Hi guys!
I’ve had such a great time taking part in the Drugs Zone. At the end of the event my fingers were aching from all the typing and my brain hurt from trying to puzzle over all your great questions. But I’m so happy that you thought I was making some sense and voted for me! It was a really cool competition and it’s great that Jack and I were tied in the end so we both won.
You all asked really interesting questions, some great ones about animal testing, cancer and the use of placebos. Hope we were able to give some good answers so you understood a bit more. The live chats were particularly good, being able to get some discussions going on the big issues. I also found some of the non‑science questions really fun to answer; I support Derby County and definitely like pancakes. We scientists are just like you guys and in a few years it could be you making the next big discoveries.
I’m going to use the prize money to develop a scheme we have at the University of Leeds to get school students like yourselves into the chemistry labs here. They will be able to do some real experiments that they wouldn’t have the chance to in their normal classrooms at school. I really want to continue to work with and inspire young people to get into science and hopefully they will see that it can lead them in many exciting directions in life.
Thanks again to everyone who took part, never stop asking questions!
Tom
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Hi everyone!
Thanks so much for getting involved with “I’m a scientist! Get me out of here!”. I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would, and I learnt loads too. I particularly enjoyed the live chats – it was fun to “meet” you all this way, and the questions were rapid-fire and brilliant.
It was great to meet the other scientists in the zone too. We all work on different things, are at different stages of our careers and live in different parts of the country, but I think we worked well together to answer the questions. It seems like we have similar senses of humour and opinions on science-related topics. I like to think we’d get on well in “real life”.
Tom and I were joint winners for the event and I am so pleased that we get to share the title. The draw is the perfect result! Tom – you have to let us all know how your project goes!
I am going to donate my money to the charity Taste for Science. Many of you asked about what we’d spend the money on during the live chats, and you can find out more about the charity I’m donating to here: http://www.tasteforscience.
The work they do is genuinely amazing – it has the potential to change lives and science for the better. They have a “science truck” which they take around schools in Uganda, teaching science. The schools are poor and can’t afford their own equipment, so the truck gives children the chance to learn as well as to take part in and enjoy science.
£10 funds a year’s worth of regular experiments for a child. The £500 from I’m a Scientist will therefore fund a year’s worth of regular experiments for 50 children. That truly is making a glorious impact on many lives.
Thank you so much for voting, for taking part in the live chats, and for asking questions on the website. I hope you’ve learned things too and seen that scientists are ordinary people and can be fun to chat with. And thanks to you guys getting involved, 50 students will get the chance to experience science properly at school for the first time.
All the best for the future!
Jack