Five benefits of running a science club

 


Five benefits of running a science club


1)     1) To explore beyond your curriculum 

We know timetables are packed in schools and a science club is a brilliant opportunity to take things further. Perhaps you might explore the same themes as the curricula learning, but in more depth. You can try out things you wouldn't normally do in class as the groups are smaller and the pressure to put things in books is off. Whatever your focus, exploring beyond the curriculum is a great reason to start a science club.

 

2) To enjoy time with smaller groups of children

Science clubs are usually much smaller than a class, typically 10 -15 at most. This means more time can be spent with each child that you would have in class, less people to share the kit with and therefore lots more opportunities for hands on learning taking it in a direction that is of interest to them. The opportunity to explore the 'what if...?' question at a science club is priceless!

 

3) To respond to the interests of your club members

If you have a group of budding palaeontologists or material scientists, then a club is the perfect place to explore these interests and connect them to careers opportunities in their fields of interest. A chance to bring fossils from home or a school trip to the beach for proper exploration or to study the school garden's compost heap or dead head a sunflower are rich in experience and something we don't always have time for in a normal day in school. 

 

4) To develop interest and engagement with science

The freedom that an extra-curricular science club brings has a lot to do with the interest and engagement of science. Children might choose to attend a science club who don't attend any other school club, there might be children you want to invite specifically or perhaps a special group of children you want to target for a club. Advertising it as a no writing club might engage some children who find writing a challenge in your timetabled science lessons.

 

5) To develop children's perceptions of self as scientists

Lots has been written about Science Capital and as founders, we are both learning to be accredited trainers for the Primary Science Capital Teaching Approach (PSCTA) here in the UK. We noticed straight away that the synergy with this and My Science Club is about valuing children's personal starting points and their perception of self as scientists can be developed enormously through engagement with our packs and we can't wait to share them with you!


Want to be in on the secret? Then sign up now for priority invitations to our educator welcome events in September and discount codes for early bird members  


Bryony and Paul
Founders and creators of My Science Club Ltd



Location: London, UK

Comments

New comments are not allowed.

Popular posts from this blog

Five reasons to join My Science Club

Image
  Five  reasons to join My Science Club Here at My Science Club, we have made every effort for it to be simple, and affordable, for you to inspire the next generation of scientists. Here are our five great reasons to join My Science Club 1) Accessible Our packs are available online whenever you need them. You can spend your membership credits at any point during your membership year which starts as soon as you join and are valid for 12 months. Try one, see how you get on then come back and pick your next one from our 'sweetie shop' of choice! 2) Easy to follow We're educators at heart and love hands-on, minds-on science so we have designed our packs with that at the centre . There are 3 resources in every pack - an educator's guide, an optional slideshow with beautiful images and prompts and a set of printables to save time, reduce writing and provide high quality imagery that keeps the focus on the practical throughout every My Science Club session. 3) Cura...
Read more
Image
  Five  things to think about when starting a science club at school 1)      How many children should I invite? This will vary depending on the space you have to run the club in, the experience you have, the number of children interested and many other factors. From our experience, we think 10-14 is optimum numbers, smaller than a traditional class size but big enough to have some decent conversations and gather enough data to be able to compare and discuss results. 2)      Should I charge a fee to come to the club? As the educator leading the club, you will know whether this is something your school community can withstand. It is certainly helpful to have some cash to spend on consumables that your clubbers will use and it may be that your school might be able to provide a small amount of budget towards the running costs if charging would exclude some families. You might consider a BOGOF (buy one get one (or more) free) for families wi...
Read more

Welcome to the new home of Topical Science Updates!

Image
  Welcome to the new home of  Topical Science Updates! 1) Why  teach Topical Science? Topical science is a way to bring the science concepts you are teaching to life and make them relevant to children’s lives. It can be the hook into a science topic, or it can be the finale showing children where the science they have just learnt fits in.  Teaching children about topical science from the world around them is engaging and inspiring, it can spark discussion, curiosity and additional research about the stories.   2) K eeping up with Topical Science?   The big challenge for educators without a particular interest in science is how to keep up with what science is going on in the world so it can be brought into everyday teaching. There are some excellent science based podcasts that are very accessible and Twig Science Reporter has weekly science stories from round the world beautifully presented. I bet you didn’t know  from the Primary Science Teaching T...
Read more