My Left-field Lesson - Science on the streets

Use Banksy as inspiration for a ‘guerrilla’ movement in class
24th January 2014, 12:00am

Share

My Left-field Lesson - Science on the streets

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/my-left-field-lesson-science-streets

Banksy has grown from a little-known graffiti artist, considered a criminal by many, to a household name whose work is so in demand that it is often ripped off walls and put up for auction. His art is designed to get ordinary people on the street to question their everyday reality. He is, therefore, very interesting subject matter for teachers.

You’re probably assuming that I am talking about art teachers, who could inspire students through the use of graffiti, so it may surprise you that I am, in fact, a physics teacher. And rather than stencil graffiti or street art, the topic of my Banksy-themed lesson is “guerrilla science”. The aim of guerrilla science is to get students to think about and engage with the everyday science around them - and hopefully get shoppers on the local high street to do the same. Here’s how it works.

Working with the Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair, I received low-tack A4 stickers (see picture, left), each presenting a unique and interesting fact relating to a Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) subject. The facts were directly related to students’ lives and were presented in accessible ways. For example: “The entire internet weighs about the same as one large strawberry.”

First, I set about getting students to evaluate the facts. Were they true? How had they been worked out? The strawberry fact is excellent for this, as it uses Einstein’s E=mc2, along with knowledge of how data storage works, to arrive at the “one large strawberry” answer. This would have been an interesting lesson in itself, but then we came to the guerrilla aspect of the lesson: where would this fact best fit on our local high street?

The students decided that the strawberry fact sticker should be attached to a greengrocer’s box of berries. Other facts ended up on park benches, bridges and in skate parks. As much as I would like to have done this in the true spirit of Banksy, we actually asked for permission at all the places where we put up facts - I did not want to be arrested.

The effect on students was incredible. They were fascinated by the facts, enthusiastic about finding out their deeper meaning and loved the idea that they would be helping to spread their favourite subject around the local area.

Inevitably, our tactics attracted the attention of the local press: the article was really positive and is now pinned up on the staff noticeboard. Many other students who were not involved in the project have seen it and asked me what I was doing, which has sparked an interest in science that can often be lacking in students.

And what about the local population? Have they taken to science as many take to Banksy? The effects are yet to be properly assessed ...

Owen James is a physics teacher at Sutton Grammar School in Surrey, England. The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair will take place at the Birmingham NEC on 13-16 March 2014. www.thebigbangfair.co.uk

TOP 10 PHYSICS RESOURCES

1 Solid facts

This innovative and fun lesson covers the basics of solids, liquids and gases, and their composition.

bit.lySolidFacts

2 Need for speed

Try this well-planned unit of work with your class to teach them all about speed, velocity and acceleration graphs.

bit.lySpeedLesson

3 Bird’s eye view

Engage your class with some serious physics through the popular game Angry Birds.

bit.lyAngryBirdsLesson

4 Weighty issue

This fun physics game teaches students all about the significance of the proton and mass numbers.

bit.lyWeightyLesson

5 Force be with you

This simple but effective worksheet allows students to demonstrate their understanding of force diagrams.

bit.lyForceLesson

6 Physical thoughts

Display these informative and attractive science fact posters around the physics lab, or use them to inspire students to make their own.

bit.lyPhysicalThoughts

7 Solar tour

This presentation will take your class on a tour of the solar system with amazing imagery.

bit.lySolarSystemResource

8 Light it up

This resource includes a series of straightforward experiments to demonstrate how light works.

bit.lyLightLesson

9 Sankey lesson

Teach your students the history of Sankey diagrams and show them how to draw their own.

bit.lySankeyLesson

10 Spark of knowledge

This worksheet on electricity will save time and provide a handy revision poster for your students to use at home.

bit.lySparkOfKnowledge.

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared