Rae Chilton

Show Your Stripes Visualising how the climate has changed for every country across the globe

showyourstripes.info/s/europe/uni...
#ShowYourStripes

Publication Day! Moss Safari is Out in the Wild! Well, the day has finally arrived. After months (OK, years…) of researching, writing, editing, photographing, microscope-fiddling, and occasionally yelling at my laptop – Moss Safari: Exploring the Secret Life in Moss is officially published! It’s out there. In the world. A real book. With a cover, pages, microscopic creatures, and everything. If you've ever crouched down to peer at a cushion of moss and wondered what’s going on in that miniature jungle – or even if you haven’t yet but now suddenly feel the urge – this book is for you.

Publication Day! Moss Safari is Out in the Wild!

Well, the day has finally arrived. After months (OK, years…) of researching, writing, editing, photographing, microscope-fiddling, and occasionally yelling at my laptop – Moss Safari: Exploring the Secret Life in Moss is officially published! It’s…

Eight trays of equipment for an electric circuits practical.

Tidy, uniform trays make happy.

I wrote an article for @rsc-eic.bsky.social on safety specs vs goggles in schools!

The link in the quoted post is broken, but try edu.rsc.org/endpoint/do-...

Quick poll time, it would be very useful for our work to know how many labs you have in your school.

Sadly we can't do this via a voting poll, so please just reply with how many labs (teaching labs + prep rooms) you have.

Please also share this with others

Thanks for your help in this 👍

6 labs, 3 prep rooms.

This goes for STEM events targeted at children too. Science communicators, step up.

Year 8 have examined all the evidence and have concluded that it was the Head of Physics who killed the gryphon, using a circus baton as a weapon, so that he could get a gryphon feather to wear on his fancy hat!

As part of enrichment week, tomorrow our Year 8 students are going to try to solve the murder of the school's pet gryphon.
I've had a lot of fun preparing fingerprints, blood spatters, and footprint casts for them.

Kew gardens are running several competitions for all Key stages. £1000 for each category. Ends 27th June
endeavour.kew.org/competition-...

#primaryscience #uked #ukteaching

I foolishly assumed that I would have a quiet week since Science is doing forensics as an enrichment week activity.
Nope, apparently fingerprints, blood spatter analysis, and footprints all count as physics now. 🤦‍♀️

Infographic on the smoke recipes used at the Papal Conclave. Historically, the conclave generated black smoke by burning tar or pitch with the ballots. Today, they use a mixture of potassium perchlorate, anthracene and sulfur. In the past, the conclave added wet straw to the burning ballots to generate white smoke. Today, they use a mixture of potassium chlorate, lactose and rosin (pine tree resin).

Eyes are on the Vatican this week for the selection of a new Pope 💭

Specific recipes are used for the black and white smoke released to indicate the result of conclave voting – here's a look at the chemicals involved: wp.me/p4aPLT-8St

#ChemSky 🧪

'Think about the crab in Moana', is a thing I have just heard my HoD say to his year 9 physics class.

A stack of certificates stating that my STEM club students have achieved their discovery award for the completion of their zombie apocalypse project.

It's always a proud moment when the CREST award certificates arrive.

South London, 50, mum

A document titled SciChem 2008, School Laboratory Safety Audit Seminar

I think most technicians have some hoarding tendencies, but I think it might be time to finally get rid of notes from training that I attended 17 years ago.

cartoon bunsen burner with text: National Bunsen burner day

It's #NationalBunsenBurnerDay
National Bunsen Burner Day is an annual celebration of the invention of the Bunsen burner by Robert Bunsen; a day to recognise the contributions of science and chemistry to society and to honour Bunsen for his invention.
#ScienceIsEverywhere #BeCurious #DrJoScience

A mug with the slogan 'Elephants don't even use toothpaste!' printed on it.

I got this year's @cleapss.bsky.social mug at #TSTC25 yesterday. Another one for the collection!

I also thoroughly enjoyed the keynote by @drstevex.bsky.social and have started thinking about how I can go about raising my profile. Got a few ideas already...

Great day at the Tonbridge school Technicians' Convention yesterday. I particularly enjoyed the workshop on how to make a paper loudspeaker. It worked!
##TSTC25

If the weather is clear there's a chance to see a partial solar eclipse this morning in the UK, Europe, Africa and much of N.America.

Eclipse starts 9.56 AM GMT 6.13 AM EDT

DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE ECLIPSE!

For more details, check out buff.ly/R79hRsn

A hardback copy of Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold.

I love getting a book that I've preordered ages ago. It's like past-me has sent me a present!
@hallierubenhold.bsky.social

My hand holding a bar magnet. Attached to the magnet are red and silver pieces of twist tie, which have formed a very beautiful pattern showing the magnetic field around the magnet.

Trialling the magnetic fields practical using cut up twist ties instead of iron filings.
#TECHOGNITION

Thank you. That's only a tiny part of the collection. I have well over 100 in total.

The most important bit of morning prep. (In my office area, not a lab of course!)
#TECHOGNITION
@cleapss.bsky.social @techognition.bsky.social

A purple #TECHOGNITION balloon surrounded by 4 rubber ducks. They are a pharmacist, Albert Einstein, a chemist, and an IT duck.

The STEM duck crew are ready to celebrate #TECHOGNITION day!

The entrance way into a prep room. To the right is the teacher's area and whiteboard. To the left is a small bench piled with trays of science equipment ready to be distributed. Across the top of the entrance way is purple bunting and balloons.

I can't decorate my prep room door for #TECHOGNITION due to not having an actual door, so this is the next best thing.
Behold, the entrance to my prep room.

a man singing into a microphone with the words " the number of the beast " above him Alt: a man singing into a microphone with the words " the number of the beast " above him

Updating my workload spreadsheet, I've just noticed that I've had 666 practical requests so far this academic year.
As an Iron Maiden fan this pleases me greatly.

#TECHOGNITION 2025 is almost here! Join us on social media and our event website at www.techognition this Thursday 27th March 2025. Together we can celebrate and showcase the amazing work of UK school and FE college technicians!
Some amazing prizes to be won too!

A tattoo on my ankle, featuring a rubber duck dressed as Anne Boleyn. She is wearing Anne's iconic B necklace, her dress is green and she has a French hood covering her hair.

My Anne Boleyn rubber duck is definitely not fascist!