At first sight a computer game that involves getting a space-helmet-wearing teddy bear past various alien obstacles seems to have little to do with the decline in the number of students taking physics at GCSE. But the game is just one part of a strategy to introduce physics to a reluctant 11-14 year-old audience.
As well as explaining the special theory of relativity (you are travelling away from earth at the speed of light therefore your twin back home is aging faster than you) the Time Twins mission data also provides extra information on electromagnetic fields, lasers, teleportation and the Higgs Boson.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to build the time machine and get back to earth before your twin turns 'old and smelly'.
The point of this game, and other exhibitions and events organised as part of Einstein Year, is to introduce physics to young people using ideas and formats that they can (hopefully) identify with.
Caitlin Watson, the programme manager for the Einstein Year, says that she wants to change perceptions among young people about physics and physicists. 'There tends to be a negative knee-jerk reaction' says Watson. 'Young people think: "I don't know what physics is, but I know that I don't like it."'
Einstein Year has been organised in the UK by the Institute of Physics. It is part of the International Year of Physics, declared this year by UNESCO, which aims to increase public awareness and understanding of the subject. In the UK the IOP decided to focus on Einstein. 'We thought that if our initiative was called the International Year of Physics it would put off our target group straight away,' explains Watson.
This year is the centenary of Einstein's so called 'miraculous' year during which he published his groundbreaking papers on the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion and special relativity. The IOP's research showed that young people not only recognised Einstein but they also had an affinity with him: 'They saw him as a non-establishment figure,' says Watson.
Part of the reason behind this concerted campaign is the steady decline in the number of students choosing physics at GCSE or pursuing it at further education level. Last year 28,698 students sat A-level physics, a decline of nearly 25 per cent since 1993. Everyone agrees that if the UK is to compete on a world scale, especially with countries such as
China, then the knowledge gap in science needs to be plugged now. Last year the government published a 10-year framework for science that included a target of raising public and private spending on research and development to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2014.
Currently Britain lags behind other countries, only spending 1.9 per cent of GDP in this area compared with 2.7 per cent in the US and 3 per cent in Japan. The government also announced an increase in the budget for the Office of Science and Technology from £2.6bn to £3.3bn.
So, if schools are failing to inspire the next generation of physicists can museums and science centres help plug the gap? Heather Mayfield, the deputy head of the Science Museum, thinks so. She says physics is a hard option to take. 'Very often the curriculum restrains how it is taught in schools.'
She also says that breathtaking experiments are often not conducted in schools anymore for health and safety reasons. 'At the museum we can show them the exciting stuff.'
Caitlin Watson at the IOP agrees. 'Museums are particularly good at taking complex topics and presenting them in a way that is attention grabbing and approachable for young people,' she says.
A major part of the year is Move Over Einstein, a touring exhibition which will travel to eight venues during 2005. It was commissioned by the IOP from the Science Museum at a cost of £300,000, and paid for jointly by the Particle and Astronomy Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the IOP.
The exhibition is aimed at 11-14 year olds - the age when young people begin to think about their GCSE options.
Savita Custead is a project office at Ecsite, the umbrella group for science centres. She says that as well as hosting Move Over Einstein, science centres will be holding debates on nuclear energy and nanotechnology as well as helping girl guides get their Go For It science and technology badge.
But even if these sort of events are successful in capturing young people's imagination, what happens next is still of concern. Peter Cotgreave, the director of the campaigning group Save British Science, says that whilst anything that gets young people interested in physics is a good thing, it shouldn't be limited to just one year. 'There's a danger in thinking that's all that needs to be done,' he says.
Cotgreave says the problem is that there are not enough good science teachers in schools to build on the enthusiasm created by events like Einstein Year. In 1993 there were 1,141 applicants for physics PGCE; by 2004 that figure had dropped to just 512.
SBS advocates competitive teaching salaries so that it is seen as a viable option for graduates with a physics degree, and a science equivalent of the numeracy strategy for primary schools to provide backup and support for teachers.
The IOP has already commissioned an independent evaluation of the impact of the year. Watson says it wants to work out which ways of enthusing young people about physics are effective. 'We think the "physics by stealth" approach will work but we need to have the evaluation to prove it.'
As well as explaining the special theory of relativity (you are travelling away from earth at the speed of light therefore your twin back home is aging faster than you) the Time Twins mission data also provides extra information on electromagnetic fields, lasers, teleportation and the Higgs Boson.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to build the time machine and get back to earth before your twin turns 'old and smelly'.
The point of this game, and other exhibitions and events organised as part of Einstein Year, is to introduce physics to young people using ideas and formats that they can (hopefully) identify with.
Caitlin Watson, the programme manager for the Einstein Year, says that she wants to change perceptions among young people about physics and physicists. 'There tends to be a negative knee-jerk reaction' says Watson. 'Young people think: "I don't know what physics is, but I know that I don't like it."'
Einstein Year has been organised in the UK by the Institute of Physics. It is part of the International Year of Physics, declared this year by UNESCO, which aims to increase public awareness and understanding of the subject. In the UK the IOP decided to focus on Einstein. 'We thought that if our initiative was called the International Year of Physics it would put off our target group straight away,' explains Watson.
This year is the centenary of Einstein's so called 'miraculous' year during which he published his groundbreaking papers on the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion and special relativity. The IOP's research showed that young people not only recognised Einstein but they also had an affinity with him: 'They saw him as a non-establishment figure,' says Watson.
Part of the reason behind this concerted campaign is the steady decline in the number of students choosing physics at GCSE or pursuing it at further education level. Last year 28,698 students sat A-level physics, a decline of nearly 25 per cent since 1993. Everyone agrees that if the UK is to compete on a world scale, especially with countries such as
China, then the knowledge gap in science needs to be plugged now. Last year the government published a 10-year framework for science that included a target of raising public and private spending on research and development to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2014.
Currently Britain lags behind other countries, only spending 1.9 per cent of GDP in this area compared with 2.7 per cent in the US and 3 per cent in Japan. The government also announced an increase in the budget for the Office of Science and Technology from £2.6bn to £3.3bn.
So, if schools are failing to inspire the next generation of physicists can museums and science centres help plug the gap? Heather Mayfield, the deputy head of the Science Museum, thinks so. She says physics is a hard option to take. 'Very often the curriculum restrains how it is taught in schools.'
She also says that breathtaking experiments are often not conducted in schools anymore for health and safety reasons. 'At the museum we can show them the exciting stuff.'
Caitlin Watson at the IOP agrees. 'Museums are particularly good at taking complex topics and presenting them in a way that is attention grabbing and approachable for young people,' she says.
A major part of the year is Move Over Einstein, a touring exhibition which will travel to eight venues during 2005. It was commissioned by the IOP from the Science Museum at a cost of £300,000, and paid for jointly by the Particle and Astronomy Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the IOP.
The exhibition is aimed at 11-14 year olds - the age when young people begin to think about their GCSE options.
Savita Custead is a project office at Ecsite, the umbrella group for science centres. She says that as well as hosting Move Over Einstein, science centres will be holding debates on nuclear energy and nanotechnology as well as helping girl guides get their Go For It science and technology badge.
But even if these sort of events are successful in capturing young people's imagination, what happens next is still of concern. Peter Cotgreave, the director of the campaigning group Save British Science, says that whilst anything that gets young people interested in physics is a good thing, it shouldn't be limited to just one year. 'There's a danger in thinking that's all that needs to be done,' he says.
Cotgreave says the problem is that there are not enough good science teachers in schools to build on the enthusiasm created by events like Einstein Year. In 1993 there were 1,141 applicants for physics PGCE; by 2004 that figure had dropped to just 512.
SBS advocates competitive teaching salaries so that it is seen as a viable option for graduates with a physics degree, and a science equivalent of the numeracy strategy for primary schools to provide backup and support for teachers.
The IOP has already commissioned an independent evaluation of the impact of the year. Watson says it wants to work out which ways of enthusing young people about physics are effective. 'We think the "physics by stealth" approach will work but we need to have the evaluation to prove it.'