COMING SOON
The biggest "coming soon" item is that the SunBlock team has been awarded a further grant by PPARC to develop the site and to include much more educational material for use at Key Stages 3 and 4 (or equivalent where appropriate). When complete the site will also be made available on CDROM.
If you have any ideas on solar topics you would like to see covered in the new version, or would like to help out in testing the new science and educational resources, please
email us.
Recent happenings
Helen and Andy wrote an article on the Solar Corona in the Physics Review Magazine for Sixth Formers, March 2000.
Helen participated in MOTIVATE, a video conference scheme, which links up with groups of schools to excite the school children's interest in mathematics. The title of her session was 'The Sun and Waves'
TOO LATE YOU'VE MISSED IT!
SunBlock '99 was launched at the Edinburgh Science Festival (9-11 April 1999). Since then the web site has had quite a few page requests! Our web page request statistics are monitored as an integral part of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory SOHO/CDS web pages. Check out our latest statistics here. Team member and contributor Robert's contributed to the BBC's Hands On Science initiative.
Also, Peter Gallagher was Solar Eclipse Chasing with BBC Science Online (1999). He was on the BBC eclipse page.
AUGUST
Helen , Robert , Clare and several other SunBlock '99 contributors were in Guernsey, Channel Islands at the annual UK Solar Physics Meeting, which was of course timed to coincide with the eclipse on August 11th.
From June to September there was an eclipse display, including material from SunBlock '99, at the museum in St Peter Port, Guernsey as part of their eclipse events.
SEPTEMBER
APRIL
Peter Gallagher gave a talk Searching For Ultra-fast Coronal Oscillations: SECIS -- The Solar Eclipse Coronal Imaging System at the Astronomical Science Group of Ireland Spring Meeting, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
JUNE
From June 17-19th 1999 two of our contributors ( Clare and Daniel) gave demonstrations of the SunBlock material at the Moray Science Festival (Elgin, Scotland)
On June 28th, under the Pupil Researcher Initiative scheme, SunBlock '99 contributor Peter Gallagher gave a talk called The Magic of Solar Eclipses at the King's Hall, Belfast. He also gave an invited talk Eclipse Science: Plans for August '99 at an Astronomy Ireland amateur meeting, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland.
On 30th June,
Helen
gave a lecture on
matters solar to the
Oxford Trust.
JULY
On the 6th July, Helen gave a talk to pupils, staff and families at Wimbledon High School, London. On 17th July she gave a talk at Arnolfini, Bristol for their eclipse meeting. She also visited Coton primary school to talk to the 5 and 6 year olds....now we are really hitting our target age range! Lots of questions, keen and excited little faces.
Dave gave talks to some sixth formers at King Alfred's School, Wantage as part of their 2-day Science Event.
IN PRINT
An article by Clare about the Sun and solar research was featured in the journal Physics Education, 34, No 3 (May 1999) 108-112. A further article by SunBlock team members is also planned for the autumn.
A SunBlock-related article by Helen and Peter Young is featured in the latest PASS maths issue.
Peter Gallagher wrote an article Chasing Solar Eclipses at Queen's for the Irish Scientist 1999 Year Book.
DON'T BE SHY!
The SunBlock team is always pleased to consider requests for displays and talks
at festivals or other meetings so if
you have any requests or comments please
email us
