Taking a camera or your phone and shooting a picture is an easy. But how about, when composing your image, you think about how your picture might be used to discover some aspect of science and engineering?
From a flower to a rainbow, from a bubble to a radio mast, from smoke to light, from microscopy to astronomy, everywhere in our modern world we face science and engineering wonders that make our lives easier, more fun and more interesting. This is the fourth year of our competition and we have had some outstanding winners in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Art meets Science – Our annual photographic competition this year aims at creating an opportunity for you to creatively express, in pictures, what you observe within science. We hope that this will get you exploring the visual aspects of STEAM through the art and science of photography, and capturing images that demonstrate and communicate STEAM concepts and phenomena.
This year, with our Giving Voice schools' project, the focus is on the many facets of:
Electronic Communication
(Including everything old and new, from radio to TV to computers and mobile phones, records, CDs, microwaves, IR sensors, Wi-Fi and more!)
We want you to take photographs (up to 3 entries) that express what electronic communication means to you, or how it impacts health and environment (for better or worse). Each photograph should be accompanied with a short plain-language explanation (not more than 50 words) of the science and thoughts behind it.
Read more: Centenary Photographic Competition 2023: Electronic Communication
Get involved in two major CSES projects for 2023!
Giving Voice: Stories of STE(A)M through the technology of radio
Spaces are still available for this flagship science, technology and computing project for primary and secondary schools.
This year, the project celebrates the 100th anniversary of the founding of the BBC and Essex as the birthplace of radio!
We are looking for participating schools across Essex to become new CSES Affiliate Schools and to take part in the project, where student teams will be building their own radios and recording, broadcasting and listening to podcasts highlighting the contribution to STEAM of women and others from under-represented groups.
As an Affiliate School, you will have a dedicated CSES STE(A)M champion to help you run the project in your school.
National Saturday Club: Imagine! Science and Engineering
In a major new undertaking, CSES and ARU have teamed up with the National Saturday Club to deliver a 15-week Science & Engineering Club where young people can explore science and technology creatively.
Using ARU's state-of-the-art facilities, our Imagine! Saturday Club will give students hands-on experience of exciting and varied topics within science, technology and engineering.
The programme will also give an insight into the diverse education and career opportunities within the STEM sector, with plenty of opportunity to ask questions of practising scientists and engineers.
Starting from 21 January 2023 and running until June, the Club will meet every Saturday morning (10:00-12:30) during term time, and is completely FREE.
(For Year 10 Students)
START DATE: 21 January 2023
TIME: 10:00-12:30 (every Saturday during term time)
COST: Free
VENUE: ARU Chelmsford Campus
The world is changing rapidly. This generation will face national and global challenges. They will need innovative thinking and versatile science and technology skills to tackle them.
Almost all careers will require an understanding of science and technology, as well as creative capacities such as imagination, curiosity and collaboration.
CSES and ARU have teamed up with the National Saturday Club to deliver a 15-week Science & Engineering Club where young people can explore these subjects creatively.
In a university setting, using ARU's state-of-the-art facilities, our Imagine! Saturday Club will give students hands-on experience of exciting and varied topics within science, technology and engineering.
The programme will also give an insight into the diverse education and career opportunities within the STEM sector, with plenty of opportunity to ask questions of practising scientists and engineers.
Read more: National Saturday Club: Imagine! Science and Engineering
From passion to project
Get your students thinking about issues they're passionate about or developing solutions to challenges they've come across in their own lives by doing a project for The Big Bang Competition.
Taking part in the UK's top STEM competition for young people is a brilliant way to inspire your students to think big and show their passion.
Enter your science or engineering project online by 30 March 2023 at 5pm.
A report from the event at Clacton Coastal Academy, 9 November 2022
Students from Clacton Coastal Academy took part in a "Step Into STEM" My Smarter Essex event as part of National Green Careers Week. The event was launched by Cllr Tony Ball, Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability, and focused on local career opportunities linked with renewable energy, sustainable materials and the skills students will need to develop to be successful in this sector.
The event, planned in conjunction with CSES, Essex County Council, NHS Integrated Care Board and the STEM Ambassador Hub, invited students to explore a variety of careers through practical, hands-on activities, including constructing their own solar and wind power sources, preparing fibre-optic wiring and exploring a working wind turbine through a VR headset.
Images on the theme of "Controlling the Climate Crisis"
Thank you to everyone who entered our 2022 Photographic Competition on the theme of Controlling the Climate Crisis. We were delighted to receive yet again an impressive selection of thoughtful, powerful, clever and sometimes funny images that speak to this important topic.
You can see all of the photographs at our web gallery here.
Congratulations to our winners, whose entries are shown below. Since quite a few of the entries (unfortunately) didn't meet the technical criteria or appeared to be copied from stock images, we have awarded a first prize (£60) and four highly commended prizes (£20), across the age categories. We look forward to running another competition next year.
A new project for Primary and Secondary School Students: November 2022 to June 2023
We are launching another new science, technology and computing project for primary and secondary schools. This year, the project celebrates the 100th anniversary of the founding of the BBC and Essex as the birthplace of radio!
We are looking for participating schools across Essex to become new CSES Affiliate Schools whose student teams will:
- Gain an understanding of the basic technology of radio transmission and develop hands-on electronics skills by constructing both a simple crystal set and a more sophisticated FM receiver.
- Research the history, roles and activities of key participants in the development of radio broadcasting (or other areas where arts and technology combine), especially highlighting the roles of women and others from under-represented groups.
- Develop and record a short 5-minute podcast introducing their chosen role model, which they will share within the classroom using a short-range FM transmitter and more widely with other schools through audio streaming.
- Prepare a poster, which together with their podcast will be judged at our annual TEXPO in June 2023.
To maximise the success of these student-led projects, additional competitive funding may be available from our CSES STEM Club Bursary.
There will be PRIZES for the most innovative, best research and greatest impact entry in each age group, presented at our annual awards ceremony at Anglia Ruskin University in July. In consultation with your CSES Champion, teams may be funded to enter their project for an appropriate level National CREST Award.
We are now looking for schools across Essex (including the unitary authorities) to become CSES School Affiliate Members and discuss how they would like to be involved in this exciting project.
Please contact our Vice President for Education, Professor David Humber, for further information (
Read more: Giving Voice: Stories of STE(A)M through the technology of radio
Helen Sharman's talk one of many 'out of this world' Chelmsford Science Festival events
The first British astronaut, Helen Sharman OBE, will give a headline talk at the inaugural Chelmsford Science Festival, taking place across the city between 12-18 October and organised by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU).
During her talk on Tuesday, 18 October, Helen will explain how, in May 1991, she spent eight days orbiting the Earth after being chosen from a pool of 13,000 applicants. As part of the selection process, she undertook rigorous psychological and medical assessments, and had to train intensively for 18 months to prepare her body for the harsh environment of space.
The talk will take place at Chelmsford Cathedral in front of the spectacular Gaia installation, which will be on display throughout the festival.
Helen's talk is just one of several fascinating and free events at the festival, which will feature world-leading experts speaking about issues ranging from the future of work to the secrets of visual short-term memory, and from the science of getting fit to how nano-technology can benefit all aspects of our lives.
The festival also features a free Family Science Day taking place at ARU's Chelmsford campus from 10am until 4pm on Saturday, 15 October, featuring hands-on and fun activities for people of all ages. As well as activities from CSES, people will have the chance to meet Titan the Robot, see shows from Cloud Factory and Bubble Superstars, and even experience a different body through virtual reality.
Read more: First Briton in space leads extravaganza of science
Return of talks and socials for the new season
Now that the worst of the Covid pandemic is behind us, and following the success of events over the summer such as Do and Discover and our Schools' TEXPO (see our COMPRESS newsletter for further information if you're interested), we are delighted to be returning to a full talks and social programme, alongside some new (regular) flagship events for families and the public.
It's still early days and we are still ramping back up – as are our partners such as the IOP, IET and IMechE – so please keep an eye out for new dates added to the diary over the coming months.
Read on for the events in the calendar so far.
Last autumn term Make Happen ran a very successful series of online Ri Masterclasses in mathematics for students in year 9. We are looking to run another series of Ri Masterclasses in computer science with dates proposed in the coming autumn term, and are looking for volunteers who would be interested in running one of the sessions each.
Make Happen are looking for researchers / volunteers from any discipline to develop and run an Ri Masterclass in Computer Science for students in year 9. The session would take place via zoom on a Saturday morning in November or December. Some preparation would be required beforehand for the workshop outline and resources – Ben, the masterclass coordinator from Ri, will be able to support you with this.
- Gaia at Chelmsford Cathedral: Volunteers needed!
- Exhibition celebrates Chelmsford innovation
- TEXPO 2022
- 2022 TEXPO results
- Website technical issues
- CSES at the Chelmsford Festival
- TEXPO 2022 and Photo Competition – ONE WEEK left to enter!
- CSES Summer 2022 Programme
- Celebrating 100 years of radio broadcast
- Chelmsford Innovation: Marconi and Beyond