News Release
 February 2000

 National Award will make the excitement of solar physics available to
 secondary school pupils throughout the UK. 
 
 The project, called SolarMax, which was dreamed up by university 
 scientists and science teachers, has been awarded 70,000 pounds. 
 The aim is to produce educational material that links the excitement 
 of solar physics to the science content of the National Curriculum, 
 and to make it available to pupils in schools across the UK.
 
 Scientists from CLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, the
 University of Cambridge and the University of St Andrews have teamed
 up with science teachers to develop educational material based on the
 physics of the Sun and its environment. 
 
 The funding, provided by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council
 (PPARC) under its competitive National Award scheme, supports projects which
 further the public understanding of science, and in this case will fund a
 website, CD-ROM and additional educational material.
 
 "The project will help to inform the public about the UK's many scientific
 successes in studies of the Sun and its environment", explained 
 Dr David Pike from RAL, who is coordinating the project.  
 
 Dr Robert Walsh, from St Andrews adds "Because of its influence
 on the Earth's environment, the Sun has a direct impact on our daily lives
 so this field of science is exciting and relevant, especially as we approach
 the solar maximum, the period when the Sun is at its most active".
 
 The SolarMax material will be presented by young researchers
 to whom the school pupils will be able to relate more easily.  
 "We're hoping to help dispel the myth that science is only 
 done by white-coated, sandal-wearing, middle-aged eccentric males", 
 says Dr Helen Mason, from Cambridge University.
 
 Mr Alan Yate, educational consultant from Cambridgeshire adds
 "This resource will help pupils to find out about the latest research
 about the Sun and the science they have to cover for their GCSE
 courses. The solar physicists on the project are in daily contact with
 several satellites orbiting the Sun and so the information is really
 up to date. Pupils will be able to access worksheets, interviews with
 young scientists, video clips, along with quizes and wordsearches.".
 
 Mrs Viccy Fleming, Head of Science at the Downs School, Compon, Berks, 
 is acting as an educational consultant to the project. "There is a real
 shortage of materials for classroom use on this topic. This funding means
 all UK secondary schools will eventually have access to a brilliant
 interactive teaching resource," she said. 

 Supplementary Notes
 
 The SolarMax project is based on the successful 
 SunBlock '99 web site (www.sunblock99.org.uk) developed as 
 an educational  and public understanding of science
 resource for the total solar eclipse last year. 
 
 The SolarMax team use data from several solar satellites,
 including SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory), 
 which is continuously monitoring the Sun from 
 one million miles away in space. SOHO is designed to study 
 the nature of the Sun and its effect upon Earth. 
 One of the instruments on SOHO is operated by a team at RAL.   

 Members of the team have considerable experience in 
 outreach activities, they have given many public lectures,  
 written articles and been involved in press coverage,
 newspapers, radio and TV. 
 
 The Public Understanding of Science fund provided by the Particle Physics
 and Astronomy Research Council is available for projects which further the
 understanding of science in the areas of particle physics and astronomy.
 The small and larger awards are made annually after open competition.
 Applications for the awards are invited from the public and 
 educators as well as professional scientists. 

 Further information from
 Dr David Pike, Space Science & Technology Department,  RAL, 
 Tel:  01235 445835         Email:  c.d.Pike@rl.ac.uk
 
 Dr Helen Mason, Department of Applied Mathematics and 
 Theoretical Physics, Silver Street, CAMBRIDGE CB3 9EW
 Tel:  01223 337898         Email:  h.e.mason@damtp.cam.ac.uk 
 
 Dr Robert Walsh or Dr Klaus Galsgaard,
 School of Mathematical Sciences, University of St Andrews, 
 North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland KY16 9SS 
 Tel:  01334 463711          Email: Robert@mcs.st-and.ac.uk
                                    Klaus@mcs.st-and.ac.uk   

 For information on the PPARC Public Understanding of Science awards, contact
 Dr Robin Clegg,   Tel: 01793 442010   E-mail: robin_clegg@pparc.ac.uk