UK Centre for Materials Education
Working with you to enhance the student experience
Working with you to enhance the student experience
The Science Programme at the Tower of London was piloted in 2002 with the help of ‘seed-corn’ funding from the Armourers and Braziers and IOM3. The aim of this project was to develop and deliver a high quality educational programme dedicated to science, which would make effective use of the Royal Armouries collection. In June 2003, a full-time post was created to oversee the project and implement the science programmes developed. Over the next phases of the project new sessions were resourced and implemented, and efforts were also made to take the Royal Armouries collection beyond the confines of the Tower (the 'without walls' initiative to take sessions to children’s hospices). The current phase of the project has seen the organisation of Science Week for schools, the recruitment of two new teachers and more involvement in community projects.
The first stage of the UKCME funding was instrumental in contributing to the actual development and definition of the science sessions, which had as their major focus the Royal Armouries collection. The next challenge was to popularise these interactive sessions. Science education had always taken a backseat in comparison to the historical sessions conducted in the unique backdrop of the Tower of London. Placing these science sessions on an equal footing as the history sessions was difficult at the very first stages and involved making personal contacts, as well as offering free entry to the Tower as an incentive. This two-pronged approach met with success, and the science sessions have since been immensely popular, and are now on par with the historical sessions. To date, a number of teaching programmes have been designed, with a wide range of subjects including armour and protective wear, the Gunpowder Plot, forensic techniques, and the making of a longbow. Currently new sessions are currently being resourced and developed with focus on Sports Science and Materials and Art (copper etching in collaboration with artists). A session on ‘Seasonal Science’ has also been planned.
The unique aspect of the science sessions at the Tower is that they have the potential to be truly curriculum specific and bespoke. Schools are encouraged to ring up and discuss their needs when they book a session, and the teachers at the Tower respond to the needs of particular schools by modifying the finer details of a particular session so as to make it relevant to the school curriculum or student capability.
Besides funding the resource and development of new sessions, the UKCME grant has also helped to fully fund the entry of students, particularly KS 3 students. In fact, one of the biggest achievements of the project has been the development of science sessions with a KS 3 focus and with direct links to the national curriculum. Prior to 2003, science students from this important category had not been targeted, and the steady increase in their numbers is a significant gain. Overall, the project has been a resounding success in terms of increase in the number of students who access the education centre based at the Vaults, and have already exceeded the targets set by Bayer.
Part of the UKCME grant was used to fund the development of two interactive CD-ROMs by undergraduate students from the US (Worcester Polytechnic). These highlighted the education resources at the Tower and the Royal Armouries collection, and their link with the National Curriculum. These were launched through Inset days, and the material was put up on the Royal Armouries website. However, due to a restructuring of the RA website, these are only available in CD format from the Tower.
The Tower project has also made further impact through its outreach and community projects. It has initiated the scheme of working ‘without walls’, in taking some of the sessions and part of the Royal Armouries Collection to children’s hospices in Kent and Newbury. This demonstrates the Royal Armouries’ commitment to reach those audiences who may not be physically able to access the collection. The Royal Armouries is also involved in the NTK (No To Knives) project, and the teachers do their bit to raise awareness by raising such issues through the sessions (particularly those related to armour and protective body wear), and by emphasizing the limited protection that modern ‘bullet proof’ garments may provide.
The project at the Tower of London has grown from strength to strength since its inception in 2002, and the funding provided by the UKCME has benefitted a number of key areas. It provided pump priming funds at the initial stage. It funded the organisation of Science Week, and covered the costs of part or full entry for attending schools. However, most significantly, it has funded the development of innovative science sessions which have targeted the key stages of the National Curriculum, and in particular KS 3 students. It has enabled the teachers to trial new sessions and ensure that they become more accessible and relevant to the needs to the target audiences. By presenting science in a different context, these sessions have attempted to counter the general apathy and lack of enthusiasm regarding science in 11 to 13 year olds. The funding from the UKCME has allowed the teachers at the Tower to do things they would not have been able to do with limited funding, and interact with audiences they would never have managed to reach otherwise. Through a small proportion of the whole, the grants have provided that extra bit of impetus and the difference made to the entire project has been ‘magical’.
