Page 11 - Autumn 2019 Echo draft v4

electromagnetic Spears - eye-catching
models of what catches the eye - how do
the electric and magnetic fields work within
a ray of light or any other electromagnetic
wave? Visiting Physics teachers made these
'eM Spears' to take back to their schools.

Science 9

engaging Physics Demonstrations and Workshops

last term the College hosted the annual Conference Day of the Institute of Physics in the Southwest, for
Physics teachers and technicians. In addition to the workshops and exhibition stands the attendees found it
useful to discuss best practice with over 60 Physics teachers and technicians from across the region. The day
included many demonstrations that some delegates had either never seen before, or hadn’t thought to do in
a certain way. ‘Physics for All’ addressed the take up of Physics at A level from all students, especially girls.
Students from the College also got involved in the session, including the session on waves which focused
primarily on demonstrations and practical experiments for lessons. It was amazing to see the interactions of
the students, as it showed how engaging these demonstrations can be.
other sessions that took place in the day included our very own College’s Science Technicians doing a
‘common technician problems’ session, where they
investigated troubleshooting equipment failures more
effectively.
It was a very successful day and
was well received by all who
attended as being extremely
informative and interesting,
commenting that it was a
"Fantastic session", "Brilliant visual
resource" , and "Really inspiring"
and that "My teaching will be
transformed".

VR headsets - Year 10 students
taking a tour of the planets, a
Virtual Reality simulation arising
from Dr Nathan Mayne's talk on
cutting-edge Physics research into
the possible climatic conditions on
planets around distant stars!

Confusaphone - What do you get
to ‘hear here’? A visiting IoP Physics
Coach taught the students some
more about sound and its
perception.