The 2011 SATRO Festival – a recap

The festival has been and gone – and what a day it was! Despite the torrential rain, a fantastic time was had by all. This year, we were particularly honoured to have HRH the Duke of Kent visit all of the exhibiting schools and businesses – and personally congratulate the winners.

We were also fortunate enough to have Brainiac presenter and former Big Brother contestant, Jon Tickle at the festival, speaking to the STEM clubs and entrants about their future job prospects.

We’re also very pleased to announce our winners for the day!

Laurence Rook from Trinity School won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for his now famous invention – the doorbell that calls your phone and lets you answer as if on an intercom.

Jamie Cox, also from Trinity School, won the Personal Achievement award.

Other winners on the day included Richard Nutton from Farnborough Sixth Form College and teams from Lady Eleanor Holles School, St Bede’s School,  Strode’s College, St Peter’s Catholic School and Guilford High School.

The STEM Teacher of the Year award was won by Kate Butler of The Warwick School and Broadwater School was crowned Best Year Nine Stem Club.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to the brilliant STEM clubs and companies who exhibited their projects, to HRH the Duke of Kent, to Jon Tickle and to our main sponsor, CBSbutler.

Here are some of the fantastic pictures and taken on the day – keep checking back for more coming soon!

Jon Tickle also took the time to tell us why he feels the festival is so important!

Six days to go!

The SATRO festival is just under a week away. We’re extremely excited to see all the different exhibits – and to give you more of an idea of what to expect, here are some more teasers from the exhibitors in our Working World Marquee (sponsored by CBSbutler).

RHS GARDEN WISLEY

This is your chance to clone plants from the same plant family using three different methods and to ask questions about careers in horticulture and plant science. Take your plants home at the end of the day and watch them grow.

ARMY ENGINEERS

Army Engineers play a vital role in the effectiveness of the British Army in both peacetime and on operations. Soldiers and officers are uniquely multi-skilled as combat engineers and tradesmen. Can you cut it?  Test your determination and intelligence with our Bridge Building Challenge.

RSPB (ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS)

Find out all about careers in conservation and the work of the RSPB charity. You can learn all about threats to birds in your area and how to protect them.

From the Manager – Breaking News!

His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent to Visit the SATRO Festival

SATRO is delighted to announce that His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent has kindly agreed to visit this year’s Festival of Science and Engineering at Brooklands Museum on the 21^st June.

His Royal Highness will be meeting our guests at the festival and touring both the Procter & Gamble Schools Exhibition Area and the CBSbutler Working World Marquee talking to students, teachers and business exhibitors.

More from the Working World Marquee…

It’s time for the latest in our Working World Marquee (sponsored by CBSbutler) teaser series. The festival is now only two weeks away – here are just a few of the awesome exhibits you can expect from the participating businesses…

96.4 EAGLE RADIO

Record your very own showbiz news including presenting and editing celebrity interviews.  Ask the team any questions you have on how to launch your radio career whether it being in sales, producing, finance or presenting.

SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY

Discover the fascinating world of Biology and the kind of careers that can stem from studying the Biosciences.

FRAZER-NASH

Design and test your own wind farm.  Want to discover some weird and wonderful facts about wind turbines?  Like how do people decide where to build wind farms to generate the maximum output?  Come along to the Frazer-Nash stand and take part in our challenge to see who can generate the most energy.

GLAXOSMITHKLINE

Ever wondered what goes into making your toothpaste?  And what exactly is in that Beechams powder that makes you feel better?  Discover the science behind consumer healthcare research and development at GlaxoSmithKline and the range or products developed locally in Weybridge.

SMEE (The Society of Model and Experimental Engineers)

Come and see a selection of models from the Society’s collection that date back to 1898.  These include working beam engines, walking robots and a transparent clock.  The workings of these exhibits may appear to defy any logical explanation but the members of SMEE will be on hand to answer all your questions.

From the Manager @ Brooklands Museum

What a glorious backdrop for the SATRO Festival of Science and Engineering

I was just thinking it was time for an update and found myself at Brooklands Museum with Ruth my colleague who is organising the CBSbutler Working World Marquee. We have just had a meeting with the Brooklands staff to run through how the Festival is going to work on the 22nd June. It was a really good meeting – the people at Brooklands are amazing, nothing seems to be too much trouble for them! So hopefully after all the planning to date we are now beginning to dot the i’s and cross the t’s for what will hopefully be the biggest and best SATRO Festival of Science and Engineering yet! More Soon! Mike

Another peek inside SATRO’s Working World Marquee

It’s time for our second installment of Working World Marquee (sponsored by CBSbutler) teasers. Here are a few more offerings that you can look forward to at the SATRO Science and Engineering Festival.

OCULAS

Visit the cutting-edge Ovei pod.  Relax, unwind and close the door – experience gaming like you’ve never experienced it before. Curious? Visit the Oculas website for a taste of what’s coming up at the SATRO Festival.

BP EDUCATION

What does it take to find oil and gas many hundreds of metres below the sea?  How do you transport oil and gas, then turn it into fuels and plastics that you use every day?  What’s it like working for one of the world’s largest companies? Visit the BP Education stand to find out more about where science and engineering qualifications can take you…

BOC

Being able to handle and store gases like hydrogen and carbon dioxide will be vital for the low carbon economy of tomorrow.  BOC will be sharing their many years’ expertise with these and other materials in the Working World Tent!

For more information and to be in with the chance of winning a Brainiac box set, signed by Jon Tickle, visit our Facebook page!

From the Manager – The Celebrity Returns!

I just wanted to share with you that I am delighted to say that Jon Tickle enjoyed last years Festival of Science and Engineering that he has very kindly agreed to return again this year. 

The search for a celebrity is over!

Mike

From the Manager

So, this is my first year running the SATRO Festival of Science and Engineering and I would like to use this blog to share my trials, tribulations and hopefully the odd success along the way to the Festival on the 22nd June 2011.

Please check back regularily to find what I am up to!

Mike

The celebrity search is on

This year’s SATRO festival is almost upon us, with just over a month to go before the big day.

Last year was the most successful festival to date, with 35 schools entering projects, and nearly 500 schoolchildren viewing exhibits from over 30 major employers in the “Working World Marquee”.

The festival was so popular, in fact, that it attracted a celebrity guest. Last year, science enthusiast and former Big Brother contestant and Brainiac presenter, Jon Tickle, came along to join in the fun. Here’s what he had to say about the day:

So this year we’re on the hunt for a new celebrity guest. If you happen to know (or be) a celebrity with an interest in science, and the desire to inspire schoolchildren to take up STEM subjects, then we want to hear from you!

Contact Mike Smyth, follow us on Twitter ,or just leave us a comment with some contact details right here!

The science of chocolate

We SATRO folk are nice and relaxed after a chocolatey Easter weekend! But, for some scientists, Easter has presented a new and unconventional challenge!

The Guardian released two videos of scientists enjoying Cream Eggs in a way that only scientists could!

For those of you who have invested time and effort into the “how to eat a Cream Egg” debate, scientists at the University of Nottingham have blown any theories out of the water with their gooey “eggsperiment”.

The fun-filled tests are yet another great reason why young people should be interested in science, and why you should come along on the 22^nd of June 2011 to our SATRO festival to see how fun a career in science could be!