Science on Stage
Physics on Stage 3
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Sound waves on fire - a demonstration from Physics on Stage 3 - presented during Frontiers of Physics at Dublin City University on 25 September 2004.
"The wealth of ideas and material on display is staggering, and in my 18 years of teaching I have not attended anything quite like this. There are so many new experiments and approaches that can be used in the class that I feel I have learned more 'tricks of the trade' in one week than I did in all my previous years' teaching."
Sean Fogarty, Irish delegate to Physics on Stage 3
Physics on Stage 3 was held at ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 8 - 15 November 2003.
Chapters from the Physics on Stage 3 booklet are available below.
| Introduction | Pressure | Forces | Density | Heat |
| Waves and Sound | Light | Electricity and Magnets | Miscellaneous |
Irish Delegation:
Chair:
Paul Nugent, St Dominic's High School, Dublin
Members:
Eilish McLoughlin, Dublin City University
Alison Graham Sandford Park School, Dublin
Sean Fogarty, St Mary's, New Ross, Co. Wexford
Jennifer Egan, Trinity College Dublin
Joanna Dullaghan, St. Joseph's, Cluney, Dublin
Tim Roe, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology
National Steering Committee:
Chair:
Alison Hackett: alison.hackett@iop.org
Chair, Irish Delegation:
Paul Nugent: paulnugent@eircom.net
Treasurer:
Eilish McLoughlin: eilish.mcloughlin@dcu.ie
Secretary:
Gerard McMahon: gerard.mcmahon@nuim.ie
Members:
Eamonn Cunningham: eamonn.cunningham@dcu.ie
Michael Grehan: michaelgrehan@hotmail.com
Ian Elliott: ie@dunsink.dias.ie
Diarmuid O'Leary: doleary1@eircom.net
John Hennessy: johnhenn@oceanfree.net
Jennifer Egan: jennifer_l_egan@yahoo.co.uk
Ita McGuinan: itamcguigan@iei.ie
Guillian Murphy: gillian.murphy@dcu.ie
Physics on Stage 3 Report
Physics on Stage (POS) is a unique Europe-wide programme that aims to raise public awareness of physics and related sciences by bringing physics teachers together for a week, allowing them to exchange ideas and assess the current situation in physics education. POS3 was hosted by the European Space Agency (ESA) at its European Space Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. Some 400 delegates from countries all over Europe set up their national stands to display physics experiments of various kinds.
Ireland takes a prize
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Jennifer Egan (Dublin City University) demonstrates the mixing of colours on the Irish stand. Tim Roe (Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology) standing by his award winning demonstration of the Coriolis force.
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The centrepiece of the Irish stand was a demonstration of the Coriolis effect. Tim Roe, a retired physics lecturer from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, brought a model that splendidly demonstrated the effect that's responsible for causing the rotary movements of the atmosphere associated with weather patterns. The device even shows the different rotations set up in the northern and southern hemispheres. Tim's model deservedly won the award for "most original demonstration of a scientific principle". Other countries' demonstrations, in keeping with the show's theme, Physics and Life, included a full model of the workings of the inner ear on the Greek stand and another illustrating the principles behind the MRI scanner on the Belgium stand.
Broken hardware experiments
Many stands made use of materials that are commonly available by scavenging old appliances, such as computers and microwaves. For example, the Czech stand had a range of experiments performed using items rescued from defunct computer CD and hard drives - colour mixing, magnetism, gyroscopes and the conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy were all demonstrated with this equipment. These were just a few of the hundreds of good ideas and nice tricks to be seen at the fair - far too many to mention here.
Performances and workshops
Time was set aside for performances, presentations and workshops. The performances covered all areas of physics with titles such as "Simple experiments on the physics of vision", "Food for life" and "Alice in quantum-land". They used a variety of methods from large-scale demonstrations and theatrical performances to audience participation, all to convey information about the principles of physics. The workshops, which everyone was encouraged to attend, covered topics such as "New resources for science teachers", "Training", "Equipment", "Performance in teaching" and "Research links" - all areas that could result in improved pan-European science education.
Acknowledgement
This project was made possible by the generous sponsorship of Discover Science and Engineering, Physics on Stage and the Institute of Physics in Ireland. The Department of Education and Science kindly provided substitution cover for the four full-time teachers who attended the conference.
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