Festivals

SCI-FUN has previous attended other Science Festivals around Scotland, including in Shetland and Orkney, and plan to attend more.

FUSION

FUSION ''(Focusing on University Science Interpretation and Outreach Needs)'' is the sister group of SCI-FUN that collaborates with research groups within the university to find ways to promote their science to a wider audience. FUSION projects also lead to new topical science materials and exhibits, some of which have already been incorporated within the SCI-FUN Roadshow.

CCS Interactive

A major project of FUSION has been to produce the CCS Interactive (Carbon Capture and Storage Interactive) exhibit, with funding from the

EPSRC The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a British Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical sciences, mainly to univers ...

. The CCS Interactive is a working model of

and has been developed alongside the Schools of Engineering and GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh. The CCS Interactive can be used to demonstrate the process of Carbon Capture and Storage to school and public audiences. The CCS Interactive consists of a model of a

fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...

burning

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

with CO₂ being introduced into the system using a gas cylinder. There are two carbon capture columns, filled with high surface area

zeolites Zeolites are a group of several Microporous material, microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorption, adsorbents and Catalysis, catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the ge ...

which CO₂ adsorbs to. Directions of gas flow and CO₂ content of gas emissions are indicated using LEDs, and water vapour is used to simulate the gas emissions from the power station.

History of SCI-FUN

SCI-FUN started out as ''FUNdamental Physics'' in the early 1990s. This was a small scale, volunteer-run show focusing on talks about the physical sciences. This was expanded and in 1999 became SCI-FUN in its current form, incorporating the hands-on exhibits about all the sciences and touring the whole of Scotland. A pilot project involved the hiring of equipment from the National Science-Technology Roadshow Trust in New Zealand. The Roadshow has evolved over time, increasing collaboration with researchers at the University of Edinburgh and responding to changes in the school curriculum.

Previous SCI-FUN Projects

PP4SS

Since 2004, Alan Walker from the Department of Physics at the University of Edinburgh has led the PP4SS ''(Particle Physics for Scottish Schools)'' project, funded by the PPARC. This is a workshop activity aimed at senior secondary school pupils which has been used at school visits, university functions, the Edinburgh International Science Festival and at

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

events. The PP4SS team visited

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...

as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, along with Professor

Peter Higgs Peter Ware Higgs (29 May 1929 – 8 April 2024) was a British theoretical physicist, professor at the University of Edinburgh,Griggs, Jessica (Summer 2008The Missing Piece ''Edit'' the University of Edinburgh Alumni Magazine, p. 17 and Nobel ...

who theorised the existence of the

Higgs boson The Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the excited state, quantum excitation of the Higgs field, one of the field (physics), fields in particl ...

LERU

In 2005 and 2006, SCI-FUN organised and ran the University of Edinburgh's part of the Europe-wide

LERU The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is a consortium of European research universities. History and overview The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is an association of research-intensive universities. Founded in 20 ...

Kids' University programme. This programme aimed to allow secondary school pupils to experience the university environment at an early stage.

Work experience placements

Previously, SCI-FUN has taken on S5 and S6 pupils for work experience placements. One week work experience places were offered to pupils to either travel out to schools with the Roadshow, or to work in the office developing exhibits or shows. In the past, pupils have also been offered a chance to apply for a bursary from the

Nuffield Foundation The Nuffield Foundation is a charitable trust established in 1943 by William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the founder of Morris Motors Ltd. It aims to improve social well-being by funding research and innovation projects in education and social pol ...

for a six-week placement to work on exhibits for PP4SS.

References

{{reflist, 2 University of Edinburgh Science and technology in Scotland Education in Scotland Science museums in Scotland Non-profit organisations based in Scotland Science and technology in Edinburgh

SCI-FUN Roadshow

SCI-FUN Primer

SCI-FUN at Science Festivals

Edinburgh International Science Festival

Hebridean Science Festival 2011

Other Science Festivals

FUSION

CCS Interactive

History of SCI-FUN

Previous SCI-FUN Projects

PP4SS

LERU

Work experience placements

See also

References