February 2005
Contents
Junior judges needed for Aventis Prizes
Attractions Gift Aid liaison group
Nuclear Energy - Debate with a Difference
LIFE announces £4.5 million redevelopment
DIARY DATES: ECSITE annual conference
NEWS FROM THE Ecsite-uk OFFICE
New web page for events
Do you want to publicise a special event?
Send details and a web link to:
enquiries@ecsite-uk.net and we'll add your listing to:
[archived link removed]
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SECTOR
Junior judges needed for Aventis Prizes for Science Books
Ecsite-uk's sciZmic project team is again managing the Junior Judging of this prestigious books prize (www.aventisprizes.com [archived page - link removed] ).
If your science centre or museum has a science club or junior board who would like to review and judge the shortlisted books in March and April, please email books@scizmic.net
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SECTOR
Attractions Gift Aid liaison group established
A group of interested national organisations has been established to co-ordinate initiatives over the coming months until the new Gift Aid arrangements are in place, probably until end 2006. Initial Members are: Museums Association, AIM, Ecsite-uk, National Trust, HHA, Zoos (BIAZA), BALPPA, ALVA, Heritage Link, CFDG, CTRG.
The group's functions are:
- to exchange information among national associations of eligible charitable attractions to assist in understanding and implementing the new rules
- to liaise as necessary with HM Treasury and the Inland Revenue
- to liaise and co-ordinate comment in the event of press and media announcements being necessary
- to explore the potential for a Branded approach to the new arrangements with standardised wording to encourage public recognition, understanding and optimum take up, and to provide these without charge for eligible charitable attractions to use.
- to consider other mutual co-operation.
All Ecsite-uk members institutions have been asked for comments on the formal definition of the new scheme from the Draft Bill. All comments received have been forwarded to the chair of the liaison group, for drafting a common response. Obviously science centres/museums may wish to submit individual comments, in which case please copy them to enquiries@ecsite-uk.net
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SECTOR
New funding scheme from PPARC
The particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council is pleased to announce new funding for science and discovery centres, to encourage and support projects which relate to astronomy, space and particle physics for the 11-16 age range.
Highlights of the scheme:
- Open to UK science and discovery centres and museums
- Projects must target the 11-16 age range
- Projects must include PPARC-funded areas of science and technology
- Funding of up to £30,000 is available for projects
- Partnerships between centres and PPARC researchers and/or educators are strongly encouraged.
Closing dates for applications will be 10 April and 10 October 2005.
Details will soon appear at [archived link - may not work] www.pparc.ac.uk/Rs/Fs/Pu/funds.asp
RESOURCE
Nuclear Energy - Debate with a Difference
The sciZmic project team's latest 'Debate with a Difference' is all about Nuclear Energy and is available to download from www.scizmic.net.
Debates with a Difference are designed to run in out of school venues. They encourage young people to explore contemporary science in a fun and challenging way.
If you are interested in using the materials, please contact the project manager, Rosalind Mist via ros@scizmic.net.
This project is supported by Einstein Year.
NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
LIFE announces £4.5 million redevelopment
The Life Science Centre, Newcastle, has announced plans to carry out an extensive £4.5 million redevelopment, thanks largely to a total of £3.6 million secured from the ReDiscover fund.
The Centre's new exhibition will be called "Human Life: Past, Present and Future" and will present the story of how modern humans evolved and adapted to different environments, leading to the diverse communities around the world today.
Outlining the project, Centre Director Linda Conlon, said: "The new exhibition will be presented in a different style to the current exhibition and consist of three zones.... Our aim is to build upon the success of our original exhibition to produce a new experience for future visitors. Human Life will draw upon local, national and international expertise to create a valuable resource for the North East."
LIFE website: [archived link - may not work] www.centreforlife.co.uk/lifescience/
DIARY DATES
Ecsite Annual Conference 2005
10-12 June, 2005, Helsinki-Vantaa
From 2005 onwards, the Annual Conference will be not in November but in June, making northern venues far more attractive to delegates. Our first early-Summer host is Heureka, the Finnish science centre:
[archived link - may not work] www.heureka.fi/portal/englanti
The call for session proposals for Ecsite2005 is out.
Contact Michaël Renvillard for details at mrenvillard@ecsite.net
Ecsite-uk
Dr Melanie Quin, Executive Director
Ecsite-uk: the Network of Science Centres and Museums
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