The aim of the Earth Science Teachers' Association (ESTA) is to encourage and support the teaching of Earth Sciences, whether as a single subject such as geology, or as part of science or geography courses.

Teachers who have no formal Earth Science training, but deliver an Earth Science component in the National Curriculum, are particularly welcome. There is no qualification necessary for membership.

Further information, including membership details, is available on the ESTA website at http://www.esta-uk.org/ or by post to:

The Membership Secretary - ESTA
PO Box 10
Narberth
Pembrokeshire
SA67 7YE

ESTA offers support to teachers through:

• Four issues per year of the journal, Teaching Earth Sciences, which contains articles reporting curriculum updates, book reviews, ideas for classroom, laboratory and field teaching, and advertisements for useful resources.
• High quality collections of rocks, minerals and fossils for classroom use, designed for use across a wide age range are available for purchase.
• The Annual Course and Conference which is usually held over a weekend in September and offers a mix of academic updating, ideas for teaching and fieldwork, and exhibits of resources.
• In-service training can be provided by experienced members at the invitation of schools or advisors.
• Liaison to promote the effective teaching of Earth Science with bodies such as the Department for Education and Skills, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the Geological Society and The Royal Society.
• Liaison with examination boards to represent the interests of our members when syllabuses and assessment are under review.
• A network of fellow members who can provide mutual support for Earth Science teaching.
• The Association maintains contacts with a wide range of conservation and professional groups, enabling members, to become involved with their activities.

The Chemical Industry Education Centre (CIEC) produces The Good Resource Guide for both primary and secondary schools. A large range of resources is collected for review from industrial companies, trade and professional associations. The resources are reviewed by practising teachers.

Several criteria are used to decide if a resource should be recommended:

• Does the resource support the curriculum?
• Is there time to use it?
• Will it enhance planned lessons without the need for extensive modification?
• Does the resource provide sufficient background information to support teachers and pupils as it is used?

ASE has supported an updated review of the guides and an online database search facility. Resources are categorised by topic, type and target age range.

Find the database at http://www.york.ac.uk/org/ciec/GRG/GRGhome_page.htm.

Concept Cartoons were created by Brenda Keogh and Stuart Naylor in 1991. A new approach to teaching, learning and assessment in science, they feature cartoon-style drawings showing different characters arguing about everyday situations. They are designed to intrigue, to provoke discussion and to stimulate scientific thinking.

For AKA Science? Concept Cartoons have donated this new cartoon focusing on weather forecasting.

WEATHER

Find out more about Concept Cartoons and using them with pupils at:
www.conceptcartoons.com

SETNET (Science Engineering Technology Mathematics Network) has 58 member organisations representing Government, industry, the engineering professional organisations, education and educational charities. SETNET has established SETPOINTS in the UK which operate as a focus for teachers, business and industry, to obtain information about relevant resources, schemes and initiatives.

SETPOINTS:

• Provide a 'one-stop shop' for information about science, engineering, technology and mathematics
• Encourage co-operation in the scheduling and organisation of joint projects and events
• Encourage greater publicity for success stories from teachers and students
• Create and promote a focus for distribution and collection of information for teachers, industry and business
• Undertake reviews of local activities, highlighting delivery 'gaps' and duplication
• Organise seminars and meetings to disseminate good practice
  

SETPOINTS encourage co-operation in the scheduling and organisation of joint projects and events. They can provide contacts with local professionals and PhD students in your area. More information is available at www.setnet.org.uk or by telephoning 0800 146415.

Science and Plants for Schools (SAPS) works with teachers to interest young people in plants and in molecular biology, helping them to become more aware of the importance of plants in the global economy, and of recent advances in DNA technology. By working with teachers to develop new resources, SAPS promotes and supports exciting teaching of plant science and molecular biology in schools and colleges. Included in the resources they provide are:

• Simple protocols for investigating plant science
• Low cost kits for practical investigations
• Inexpensive and safe techniques for DNA extraction and analysis with restriction enzymes
• Practical workshops for teachers
• Osmosis newsletter containing news, practical protocols and advice
  

The SAPS website is used by students and teachers. It offers an enormous resource - you can search through the database for a wealth of information - ideas for investigations and how to approach them, access to SAPS publications (including Osmosis), useful practical worksheets and links to a selection of other plant science publications. Full details of workshops, practical kits and sponsorship schemes are also available on the website at http://www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/

THE SCIENCE DISCOVERY CLUBS NETWORK You have a science discovery club up and running, but you are still looking for something extra? Well, Science Year, ECSITE-UK (The Science and Discovery Centre Network) and the BA (the British Association for the Advancement of Science) have set up sciZmic, the science discovery clubs network.

What is sciZmic? In the real world scientists do not just work on their own, they meet each other and work together. It seemed to us that they meet because it helps them to do better science. By meeting other scientists, they can swap ideas, generate new ideas, start collaborations and do more and better science. If they can do it,why shouldn't science clubs? sciZmic, the Science Discovery Clubs Network, links together different kinds of science club. For example, they could be astronomy clubs, environmental clubs, engineering clubs or general science clubs. sciZmic does not prescribe how science clubs should be run or what kind of activities they should be doing. However, with its partner organisations, sciZmic does support and enrich their existing activities.

Many different organisations supply ideas and back up for science clubs. These include the BA and The Libraries Association and groups like Young Engineers, which take a technology-lead approach. sciZmic's role is to link these various interested bodies together and supply science clubs, and prospective clubs, with a broad overview of the various approaches they might want to adopt, and of the many different resources available to them.

So far there are eight science discovery centres (e.g. At-Bristol, Kelham Island Industrial Museum) acting as regional hubs. Throughout the year, science clubs are invited to events at local science centres, encouraged to take part in megalabs and to start their own collaborations with other science discovery clubs.

During the pilot phase, clubs across the country had the opportunity to:

• Work out which food was responsible for a food poisoning outbreak
• Try out the telescopes at Herstmonceux
• Go to a talk by a world renowned particle physicist
• Get down to some serious foody science
• Make hot air balloons
  

2002/2003 promises to offer even more for science discovery clubs across the country. Kicking off the year is the sicZMic pond project, offering you a chance to pit your school pond or local water-way against one elsewhere in the UK. So whether you run a wildlife club, computer club or engineering club visit www.scizmic.net to find out what they have to offer you. Not only will they tell you what sciZmic is up to, but what the other organisations involved in science discovery clubs have planned.

Also in 2002/2003 sciZmic will be offering a series of INSET days or twilight sessions about starting and running science clubs. These will be packed with information about all the schemes available, they will provide you with ideas for your club and give you a chance to meet other science club leaders in your area. If you would be interested in attending a sciZmic science club INSET evening, please contact Rosalind Mist via ros@scizmic.net.