Curiosity in Action
How can creative, participatory STEM activities support youth and community work to enhance young people’s confidence, resilience and wellbeing?
Curiosity In Action is a two-year programme building an evidence-base, capacity and network in Scotland to explore the impact of STEM in youth work funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
This will include pairing youth groups across Scotland with researchers involved in STFC research - including astronomy, space science and physics - in a collaborative action research process. Together they will trial activities, explore approaches to discover what works well and understand the impact this work has on young people.
This learning will shape a series of free training opportunities and resources developed for Community Learning and Development practitioners, researchers and science educators. We will also be collectively working on publishing the findings from this work with the youth workers and researchers involved.
The programme is facilitated by Science Ceilidh in partnership with Youth Link Scotland, along with partners including The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh and researchers at the University of Edinburgh and Glasgow**.
YEAR 1 OF THE ACTION RESEARCH PROGRAMME
The first year of Curiosity in Action kicked off in October 2023 with the matching process for 6 youth groups and researchers across Scotland. We had our first action research meeting in November in Edinburgh bringing the youth workers and researchers together to map out the group’s priorities and hopes for the programme. Our second action research meeting took place online in February exploring the learning of each of the partnerships so far.
meet the partnerships
Paisley YMCA is a youth and community space dedicated to fun and digital inclusion in the heart of Paisley. They provide free youth work activities and opportunities for young people to explore, innovate & create!
Who is their ‘Scientist-in-Residence’?
Dr David Boldrin based at the University of Glasgow.
Ormlie Community Association carry out a variety of activities for children aged from 5 to 16 years. “I am looking forward to developing children's appreciation of Science and how science fits into their world around them as this can open up opportunities, which can be developed towards work in later life.” - Pauline Mathers
Who is their ‘Scientist-in-Residence’?
Ruth MacKay from the University of Aberdeen.
The Multi Cultural Family Base Safe Haven group is a group of wonderful refugee young people aged 8 to 14 who are affected by trauma. The group aims to provide a safe space for them to try activities that improve their mental health, build friendships, connect with their culture and settle into their new community.
Who is their ‘Scientists-in-Residence’?
Dr Clara Pennock and Dr Alison Young based at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh.
Heart of Midlothian FC Innovation Centre provides a fun, engaging and inclusive environment for young people, including those from underrepresented groups, to gain digital education and STEM skills via their free afterschool clubs and holiday workshops.
Who is their ‘Scientist-in-Residence’?
Jacob Allitt from Heriot-Watt University.
Auchinleck Community Development Initiative provides young people from Auchinleck and the surrounding area aged 8-12 a range of activities and an opportunity to socialise out of the school environment. “We love providing new experiences and challenges that capture the imaginations of the young people who come along and that's why being paired with a scientist as part of the Curiosity in Action project is so exciting for us.” - Stuart Mitchell
Who is their ‘Scientists-in-Residence’?
Dr Juliano Morimoto, Dr Charles Wang and Sophie Laurie all working at the University of Aberdeen.
Curiosity in Communities
Alongside the Curiosity in Action programme, we host the Curiosity In Communities Network. The network is open to everyone interested in the role of STEM to support Community Learning and Development (CLD) practice outcomes with and by young people. CLD practitioners, science educators, researchers and anyone else interested are invited to connect, build collaborations and share learning together.
Sign up for our mailing list here and join the network on Community Lab here.
“This feels like the start of something really special. To have STEM professionals and youth workers working together to create meaningful opportunities for young people is amazing!”
Attendee from the first network meeting in March 2023
upcoming training sessions
We are hosting free online training sessions throughout 2024 and 2025 to explore how we can use STEM in a youth work-based approach for youth workers, CLD practitioners (including early years) and researchers (including PhD students).
For those coming in from a youth work/CLD background, this is an opportunity to explore how you can pull out the STEM in the activities you do with your groups, support youth work outcomes through STEM and build connections with local scientists.
For researchers, the session will explore how you could take a youth-led approach to public engagement and be a chance to connect with youth workers and CLD practitioners to collaborate and focus on social impact with your engagement activities.
Wed 13 Nov 2024, 4:00PM - 6:00PM
Please note that this is the same training session delivered across multiple dates to give as many people the opportunity to attend as possible, book the date that suits you best.
Photos from our first network meeting in Grassmarket Community Centre, March 2023.
We’ll be keeping the network updated about the programme along with invites to regular network meetings and training opportunities. All the opportunities through this programme are free to access thanks to funding from STFC.
This is a collaborative programme to help build momentum, evidence and connectivity across sectors to support the meaningful involvement of STEM in youth work and we’re still building collaborations and keen to connect with wider partners passionate about this work. If you’re interested in being more involved in the strategy of the network & programme please get in touch.
*Project Team
This programme is facilitated by Science Ceilidh in partnership with Youthlink Scotland and a group of steering group members including Professor Catherine Heymans, Royal Observatory of Edinburgh (ROE) STFC, Abi Ashton, ROE STFC, Dr Xinran Liu, University of Edinburgh and UNDO, Dr Jean-Christophe Denis, University of Edinburgh, Dr Autumn Roesh-Marsh, University of Edinburgh Bink Hub, Professor Martin Hendry, University of Glasgow, Hilary Phillips, Youth Link Scotland, Dr Amy Calder, Youth Link Scotland and John Galt, Education Scotland. The Principal Investigator for the programme is Lewis Hou (Science Ceilidh Director). We also have developing collaborations including with SSERC Young STEM Leaders and University of Aberdeen, and are open to further connections.