Inspiring the next generation
Support your school as a science governor - Kirstin runs a morning of science activities at her local school.
Published: 12 April 2022
Ogden Programme Manager, Kirstin Greygoose is a governor at her local primary school. If you have a science background or career, and a passion to promote science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects you could bring your experience and expertise to the role of school science governor.
“My role as a parent governor is varied and interesting, not least because I get to support the school in providing unique opportunities to students,” explains Kirstin. “Science governors can be a great resource in bringing the world of physics into the classroom and inspiring the next generation to pursue career pathways they never even knew existed.
“I offered to support a morning of science activities with Key Stage 1 children at my local primary school,” Kirstin continues. “Year 1 have been exploring the topic of space and Year 2 have been finding out about myths and legends in their literacy work, which was perfect for the book I introduced – Stars Before Bedtime by Dr Jessamy Hibberd and Claire Grace,” she enthuses.
“We explored the cosmos through some mindfulness yoga then went back to the classrooms to try and navigate the night sky using familiar constellations with dot-to-dot puzzles, geo-boards, constellation discs and dark tents – the building was buzzing with excitement,” Kirstin concludes.
Working with your local school can be a fulfilling experience, and can offer much needed additional support and expertise, especially given the ongoing challenges and increasing pressure on resources. Talking about the work you do can inspire the pupils and develop their curiosity, linking learning to real-life and giving them more ideas about jobs in the future.
“Thank you so much again for running the workshops last week. I know the children in 2C absolutely loved the experience and opportunity to discover so many wonderful things about our universe! The children were so gripped by the experience many of them mentioned that they ‘did not want it to end’… and it was playtime! The resources and activities were extremely easy for us to set up and pitched perfectly for our cohort – thank you!”
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“I really enjoyed finding out about the star constellations – I liked using the torch and the constellation discs in the dark tent – and I loved lying under my school desk trying to find Lepus the Hare and Orion the Hunter. When we got home my mum got a star app on her phone and we tried to find Lepus in the sky – because we’ve got rabbits!”
Megan, 6
Serving as a school (science) governor may seem to be a daunting prospect, but the Ogden Trust has created a bank of resources to help you. You can find our science governor how to guide and other useful and other handy hints in the resources section on this website.