Getting Kids Excited about Space and Color
Our on-going relationship with The National Space Academy in UK has seen some amazing results this year as thousands of students have experienced chemistry masterclasses!
The Academy uses exciting space science and technology to engage young people with the science curriculum as well as developing their confidence in and knowledge of STEM subjects.
Supporting Next Generation of Scientists
Together with our UK colleagues, the National Space Academy set up The PPG Chemistry Education Project to enable more schools to access the masterclasses full of experiments. Since 2017 these masterclasses link the science and engineering of PPG with space science and technology to engage young people with the science curriculum!
Peter Waites, raw materials platform manager, architectural coatings EMEA, is an enthusiastic supporter of the masterclasses and is actively involved:
Secrets of Colors and Materials
In 2018, more than 3,400 students from 62 schools across the UK were engaged with the inspiring masterclasses. They are taught by experienced and enthusiastic teachers with a history of outstanding practice.
Peter gives us even more detail as to how the children are engaged in space science and the importance of color.
As he explains, the session begins with asking the students what space craft all have in common. They are all white! To explore the reasons behind this, the students are given cards ranging from black through to shades of grey to white. The cards are then painted with a heat sensitive paint on one side and then placed at a fixed distance from a heat source. Thanks to this experiment, children can see that black heats up more quickly than white and that white reflects more heat – and that’s why space craft are white!
The masterclasses offer a practical application of science and help develop enthusiasm for learning.