Pupils at Aberdeen school beat the goalie!

11 May 2017

Pupils from Charleston School have been learning all about robots and coding thanks to a visit from Generation Science, a touring science show.

Generation Science is delivered by the Edinburgh International Science Festival and supported by Total E&P UK.

The pupils enjoyed taking part in the robot sports training camp where they will be put through their paces, using LEGO® WeDo kits to build their own goalkeepers and programmed them to cover goals in a World Cup penalty shoot-out.

This year the Generation Science team has been working with Total to reach over 2,000 primary pupils at 60 different schools in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. This ambitious programme fulfils Total’s ongoing commitment to fund a science workshop at every primary school in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and the Shetland Islands by the end of 2018. This will ensure that even the smallest primaries in the region will have the opportunity to see Generation Science bring science to life in their classroom.

Laura Fowler, head teacher at Charleston School, said: “We were delighted to welcome the Generation Science tour to the school. Bricks and Blocks is an excellent way of engaging children with science and teaching them the basics of computer programming using a hands-on practical approach, which our school can then follow-up with general discussions.”

Sandra McLennan, Corporate Social Responsibility Leader from Total said: “We are very pleased to support Generation Science as we continue our journey of promoting STEM activity in the classroom. Encouraging STEM education is high on Total’s agenda and by working with education partner Generation Science helps strengthen and reinforces this important message.”

With Total’s support Generation Science will tour 15 schools in Aberdeen, 45 in Aberdeenshire and 10 schools in Shetland in 2017.

Joan Davidson, Generation Science Manager said: “We are delighted to visit Charleston School this year. Thanks to our supporters like Total E&P UK, over the spring and summer terms we will visit over 600 schools in Scotland, educating young learners about the wonder of science and its real world applications. Our aim is to improve the provision of science education in Scottish primary schools, bring science to life in the classroom and inform, inspire and engage young learners in science.”

Bricks and Blocks is one of 15 amazing shows and workshops provided by Generation Science that are designed to make science fun, exciting, easy to understand and to help teachers cover the school science curriculum.

Since Generation Science began touring over 25 years ago, it has reached well over 1 million pupils in Scotland. It is the largest science education outreach provider in the UK, visiting schools all over Scotland with a programme of different shows and workshops for all ages, from infant classes right up to upper primary. This year the tour will visit over 600 schools in 31 local authority areas from the Borders to the Shetland Isles.

Generation Science is organised by the Edinburgh International Science Festival Foundation, an educational charity that delivers an annual two week Science Festival in Edinburgh, a stem Careers event (Careers Hive) and other educational activities. Generation Science is a national programme that tours schools across Scotland between February and the end of May every year.