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We asked 11 – 19 Zone winner Pete to write a message about his prize money plans and say thank you to students for voting him the winner! Here’s what he said… Hi everyone! Wow, I never thought I’d win! Thanks to everyone who voted for me – it really means a lot to me! When I first started In the Zone, I was really nervous – I’d known people who had done the main 2-week event before, but doing it for 11 weeks was something that had never happened. I was one of the scientists chosen to take part in the first week, which meant that I got questions from students all the way through. Far from getting nervous about it though, I found that In the Zone became part of my day-to-day routine – I’d be checking for new questions every day, and it was great fun to … Continue reading →

Throughout the 11 weeks In the Zone, students have been actively asking questions and having high energy live chats and now it’s time to say well done to the student winner!   Moderators and scientists have nominated students who asked loads of interesting questions and engaged really well in live chats and comments. The winner gets a £20 WH Smiths voucher and a certificate. We’ve also listed the runners up, who also participated really well.   And the student winner is: Natrualme For asking so many challenging and imaginative questions, including: “How can a brain control more than one part of your body?” And “If you implant a heart would it work? If it does work then how does it?“ Scientist Jemma Ransom said: “I must have spent at least 2 hours answering [natrualme’s] thought provoking questions.” Runners up: ellascientist and ells8 who also asked lots of great questions!   … Continue reading →

We’re at the end of 10 high energy, heart pumping weeks In the 7 – 11 Zone. Students’ and scientists’ minds and bodies have definitely been in motion, with students asking over 700 questions on olympics, running, nutrition and brains. And now it’s time to announce the winner! Congratulations to… Pete Pete has won the £500 prize to spend on science engagement. He plans to develop a series of short, 5-minute videos where researchers who are at the top of their field have to explain big ideas or crazy concepts in an easy-to-understand and engaging way.    Thank you! We owe a big thank you to all the scientists who have taken part In the Zone. You’ve all be great sports, answering hundreds of student questions and taking part in live chats. You’ve all helped make In the Zone a success and it’s been lots of fun. As one student said: … Continue reading →

It’s the final countdown! At 1.45pm this Friday we’ll be announcing the 11 – 19 Zone WINNER who’ll be taking home the £500 prize to spend on science engagement. This is your last chance to vote for your favourite scientist!   Who will it be? Tess Newman- inquisitive, enthusiastic, lively     Peter Etchells – gamer, geek, superhero     John Perry – difficult to describe     Faye Diddimus – passionate, enthusiastic, adventurous     Amy Evans – determined, passionate, energetic       Your vote decides!  

The last 10 weeks In the 11 – 19 Zone have been pretty intense. With 913 students having  63 ‘buzzing’ live chats and asking nearly 1,000 weird and wonderful questions. Students and scientists have been exploring minds and bodies in motion, getting to grips with the brain, health and sport. This week’s question of the week goes to student rachelb95 for asking: “Do you think disabled athletes who can run equal times to able bodied athletes should be allowed to run in the same race as an able bodied athlete?” And the FINAL 5 scientists are… The finish line is now in sight, students have voted and it’s time to announce who they want to see in the final week: Tess Newman “Currently researching for in PhD in tissue engineering – a really exciting area of medical science and engineering with occasional gory bits” Peter Etchells “I’m interested in how … Continue reading →

With only 1 week till we announce the final 5 scientists In the Zone, the pressure is on! We’ll be counting students votes on Friday 6th July at 1.45pm and ONLY the most recent vote counts! So students, make sure your favourite scientists goes through to final and Vote now!   Live chats: Pain, muscle and aggression! In 15 manic live chats students have been putting scientists through their paces this week. Probing scientists on: “how does warming up before sports help you to not pull a muscle?“, “how does numbness stop the pain?” And “do hormones have a direct connection with aggression?“ In a live chat with St Katherine’s School Jemma gave student amms94 some encouragement: amms94 : every time i do an expermiment it never works jemmaransom1 : @amms94, I know that feeling. I’ve just finished the lab work for my PhD, and it took me a year … Continue reading →

It’s crunch time … at 1.45pm on Friday 6th July we’ll be counting your votes & announcing the top five scientists to make it through to the final week In the Zone! ONLY your most recent vote counts! Who do you want to see in the final week? Here’s a reminder of all the scientists In the 11 – 19 Zone.   Final week: Final Ask, Chat, Vote! From the 9th – 13th July you can Ask the final 5 In the Zone scientists your questions and Vote for who you want to win the £500 prize.

There’s been a record breaking 13 live chats this week, it’s been all stations go! And with only 2 weeks left, it’s time for students to VOTE for their favourite scientist to be 11 – 19 Zone champion and win the £500 prize for science engagement!  BIG Questions: Students have also been stretching their imaginations, asking the scientists over 150 questions this week. Scientists and students have been giving their theories on: “when you get butteflies in your stomach what actually is it?” And Maria and Amylou have been explaining: “why can’t girls put mascara on with their mouths closed?“ Drugs in Sport has also been a big theme: “how can drugs affect the brain of the athletes?” and “do performance enhancers give an athlete a psychological advantage as well as a physical one?” BUT question of the week is from student mrstagg, who was nominated by Jemma: “Can DNA … Continue reading →

Students have now asked over 680 questions and have 37 live chats booked for the rest of term!  There’s still time to BOOK your live chat to get your students In the Zone! in the last week 2nd – 6th July. Questions: Bones, stem cells and knees! Students in both zones have gone BONE mad this week! Asking Amy: “what’s the best way to make bone’s stronger?” While Mark’s been explaining “how do you get the stem cells to build the correct organ?“, And Samantha lets us know “what her research is trying to find out?”   Question of the week goes to student shayes18 for asking “when in a race and we see when to go, why don’t we go straight away when our brains recognise to go?”   Live chats: More bones… Students stuck to the bone theme in live chats, asking: “can you break your funny bone?” … Continue reading →

Tasty live chats… In last week’s live chats students at Irvine Royal School asked some tasty questions, including: “why do our taste buds change” and “why can you not taste right when you’ve got the cold” While students at Hackney City Academy wanted to know :”how do brain waves travel from your brain to another part of your body? Doesn’t it take time for your body to re-act?” and “how do muscles grow nd become stronger?”   Brainy questions… Students have now asked over 700 questions, getting our minds boggling: “how does your brain hold all the information you learn at school“, and hearts pumping: “why does your heart rate increase when you are scared or panic?“ Question of the week goes to student jonjo123 for asking his mouth watering question : “why does our body become dehydrated?”   Thank yous! A big thank you to Liz Nicholson for writing … Continue reading →

We’re now half way through In the Zone, and it’s not just the weather hotting up… Live chats with Rhyl High School and Moorside High School, were pretty much on fire. Students were keen to chat to scientists about ‘who will take drugs in the olympics’, ‘how many Mcdonalds would you have to eat to cause a heart attack’ and whether goal line technology should be introduced into football.  After Moorside High School’s live chat one student said: “thanks for answering my questions however i will always be curious!” There’s still time to get your curious students In the Zone! BOOK LIVE CHATS for them now!   In student questions Adam’s been helping students find out: “What happens in our body when we get a rush of adrenalin?”, and “When sprinting how does could holding your breath help?”   This week’s question of the week goes to student khizarsiqbal for asking: … Continue reading →

Students have been busy asking lots more sporty questions this week. Including…. The science of: sprinting! Student chrisandshaun asked: “People run 100m in under 10 seconds… How is this possible?“ strength! Student spacenut asked: “How many muscles do we have?“ doping! Student spacenut asked: “How are athletes in the Olympic games drug tested?“ And question of the week came from student harryholt123: “how long can the human body run before colapse?” In this week’s energetic chat with St Marys Catholic School, students asked anything from “what is the best dish to improve their athletic performance?” to “how long can humans survive without trees?” Both students and teachers got a kick out of the live chat. Student ellascientist said: “hiya scientists, thanks alot for the great answers to our mind boggling questions” and teacher Liz Nicholson said: “probably the best moments today since I started teaching. The engagement excitement & motivation … Continue reading →

We’ve now selected most of the scientists for the rest of In the Zone.  Have a look at what they do and why not book a live chat in the week with the scientists that get your heart pumping. There are still spaces in some weeks, but 11th – 29th June are now fully booked. BOOK NOW to make sure your students get to talk to the In the Zone scientists. Week 21st – 25th May: BOOK LIVE CHATS! Adam Bibbey, PhD, University of Birmingham: “I look at how the body responds to stress, e.g. school tests or a sports game- changes in how fast the heart beats and the amount of blood gushing around the body.“ Faye Didymus, PhD, Loughborough University: “I do Sport Psychology so I look at how the brain works when we’re really stressed out! I work with some of the World’s most amazing athletes to help … Continue reading →

Teachers have now booked 64 live chats. The week commencing 18th June is fully booked and there’s only space for 3 more live chats in week commencing 11th June. So teachers, book soon to make sure your students get to talk to the In the Zone scientists! In today’s live chat students from Mosslands School put scientist Adam Bibbey to the test, asking: why do your lungs get tired when you run, at what pressure do bones break and why is eating fish is good for your brain. Outside of live chats students in the 11-19 Zone have now asked over 492 questions. This week student spongey has asked some great questions, including: “Who invented school?“, “Why are babies born with blue eyes?” and “Why do we have hair on our head?“ Question of the week came from the student spacenut: “What do you think is most important in sport, … Continue reading →

It’s already the end of the second week In the Zone and things are hotting up! Teachers have now booked 53 live chats in the 11-19 Zone and week commencing 18th June is now fully booked! So teachers, make sure your students get to talk to the In the Zone scientists and BOOK now! In the Zone is all about minds and bodies in motion and this week students have been asking some very on topic questions. Student spursboy wanted to know “how would an athlete get in the zone?” Meanwhile student cheese2000 asked “how can you get flexible?”, And scientist Mark tries to avoid a lawsuit answering student preshous333’s question: “does lucozade sport actually work or is that just trying to make you buy it?!” So far students in the 11-19 Zone have asked over 400 questions. Students can ask scientists questions throughout the event and student spacenut asked … Continue reading →

It’s nearly the end of the first In the Zone week and there’s lots to report! We kicked off the first live chats in Secondary Zone yesterday with students from Rhyl High School and St Marks High School. Students quizzed the scientists on the weird and wonderful, from the science of armpit hair to why we get cramps. Outside of live chats, students have been busy asking the scientists over 220 questions. Some of the best mind and body in motion questions include: What muscle in your body is used most frequently? How do athletes calm down before competitions?   And Pete’s also been explaining how to find your blind spot Students taking part this week get to VOTE to save their favourite scientists and every vote counts! On Friday July 6th the five scientists with the most votes will battle it in the final week of student voting. Next … Continue reading →