STEM Launch Day at Baysgarth

On the 17th November, the National Space Academy took part in a two day STEM day at Baysgarth school.

Hosted by lead educator Chris Carr, the gifted and talented year 10 students (plus some equally talented year 9 students) were treated to a Space Science Masterclass delivered by the National Space Academy Physics Teacher Sophie Allan.   

Sophie took the students on a tour through the science behind manned and unmanned space exploration. The students covered topics such as rocket science, propulsion, air pressure, gravitational fields, comets and the challenges of re-entering the Earth's atmosphere - all directly linked to the physics curriculum. The day ended with students engineering their very own heat shields and testing whether they could stand up to the intense heat of re-entry.

Chris Carr said It was a a great day for all involved and a great start to our STEM Launch!

For the second day, Sophie Allan returned to deliver a public interest lecture on the theme of Tim Peake's forthcoming mission to the International Space Station. Sophie delivered a fascinating lecture that looked at the demands of human spaceflight and survival. Lots of science demonstrations were shown, including illumination of a fluorescent light bulb using a plasma ball, seeing the world through thermal infra-red radiation, effects of pressure on marshmallow astronauts, whoosh bottle rocketry and how to recycle urine.

When asked, Chris, a Biology Teacher at Baysgarth school said  it was a fantastic show with several students staying behind at the end to ask Sophie about future careers in the space industry