'Science gives children the skills to ask the right questions of society'

After 30 years as a scientist, a university professor, and latterly a Dean of Science, I recently abandoned my comfort zone to take part in one of the most important experiments of my life.

I've lectured everything from Cell Biology 101 for first year undergraduates to research seminars for PhD students and international conferences in front of my peers. I've had the privilege of being in charge of Imperial College London's Faculty of Natural Sciences for the past six years, responsible for the quality of teaching and research for some of the smartest student scientists on the planet.

Every day I look at feedback from these students and try to improve the experience they have – tweaking curricula, updating our skills, investing in facilities. I’m so proud of what we do, but we are preaching to the converted. Students at Imperial already understand the joy of science.

So, recently, I leapt at the chance to promote a new educational initiative from Imperial and the digital science resource Tigtag, which promises to open the eyes of many more children to the wonders of discovery.

I went back to my old primary school to try something different: university lecturers helping our primary school teachers get science across to their children and to turn on a light that will never go out.

One of my own most vivid memories from childhood was experiencing the impressive van der Graaf generator at London’s Science Museum. Just watching it filled me with awe and made me want to find out how it worked.

At Hayes Primary School in Bromley by contrast, I was armed with just a pair of tights and a couple of paper cups to show how the human gut works. But the reaction was just as instant and infectious. Primary schoolchildren absolutely love science – the messier and more revolting an experiment the better! -- and so do their teachers.

The energy levels in the classroom rocketed, but I was completely exhausted after just the three sessions I led! Managing the excitement of a roomful of 10-year-olds is a fantastic skill and I am full of admiration for teachers who day in day out are captivating children’s imaginations with such devotion and enthusiasm.

Yet we know that many primary teachers lack confidence in delivering science education. Most do not have a science background, and they are hungry for high-quality resources and imaginative ideas to engage their children in science, particularly in the practicals. So over the past six months we have been working to provide just that support.

We asked over forty of Imperial’s scientific experts to get in front of the camera and offer ideas and practical advice to the teachers. The first wave of videos are now available free online for the UK’s 200,000 teachers to access as part of a package of continuing professional development which will cover all of the science curricula. Parents can also reach the videos via a tailored area of the website, which I hope will inspire them to try out some kitchen-science with their children.

So far subjects covered have included viruses and evolution by Wendy Barclay, capturing carbon dioxide emissions by Geoff Maitland, and environmental habitats and endangered species by E.J. Milner-Gulland. We hope the insights of these world-leading experts will help teachers to fire the imaginations of children and cultivate that thrill of understanding ‘how’.

If we can help to give children that understanding, they stand poised to gain so much – to possess the invaluable life skills to ask the right questions of society and make the right connections to solve problems. I can’t think of a more profound and important experiment to be involved in.

Professor Maggie Dallman is Associate Provost (Academic Partnerships) at Imperial College London. Reach Out CPD is the new free CPD resource for primary teachers