Full STEAM ahead.
Voyages into the worlds of science, tech, engineering, arts and maths should welcome aboard a diverse spectrum of explorers. Here we spotlight a few of those helping to democratise the field.
Mathematician, physicist and aspiring astronaut Dr Jackie Bell.
Photo: BBC/Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes?
PEOPLE
Great Britain’s first ‘Martian House’ – a brilliant gold inflatable building designed using recycled materials to withstand life on Mars – appeared on Bristol’s dockside this summer, encouraging the curiosity of passers by and causing much bemusement...
Martian House exterior (photo by Jack Offord)
Wasn’t space exploration and all its secrets the preserve of siloed scientists, holed up in inaccessible laboratories?
Designed by a group of artists and architects with a view to democratising a traditionally elite, exclusive subject, this public art project promoted the idea that the future belongs to everyone, and we all have unique perspectives and valuable insights to contribute to it.
Starting out as an empty shell, it came to life after the people of Bristol were invited via public call-out to create the interior, and the design team explored what a new, sustainable culture might look like – taking into account the real environmental conditions on Mars. A blank canvas on which to research, experiment and imagine new futures in relation to our lives today, the house was co-designed by all sorts of different people working together. Everyone from rocket scientists to primary school children had their own ideas around how we live now and how we could live in years to come – with low power, zero emissions and zero waste. University of Bristol space and engineering experts Professor Lucy Berthoud, Dr Bob Myhill and Professor James Norman advised the team on the sort of inhospitable conditions and environmental challenges they could expect on Mars, including average temperatures of -63°C and exposure to galactic and cosmic radiation.
Together with design studio Pearce+ and experts in extreme architecture, Hugh Broughton Architects, a lightweight prototype was made from a pressurised, inflatable gold-coated foil which could be transported to Mars with ease.
Mars is a place where you’d have to live carefully and resourcefully. Imagining how a small community would live there offers a sharp lens on our lives on Earth today and our fraught relationship with consumerism.
Ella Good & Nicki Kent
Project Leads, Martian House
Martian House interior, including hydroponics room (photos by Luke O’Donovan)
Building a Martian House concept sketch by Hugh Broughton Architects and Pearce+
When complete, the house hosted a programme of events dedicated to rethinking life on Earth by exploring the challenges of life on Mars. “Mars is a place where you’d have to live carefully and resourcefully. Imagining how a small community would live there offers a sharp lens on our lives on Earth today and our fraught relationship with consumerism,” said artists and project leads Ella Good and Nicki Kent, who are now on the hunt for tour venues to host the Martian House.
“Ella and Nicki have developed an alluring egalitarian concept,” said Hugh Broughton, Director of Hugh Broughton Architects, describing it as “an alternative approach to space design which represents the interests of everyone, not just governments and the super-rich.”
We all have a role in the future and a part to play.
Ella Good & Nicki Kent
Project Leads, Martian House
Above: Creative industries area of the Science Museum's technicians exhibition; and the energy networks area (photos courtesy of Science Museum Group)
Above: the exhibition entrance; the energy networks area at the Science Museum (photos courtesy of Science Museum Group)
Modern, motivational marvels
“Across the board, more is being done to increase accessibility in not only space exploration but STEAM in general. At the Science Museum’s new interactive gallery, a dynamic exhibition has just launched to demystify the broad, often ambiguous term of ‘technician’, after recent research by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation found that once young people know more about what they do, 71% feel that becoming a technician is achievable.
Collaborating with Marvel Studios, the National Grid, the NHS and others, the free exhibition opens up fascinating, often hidden worlds with a behind-the-scenes look at everything from fixing a fault atop a wind turbine and piloting a remotely operated vehicle on the ocean floor, to creating visual effects on a reconstructed film set from blockbuster Black Panther and experimenting with simple coding to control a recycling robot.
The one-of-a-kind immersive experiences at ‘Technicians: At The David Sainsbury Gallery’ enable visitors to mimic key real-life tasks that technicians in sectors of renewable energy, manufacturing, health science, and creative arts, perform every day, offering a unique insight into how these sometimes unsung roles influence our everyday lives.
Young people are demanding better, earlier careers advice & the chance to shape a greener, more diverse economy.
Sir lan Blatchford
Director, Science Museum
Above: a visitor trying their hand at welding (photo courtesy of Science Museum Group)
Above: Health science area of 'Technicians' (photo courtesy of Science Museum Group)
In generating excitement among 11 to 16-year-olds about technical roles, and challenging outdated perceptions, this interactive gallery encapsulates our core mission of inspiring futures.”
Sir lan Blatchford
Director, Science Museum
“Technicians are long overdue their time in the spotlight, as one of the country’s most vital teams,” said Science Museum Director Sir lan Blatchford. “In generating excitement among 11 to 16-year-olds about technical roles, and challenging outdated perceptions, this interactive gallery encapsulates our core mission of inspiring futures.”
Elsewhere, with students from low socio-economic backgrounds facing significant barriers to STEAM progression, a new ‘diversity impact programme’ (DIP) has been launched by the Royal Academy of Engineering to address unequal outcomes experienced by students from diverse and underrepresented groups. Imperial College London is one of the first universities to be awarded DIP grant funding to support students’ transition from school to second year of undergraduate study.
The aim is to provide strategic interventions and relationships at specific points and create opportunities for leadership and academic and personal development as part of a broad package of support addressing lower levels of progression and retention in ‘widening participation’ students. These include students with no parental higher education history, those who are carers and others who may not fit these criteria but are disadvantaged in another way. All have access to a pre-enrolment residential programme plus academic mentoring, personal development support from engineering departments and a fully-funded summer research opportunity. Students moving through the programme become role models and mentors for upcoming cohorts, with the overarching goal of offering insight into academic research careers, and an increased sense of empowerment and motivation in engineering.
When applying to study mathematics at university, I never imagined just how many opportunities having a STEM degree would open up for me.
Above: Dr Bell takes in the NSTF’s awe-inspiring thermal vacuum chamber, used to simulate extreme conditions of space (courtesy of Jones Millbank)
From Walton to the worlds beyond
Mathematician, physicist, aspiring astronaut, trustee at Walton Youth & Community Project and Imperial teaching fellow Dr Jackie Bell is the lead principal investigator on one of 11 funded projects, which has already supported over 50 students.
The first person in her family to go to university, Jackie worked as a waitress to pay for course fees while studying maths in her hometown of Liverpool and, after being awarded a scholarship for her community youth work, moved into theoretical physics for a PhD on quantum chromodynamics.
STEAM has facilitated unforgettable experiences for her, including wing-walking and undergoing a string of challenges on national television, akin to those in astronaut selection programmes. Much of what Jackie has accomplished has been inspired by her childhood ambitions of going into space, and in 2017 she was selected from thousands of applicants to appear on the BBC show Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes? The competition’s prize was a coveted reference from Canadian retired astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot and former International Space Station commander Chris Hadfield ahead of a European Space Agency recruitment round.
“When applying to study mathematics at university, I never imagined just how many opportunities having a STEM degree would open up for me. I definitely never thought that I’d graduate nine years later with a doctorate in theoretical particle physics,” Jackie says. “I’ve been invited to give talks across the UK and Europe, including a Royal Institution public lecture, a TEDx talk to over 1,000 people in my hometown and a lecture at L’École de Physique des Houches where famous physicists such as Enrico Fermi, Wolfgang Pauli and Murray Gell-Mann have presented their Nobel Prize-winning research. On my way to becoming an astronaut I’ve been involved in wonderful projects making a positive contribution to society – including designing and creating interactive learning resources for children, adults, and families to inspire their interest in science – and I regularly visit schools to inspire more kids like me to follow their dreams.”
Currently, it’s science communication that Jackie largely concentrates on day to day, and since graduating she has partnered with the likes of the Science Museum and British Science Association to engage diverse communities with science. Working with youth groups in deprived areas – young women especially – her aim is to increase their number in leading roles.
She sees the commercialisation of space as a positive, enabling more people from diverse backgrounds to get involved in its exploration. “From almost anywhere in the world, we can now tune in to watch live launches, EVAs (or space walks) and experiments taking place on the International Space Station. Breath-taking images of space – taken by our most powerful land and space-based telescopes and satellites – are no longer gatekept. Many are publicly accessible; even just stumbling across them can inspire more people to become interested in space and pursue a career in research.”
At school, I dreamed of becoming an astronaut and a scientist, but never thought either of these dreams would come true.
A step into the unknown; a challenge like no other: the National Satellite Test Facility is the new giant of the UK space ecosystem (video by Jones Millbank)
Jackie teamed up with Hoare Lea earlier this year to help spread the word about the incredible capabilities of the National Satellite Testing Facility, located in the heart of Oxfordshire’s Harwell science cluster and significantly strengthening the country’s position at the forefront of the industry.
“Having a custom-made UK facility where space payloads and satellites are built and tested is a huge leap forward,” she says.
“The NSTF enables us to test UK-built satellites on home soil, and soon we’ll be able to launch these from the most northern and southern parts of the UK, via purpose-built spaceports. A facility like this also supports UK start-ups and small businesses to get involved in the space sector, since the cost of exporting/importing equipment to be tested overseas is reduced – improving overall access/participation.”
World-class science research, expertise and innovative testing transports satellites from concept to lift-off, and the unique design of the cathedral-like NSTF – its vast size and its supreme level of environment control – means that the chaos and challenges of space can be recreated here on Earth. Housing one of the largest thermal vacuum chambers in Europe, it pushes satellites to their limits in the last phase of their ground development (an idea that Jackie has strongly related to during her journey to become an astronaut), arming them with the best possible preparation before their final expedition into the unknowns of the universe.
The new giant of the UK space ecosystem, and Great Britain’s first comprehensive set of space test facilities at this scale, the NSTF will enable the country to build bigger and better. It’s overseen by The Science and Technology Facilities Council, which offers learning resources on everything from how to get a job in the space industry, to tackling climate change from the cosmos, and activities that include family stargazing and a Scouts and Girl Guides badge challenge – designed by graduates inspired by their own roles at RAL Space to get young people excited about the sorts of jobs that studying STEAM subjects can lead them to.
“At school, I dreamed of becoming an astronaut and a scientist, but never thought either of these dreams would come true,” Jackie recalls. “My family and friends were always supportive, however, coming from a working-class background I struggled to find STEAM role models, and first-hand advice for pursuing scientific careers. I never considered going to university until my maths teacher mentioned it when I was 16, since no-one I knew had ever been, and me and my friends didn’t know how to seek out opportunities that would further encourage our interest in science. Now I am on my way to making both dreams a reality (I’m already a scientist and hope to become an astronaut one day soon) and that’s something I am really proud of.”
As important as increasing awareness of impressive UK space industry achievements, is showing that all sorts of people are involved in delivering them, and increasing the visibility of incredible STEAM role models for lesser targeted audiences. There’s still more than can be done to up accessibility, but continuing to spotlight those who have traditionally been less dominant in the field is crucial in firing up the next generation.
Now I am on my way to making both dreams a reality and that’s something I am really proud of.
She’s in CTRL
Featuring in episode 24 of Exploration, our next podcast guest is Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, co-creator of the award-winning social enterprise Stemettes which engages, inspires and connects the next generation of women and non-binary people into STEAM fields. A respected thought leader in the tech space, Anne-Marie was awarded an MBE in 2017 for services to young women and STEAM sectors, and will be talking about her new book She’s In CTRL, and how women can ‘take back tech’ – to communicate, investigate, problem-solve, broker deals and protect themselves in a digital world.