* The Association for Science Education’s annual conference, which involves more than 50 countries, will be held at Reading University, January 7-9, 1999. Speakers include: Professor Russell Stannard, Open University; Sir Harry Kroto, Nobel Prize winner; and Professor Wilmut, “master of Dolly the Sheep”. Spectacular lecture demonstrations are promised, plus a debate on genetic modification. Registration is Pounds 100, Pounds 50 members. Details: Michael Brookman, ASE, College Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL10 9AA, tel: 01707 267411.

* A day on Great Scientists, plus presentations on Energy, Power and Motion; Carbon 14 Dating: from Ice Man to the Turin Shroud; Black Holes, Worm Holes and Time Travel; and Genes and You are included in the Royal Institution of Great Britain’s autumn lecture programme for secondary schools kicking off on October 6. Lectures during “Engineering in Health” week starting November 2 will include “Maintaining the Beat: engineering the heart” and “Is your surgeon a robot?”. Fee: up to Pounds 1. There is also a teacher’s workshop on animals on November 10, fee Pounds 15.

The post-16 programme covers electromagnetism, transformers and motors; lasers; and thermodynamics in action: the science of ice cream. Fee: up to Pounds 2. Details: RI, 21 Albemarle Street, London W1X 4BS, tel: 0171 409 2992.

* Nancy Rothwell, internationally-known researcher on how the brain controls responses to disease and the effects of brain damage, is this year’s Christmas lecturer at the Royal Institution. Aimed at young people, the lectures will be recorded on December 8, 10, 12, 15 and 17 for broadcast in Britain, Japan and the US. Topics will include the five senses; the body as a machine controlling fatness, thinness, energy and hunger; keeping warm; and body clocks. Tickets: Pounds 6 (ages 11 to 18), Pounds 14 adults (discounts for members). Details as above.

* National training provider Stands for Education is running the following courses for science teachers during the autumn term: Raising achievement in key stage 3-4 science; How to assess effectively and ensure pupils have clear targets; Designing lessons for the special educational needs pupil; and How to run a successful science department: developing skills for middle management. Venues include: Birmingham, London, Leeds, Manchester and Bristol. Fee: Pounds 159 plus VAT. Details: SFE, Maggs House, 78 Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1QX, tel: 0117 983 8800; e-mail: mail@sfe.co.uk * Set99 (national science, engineering and technology week) is taking place from March 12-21. Anyone planning an event may be eligible for funding or could attract sponsorship. An information pack (with funding details) is available from Maria Roy, British Association for the Advancement of Science, 23 Savile Row, London W1X 2NB, tel: 0171 973 3074.

EXHIBITION

* “The world’s largest Science of Sport exhibition” will be held at the Royal Armouries, Leeds, October 16-April 11. Visitors can calculate their fitness, test their eyesight, check their pulse rate, compare their diet with that of sports men and women, play virtual volleyball and discover how science has revolutionised sports clothing and equipment design. Admission: Pounds 3.50. Tel: 0113 220 1888.

FREE FOR ALL

* Fit or Twit?, an interactive tour around the heart, takes 10 to 13-year-olds through the importance of healthy eating and physical activity, the pitfalls of smoking and facts about the heart and circulation. Produced by the British Heart Foundation, it includes worksheets and teachers’ notes. Details: Distribution Department, BHF, 14 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 4DH, tel: 0171 935 0185.

* The Health Education Authority is setting up regional multidisciplinary groups headed by dieticians to increase use of its free Guidelines on Educational Materials Concerned with Nutrition, and help develop a national database of nutrition materials for teachers and anyone else who is interested. Teachers wishing to be involved should contact Simon Lea, HEA, Trevelyan House, 30 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2HW, tel: 0171 413 2033. The guidelines can be obtained from: GEMs, PO Box 374, Abingdon SO, Oxfordshire OX14 4UJ.

WEB SITES

* Why do people worry more about the small risk associated with eating beef on the bone than the dangers of driving a car or playing a dangerous sport? Questions like this will be tackled during Safety98, “the world’s first cyber-conference” on safety issues, running at www.safety98.org from November 2-13. It is free and will range from good practice in the home to industrial and food safety.

* A database of schemes, resources, activities, visits and competitions, with hot-links to existing providers’ Web sites, can be found on the SETNET (Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics Network) site at www.setnet.org.uk INFORMATION

* The Young Ornithologists Club is asking young people to count the kestrels they see on regular journeys and record them on a kestrel survey form, which should be sent (each month for a year) to: Kestrel Watch, YOC, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL. Forms from the September YOC magazine, “Bird Life”, or the above address.