#uclchemairpoll — Public Fediverse posts

We're into the end game of #UCLChemAirPoll for this year - we're checking data and lesson plans. Striking to see the patterns emerging. I'm beginning to think that we can see the impact of the #ULEZ as plenty of our numbers are lower than I remember them in the past.
Also plenty of learning here about scaffolding to explain subtle concepts like calibration curves to 11-12 year olds. "Chemistry can make invisible molecules visible. Graphs do the same for numbers."

@SusiArnott Oh yes. Hours of lesson plan checking today. Tomorrow. Friday. Monday. Tuesday…. #UCLChemAirPoll

And myriad tubes being assembled. #UCLChemAirPoll

A lot of stainless steel grids waiting to be soaked and put into diffusion tubes. #UCLChemAirPoll

Our #UCLChemAirPoll 2025 project is just getting underway. We send our first year undergrads in primary schools, where Year 5 or 6 children predict where in their neighourhood levels of NOx will be high or low. We measure using diffusion tubes, and report our data back to the children in a second in-class lesson.

There is fun and learning for all. If you know of a London prirmary school (within about 40 mins of Euston) get in touch.

Our website is http://uclchemairpoll.wordpress.com

Ho hum. Another day another #UCLOpenDay. Today I'm talking about #UCLChemAirPoll a project I'm getting ready to resurrect. #UCLChemAirPollTheUndead

@drmambobob I’ve often talked about it, but not done that explicitly. If I may, I will stick your idea into our training manual for #UCLChemAirPoll for the autumn when 200 undergrads will visit schools across London.

And so it's done! #UCLChemAirPoll is over for 2024. 61 classes visited. almost 600 measurements made. Feedback from schools and from students so far very positive and deeply satisfying.
Overall, we are seeing slightly lower levels than in the early years of the project (2016) thanks, in part, to the ULEZ along with LTNs and the gradual growth of EVs.
Plenty more to do to improve air quality in London, a multilayered problem that our students have been discussing with the children.

We're into the final countdown for Visit 2 of #UCLChemAirPoll. Their NOx diffusion tubes are being analysed and the data checked. I'll be in the lab for about 12 hours this week supervising the pipetting, the mixing and the absorbance measurements. Lesson plans being drawn up and i'm trying to check that all 61 primary school classes are lined up and waiting for our 61 teams to come and report on their findings. Then we can start checking lesson plans… 

A. Simple. Project This. Is. Not.

Dropped into Thornhill School this morning as I cycled past just at dropping off time. So good to get 10 minutes to chat with my contact, the Science lead there. #UCLChemAirPoll

This is #UCLChemAirPoll week - we have 62 teams of students going out to that number of primary school classes. It's bonkers checking all the lesson plans but every year the excitement is palpable. And we should have about 600 measurements of NOx pollution from Lambeth to Brent and from Camden out to Seven Kings. That my colleagues and I are still in one piece is a minor miracle.

@Nicovel0 Thanks but hold off for now because I've got 33 schools and about 64 teams going in place, which is going to stretch us to the limit. You can see the map below (with one south London school off the edge… )- only one in Brent.
If you send an email to me/us at [email protected] we will email you well in advance of the next round. We have a brilliant Mums4Lungs friend who has helped us out a lot over the past three years in South London. #UCLChemAirPoll

Term has hit. Trying to nail down more than 60 primary school classes for our #uclchemairpoll project while a colleague tries to navigate the timetable for the almost 250 freshers involved… And tomorrow I meet my 425 first year life science students…
The extreme non-linearity of our system is apparent everywhere… #academicchatter

So I have 50 classes in place for #UCLChemAirPoll but believe it or not I could take even a few more.

If you know of parents of primary school children in London who have an interest in air pollution, point them towards our website. Or drop us an email: [email protected]
https://uclchemairpoll.wordpress.com

#airquality #London #primaryschool #learning

KLAXON! Calling primary schools across London. #UCLChemAirPoll rides again.

We will send teams of undergrads into classrooms in Oct to talk about air pollution. Your children's predictions - where they think the pollution is high/low, will form the basis of our measurements.

The team returns in Dec to report their results and get the children to think about actions to bring about change.

Brilliant fun and learning for all.

Spread the word. [email protected]

https://uclchemairpoll.wordpress.com

#UCLChemAirPoll takes a new direction. As of today we've got a couple of teenage apprentice electricians tasked with swapping old fluorescent fittings with LEDs.
A lot of learning about the complexities of measurement and how to make rough estimates of financial and carbon savings.
In a university we want everyone to learn stuff, at all levels and every day.

Three of our students at Charles Dickens School in Southwark working delivering a lesson with a class of children. Air pollution as a vehicle for learning, for science and for fun. #UCLChemAirPoll for the win-win!

#UCLChemAirPoll is in its final days. 30 teams have reported back NOx levels from almost 300 locations around 25ish primary schools across London. Only about 12 more teams and 8 schools to go and it'll be a wrap for this year. Oodles of fun. A lot of hard work. Masses of learning about science, calibration, pollution, communication and politics. And an ulcer for me. #result

And it's a wrap. Close to 500 tubes from the same number of locations across London analyzed. Next week is the big reveal in 42 classrooms across London. And in BTS action, that no one will talk about, our wonderful support staff, Helena and Hannah, will do the cleanup. #UCLChemAirPoll

#UCLChemAirPoll analyses in full swing here! We report back in schools next week.

We've now got 150ish students arranged in 40 #UCLChemAirPoll teams, and these are now linked with 40 classes across London. Just waiting for final confirmation from each school.
Lesson plans are being prepared. Tomorrow we start sessions to check over the activities and their plans for their lessons.
Next week will be a week of deep learning for our students and the start of our measurements.
And for the children I think there's going to be a pot a learning and a jug of fun to go with it.

And @eLearningTechie, lest I get too cocky with this "genius" stuff, I got a dose of my own medicine today for another #UCLChemAirPoll class. The HDMI connexion in the remote ICH lecture theatre wouldn't connect. So I did the visualizer/laptop screen trick.
A nice man from AV Svcs turned up after my class. So I turned the projector system back on to show him the problem and the damned problem had gone away. I had been hoist by the old turn-it-off-and-on-again petard. #rookieerror

My #UCLChemAirPoll class this morning was followed by a lecture on postmodernism. The lecturercould not connect her Mac to the projector. She had a back up of her presentation on the main network. But she could not get the computer to log her in. She was looking increasingly stressed… So I took her laptop, turned it on its side with the screen facing up and turned on the visualizer. And Lo! her presentation was projected on the screen.
She called me "a genius". Nah. I'm just old. Seen stuff… 

And we're off. 160 students in the room. @CarolineRussell delivering a tour-de-force account of the role of data to hold governments to account, alongside the importance of getting politically active and asking lots of questions. We need more Carolines!

Thursday we start to build lesson plans and think about how help children to learn. This is going to be fun. #UCLChemAirPoll

Here is a map of the schools we'll be work with in 2023. 33 or 35 classes doing #UCLChemAirPoll. Our project is a bit smaller than last year but there's going to just as much fun and learning as before. We kick off Tuesday with a little political intro from that powerhouse @CarolineRussell

So it's a wrap. I think I have 33 confirmed classes from Southwark out to Seven Kings out east. tomorrow our teams meet for the first time and the project begins. #UCLChemAirPoll

So I'm at the uber-stressful stage where i have to close my lists for #UCLChemAirPoll with not quite enough classes this year. That said I had only 13 confirmed classes on Thursday and a significant push as got me to over 30 now…  If you know of a primary school or parents who might be interested please pass on our details asap. https://uclchemairpoll.wordpress.com/

Do you have contact with a London primary school (pref central-ish)? We're looking for Yr 5/6 classes to visit. Our students will visit a class in Oct, deliver a lesson where the children predict where levels of NOx are higher/lower. Our students make the measurements using diffusion tubes. They return for a second lesson in Dec to discuss the results with the children.
There's oodles of fun and challenge for all.
Please spread the word.
More info: https://uclchemairpoll.wordpress.com #UCLChemAirPoll

After much fiddling with Outlook permissions, we have finally managed to email some 50 schools to invite them to #UCLChemAirPoll for autumn round of measurements. If you know of a (preferably Inner London) primary school that would like to participate in an air pollution measurement project, tell them to get in touch with us. We'd love to learn with them! https://uclchemairpoll.wordpress.com/

We have just launched #UCLChemAirPoll for 2023. We're looking for Year 5 and 6 primary school classes across London. Our students will visit a class in October, deliver a lesson where the children make predictions about where levels of NOx are higher/lower. Our students make the measurements using diffusion tubes. They return for a second lesson in December to discuss the results with the children.
There's oodles of fun and challenge for all.
Spread the word.
More info: https://uclchemairpoll.wordpress.com