By Kate Hodges
08th March 2023
EVENT IN THE LAB
It’s British Science Week – seven days of STEM-centric, countrywide and online events check online to find one near you. We like the sound of Surfers Against Sewage Trash Mob, encouraging speedy litter pick-ups, an online forces live lesson with real-life astronauts, and TheDadLab’s live online experiments. Find out more here.
The site also has some great resources for learning – download a free activity pack here (you’ll also find previous years’ packs via the same link) and find out more about the Smashing Stereotypes campaign here (do you have a preconceived idea of what a scientist should look like?).
As it’s Science Week, why not try some experimenting at home? Playing with and learning about magnets can be an almost magical experience for children. Find out more about the science behind them here (toddlers), here (primary) or here (GCSE). Try some fun magnetic experiments; this magnetic gizmo will help you make different observations about their properties, or make your own electromagnet using a battery and nail. Older kids could try making their own magnetic levitation booth. Alternatively, combine art with science to make these building blocks, try this magnetic painting technique, or create images using iron filings.
EVENT, LEARN HELLO LADIES
Today is a time to cheerlead girls and women and celebrate their achievements and potential; it’s International Women’s Day. The theme for 2023 ‘embrace equity’ – imagine a diverse, equitable world free of discrimination, stereotypes – find out about the equity embrace pose and strike it all evening (and into the weekend)! You’ll find zingy, colourful and inspiring learning resources for children here. IWD is a great learning prompt Find resources including videos, author interviews, colouring sheets, animations and one-hour lesson plans here. Or perhaps search out a new-to-you intersectional feminist book for kids.
There are a huge number of events going on both today and into the weekend – there will be something exciting near you – including the boundary-pushing and inclusive WOW Festival which takes place all weekend on the South Bank in London. Try jump skipping, self-defence classes or catwalk dancing at a free pop-up, enjoy gratis music or hang at one of the super-popular under 10s feminist corner event. Most events ticketed, many free. Full line-up here
RECIPE GARLIC AND SHOOTS
The first, most tender shoots of wild garlic have started to burst from the ground. Our go-to recipes include wild garlic pesto, garlic bread, or just adding the leaves to everything we cook (they’re great in omelettes). Find some ideas – and ways to preserve your stash – here and here. We love nettle and wild garlic pesto; find a recipe here or use it in seaweed and mushroom broth. This year, why not go off-piste and try making ice-cream, kimchi or a tincture to use as a spring tonic - find more tonic ideas here.
DO AND LEARN WELL VERSED
The Young Poets Network is The Poetry Society’s online platform for young writers up to the age of 25. Their website is a great leaping-off point for anyone wanting to try their hand at verse. You’ll find features about poets and poetry, new writing, sage advice and challenges and competitions. Why not try a new form; a villanelle or try investigating the language of your own name? Bruised-hearts may appreciate their advice on how to recover from a crush with poetry.
EVENT STAR SPANGLED
The Hebridean Dark Skies festival ambitiously melds arts and science using music, film, visual art, theatre, astronomy talks and atmospheric stargazing events. This far north, there’s always the chance you might even be lucky enough to glimpse the northern lights. Indulge in a David Bowie in Space concert, find out how it feels to chase the aurora (online event), ask astronomers big questions in a live-streamed, free session or explore interstellar textiles and augmented reality to print fabric and make wearable artworks. Unless you live nearby, it might be too late to make it in person this year, but we’ve got this on our wishlist of things to do in the future… More here
WE CAN’T WAIT: Take a sneaky peeky at London’s revamped Museum of Childhood, reopening as The Young V&A on July 1. The gorgeous space remains the same, but the exhibits are more interactive, with stages, sandpits and dedicated storytelling spaces, and there are new treasures from the original Kermit the frog to Keith Haring artworks. We can’t wait for their first temporary exhibition: Japan: Myths to Manga. More here
WHAT WE’RE EATING Vegan Cauliflower, Chickpea & Coconut Milk Curry Another delicious recipe from The Mob Kitchen, this curry is creamy, healthy, delicious and vegan. Feed a family of four for under a tenner. Cauliflower is key here so don’t miss it out! Find the recipe here
WHAT WE’RE READING What does it mean to be a feminist mother? “From pregnancy and birth to the newborn days, and later balancing motherhood, work and childcare, mums often feel their own needs come last. As International Women’s Day (March 8) aims to shine a light on inequality and injustice faced by women across the world, it’s important to highlight that injustices exist within partnerships and families too – and for women balancing work with kids.” Read more here
